Letter to the Hebrews Volume 108

 Let Us Draw Near to God by the Blood of Jesus Part 5

Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. KJV

Our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven and gave gifts to men, as it is written for us with these words by the Apostle Paul, "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on High, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:7-16) (KJV). Over the course of the centuries that have gone by since Christ ascension back to heaven, the Church (which is the Body of Christ now on the earth) has gone through many trials, tribulations, and troubles, however we recall the Words of our Lord when He said this to the Apostle Peter concerning 'His Church the True Church' which is minus the black or white magic demons, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19) (KJV).

Having documented all of this, we now find the writer of Hebrews finishing off his discourse of exhorting us to draw near to God the Father by the Blood of Jesus with these words, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25) (KJV). The English word 'forsaking' is translated by the Greek word egkataleipō meaning (in a bad sense) to desert: - forsake, leave. The English phrase 'assembling of ourselves together' is translated by the Greek word episunagōgē which means specifically a Christian meeting (for worship): - assembling (gathering) together. The English word 'manner' is translated by the Greek word ethos which means the custom. The English word 'exhorting' is translated by the Greek word parakaleō which means to call near, that is, invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation): - beseech, call for, be of good comfort, desire, intreat, pray. In other words, the assembling together of fellow brothers and sisters 'in Christ' is not just so we can tick that check mark off our box for the week or to just socialize with one another or to impress one another with our material clothing, jewlery, or cars, but it is only to encourage, exhort, and edify one another spiritually, that we may stand solid, steadfast, and strong against our spiritual adversary 'the devil' as we are reminded by the words of King Solomon here, "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12) (KJV). Also to better prepare ourselves for the 'Day of the Lord' which can and will happen at any moment in our individual lives through death or through the rapture of the Church, as it is written here for us by the Apostle Paul, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) (KJV). Right after the Rapture our Lord Jesus' 2nd Coming to the earth will occur, as described for us with this Old Testament word, "The great Day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the Day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly." (Zephaniah 1:14) (KJV) and also this New Testament description, "But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10) (KJV).  

Here is what the JFB Commentary had to say of Hebrews 10:25, "The Greek, 'episunagoge,' is only found here and 2 Thessalonians 2:1 (the gathering together of the elect to Christ at His coming, Matthew 24:31). The assembling or gathering of ourselves for Christian communion in private and public, is an earnest of our being gathered together to Him at His appearing. Union is strength; continual assemblings together beget and foster love, and give good opportunities for 'provoking to good works,' by 'exhorting one another' (Hebrews 3:13). Ignatius says, 'When ye frequently, and in numbers meet together, the powers of Satan are overthrown, and his mischief is neutralized by your likemindedness in the faith.' To neglect such assemblings together might end in apostasy at last. He avoids the Greek term 'sunagoge,' as suggesting the Jewish synagogue meetings. As the manner of some is — 'manner,' that is, habit, custom. This gentle expression proves he is not here as yet speaking of apostasy. This, the shortest designation of the Day of the Lord’s coming, occurs elsewhere only in 1 Corinthians 3:13; a confirmation of the Pauline authorship of this Epistle. The Church being in all ages kept uncertain how soon Christ is coming, the day is, and has been, in each age, practically always near; whence, believers have been called on always to be watching for it as nigh at hand. The Hebrews were now living close upon One of those great types and foretastes of it, the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1-2), 'the bloody and fiery dawn of the Great Day; that day is the day of days, the ending day of all days, the settling day of all days, the day of the promotion of time into eternity, the day which, for the Church, breaks through and breaks off the night of the present world' [Delitzsch in Alford]."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…