The Nature of Faith
In the preceding chapter we read about true persevering faith by which men are united with Jesus and do not draw back but believe to the salvation of their souls. This chapter speaks of the nature, works, and response of faith and proceeds to illustrate it with examples of Old Testament saints with which the Hebrews are all familiar.
This chapter makes clear that where true faith is present, there are two aspects of God’s intercession that are manifest:
- The Grace of God: Faith is a Gift of God, not the product of the natural heart. Ephesians 2:8&9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.“
- The Word of God (Jesus): The Foundation of faith. We can only believe what God has said and has revealed to us from the Bible. Romans 10:17, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“
Hebrews 11:1, “¶Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
This is one of this teacher’s favorite verses in the King James Version of the Bible, because it is so eloquently presents a complex spiritual thought into one short and succinct verse. No other English translation can do justice to this verse that the King James Version affords.
“Faith Is the Substance“
The word for “substance” is translated from the original Greek word, ὑπόστασις (hypostasis)G5287, which also means “basis”, “foundation”, or “essence” , but also “person” when pertaining to Jesus as we read in Hebrews 1:3, “Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person (ὑπόστασις (hypostasis))G5287, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;“
And we know from Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith;…” (Note that “our” is italicized…please read the verse again with “our” removed to see the reality)
And we know for certain that Jesus Christ Is The Chief Foundation Stone of our faith as we read in Ephesians 2:20, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;“ and 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” and 1 Peter 2:6, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” And this is the scripture reference that the Apostles Paul and Peter were referring to: Isaiah 28:16, “¶Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner[stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.“
And let us not forget Romans 9:32, where the Apostle Paul explains the problem with the Jews who believed that they were saved by the works of the law, and not having faith in God (Jesus) as their Savior. “Wherefore? Because [they sought it] not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
So then we could also read Hebrews 11:1 as saying: “¶Now faith is the “Person/Foundation” (hence Jesus) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
And using the logic of transitivity (whereby if a relation holds between a first element and a second and between the second element and a third, it also holds between the first and third elements; or algebraically: If A=B, and B=C, then A=C), then we can say that if “faith” is the same as the word translated in this verse as “substance”, and the word “substance” represents “The Person of Jesus”, then “faith” is also the embodiment of Jesus. Faith=Jesus!
“Things Hoped For“
What are the things hoped for? Eternal salvation and deliverance from the just penalty for our sin, perseverance in, and by, the Faith of Jesus Christ, and eternal fellowship with God in Heaven. Because of our confidence in God and His Word, Who Is Jesus, faith gives us possession of these things beforehand in this life. Faith makes them real to us now.
“The Evidence of Things Not Seen“
As we go through the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, we will see much more of how faith, based upon the foundation laid by Jesus, lets the believer perceive the things which are not visible (seen) by human eyes. These include
1) the things that were done in eternity: the council, the covenant, and purpose of God;
2) things which done in time past: the incarnation, the Atonement, and resurrection;
3) things which are done now: Intercession, providence and the Work of The Holy Spirit, and
4) things to come in the future; the resurrection of the dead, Judgment Day, and eternal glory with Jesus in Heaven for the saints (as well as what sadly awaits the unsaved of all mankind).
These are all “unseen”, but faith gives the heart proof and evidence of these unseen things. God’s Faith, by His Word and His Spirit enlighten us to perceive these unseen things.
Remember what Jesus said to “doubting” Thomas in John 20:29, “¶Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.“
2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
Romans 8:24&25, “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience ὑπομονή (hypomonē)G5281 wait for [it].”
2 Corinthians 4:18, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.“
Nonetheless, God’s Glory and power are still manifest and visible in this creation to all mankind as we read in Romans 1:19&20, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:“
Hebrews 11:2, “For by it the elders obtained a good report.“
This points us to the last two verses in this chapter: Hebrews 11:39&40, “¶And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.“
In the following verses we will gain some important spiritual insights regarding the “elders” who “obtained a good report”, who are also commonly referred to as the great men (and women like Sarah and Rahab) of faith, and sometimes even members of the “Faith Hall of Fame”. However, we should not be seeking to glorify the individual people, but rather Jesus Christ, Who is the Faith that is found in those people. This letter to the Hebrews was to make clear that these holy persons of old were justified and accepted by their faith, and not by their deeds. It serves to take away from these Hebrews any esteem for the elders because of who they were or what they did. It is useless to boast of our elders. Romans 3:27&28, “¶Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
Hebrews 11:3, “¶Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.“
Believers have the faith that this world, and all the universe, did not just appear by happenstance in a so-called Big Bang and developed via evolution, but rather it was by the Word of God, Jesus Christ, as the Creator, that everything came into being (and moreover it was not billions of years ago, but almost exactly 13,000 years ago based on the Biblical calendar). Moreover, believers by faith how all things were created. The visible universe was created by God out of nothing.
Genesis 1:1, “¶In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” and Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” and John 1:1-3, “¶In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.“
Colossians 1:16, “For by him (Jesus Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.“
And we also know that there is an end to come, and that it is likely very soon, despite what the scoffers say who believe in the “science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20), as we read in 2 Peter 3:5-7, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.“
Now as we begin to go through the so called “Faith Hall of Fame”, we need to understand that Faith is an outcome of the unmerited gift of Grace from God, and remembering that “Jesus Is The Author and Finisher of Faith“. And Faith will yield the fruit of works, but that all originates with God’s Grace.
We should remember also these verses: Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” and Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
A “Type” of All Believers Throughout Time, Who Are Living Epistles Testifying of Jesus and Made Righteous in Him by Jesus’ Excellent Atoning Sacrifice as the Lamb of God
Hebrews 11:4, “¶By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.“
Abel offered the acceptable sacrifice of blood because he believed God. And that blood of the lamb typified and pointed to the ultimate atoning sacrifice of Jesus, The Lamb of God. Cain’s offering was one of works, which had no reference to Jesus at all. Abel was deemed righteous by his imputed faith of Jesus Christ to whom his offering looked.
Abel is dead, but his faith and example are yet spoken of. These two brothers represent the world’s two religions, Salvation by grace through Jesus’s Atoning Sacrifice or salvation by human works!
Genesis 4:4&5, “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
1 John 3:12, “Not as Cain, [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.“
For more on the significance of the difference between Cain (the elder brother) and Abel (the younger brother), please see the study on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
A “Type” of All Believers Throughout Time, Knowing and Warning of Judgment Day to Come, When the Believers (Who Are Still Alive at that Time) Will Be Raptured
Hebrews 11:5, “¶By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
This particular Enoch is interesting because, although he is mentioned in only nine verses in the entire Bible, we have been given enough information by God to know the following about him:
- Enoch was a great man of faith
- Enoch was the “seventh from Adam” and begat Methuselah and sons and daughter.
- “Enoch walked with God”
- Enoch had this testimony, “that he pleased God”
- Enoch lived 365 years
- Enoch prophesied of the coming of Jesus with His saints on Judgment Day to levy Judgment to the ungodly
- Enoch did not die, because he was “translated”(“God took him”) and he went directly to Heaven and, therefore, Enoch was one of the only two men in the Bible recorded as having received that blessing (Elijah being the only other man).
We first read in Genesis 5:18-21, “¶And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. ¶And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:” and then further in Genesis 5:22-24, “And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.” and we should also remember this about Enoch that we read in Jude 14, “¶And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.“
The number “seven” in the Bible is used to pertain to “perfection” and often in reference to “time”. While a descendant of Adam and therefore under the curse of sin and death, because Enoch “pleased God” and the imbued faith of Jesus in him, he lived 365 years and was taken/translated, or as we say today, raptured, into heaven.
The 365 years of Enoch’s life reminds us that there are 365 days in a year. God often refers to the length of this temporal realm as a “year”. Isaiah 61:2, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” However, that a temporal “year” can be likened to the span of time allotted to this creation from the beginning until Judgment Day is provided in the Book of Esther, which Reveals God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan Through Jesus Christ…From Beginning to End (and Forever). We see this in Esther 3:7, where we read the following “In the first month, that [is] , the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, [to] the twelfth [month], that [is], the month Adar.” Judgment Day for the Jews (representing the true believers), the people of Mordecai (who is a “Type” for Jesus), was determined in the beginning of the year to be carried out at the end of the year. However, by God’s mercy and Divine intervention, the Jews (who represent all the believers throughout time) were saved.
Enoch pleased God and walked with God and we know that it is faith that pleases God:
We ought to also take a moment to consider what it means to be took/translated. To be translated means to not taste death, but rather be changed and taken up into Heaven. Is not that exactly what we read in:
1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15, “¶For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (go before) them which are asleep. 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.“
So then, can we not say that Enoch can be likened to, or a metaphor/type for all believers (those have the faith of Jesus) but particularly those who are still alive at the end of time at the coming of Jesus on the clouds of Glory, and who will also not taste death, but be translated in like manner?
Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
This is a very important statement because, if you do not have faith that God is Who He says He Is, How then can anyone pray honestly and sincerely? How can anyone call our Heavenly Father “our Heavenly Father”? How can we even begin to obey what we read in Deuteronomy 6:5, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” if we do not have the faith that God is God, and that He hears our prayers when we diligently seek Him and love Jesus for His Atoning Sacrifice. It is impossible, and therefore there must be a deep abiding faith/true belief in every part of our being.
We must believe that God Is, and not only that there is a God, but that God Is…The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, as is revealed to us by God’s Word, the Bible.
Romans 8:6-11, “For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ [be] in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Proverbs 7:15, “Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.” and Proverbs 11:27, “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.” and 1 Peter 1:10, “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [that should come] unto you:“
There is but one way to seek God, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ: John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Proverbs 7:15, “Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.”
A “Type” of All Believers Throughout Time, Who, by God’s Grace, Know and Warn of Judgment Day to Come, and Are Heirs of Jesus’ Imputed Righteousness and Will Be Saved
Hebrews 11:7, “¶By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.“
Genesis 6:8&9, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. ¶These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.“
Remembering also that God reserves a remnant for Himself even in the worst of times: “Romans 11:5, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.“
Noah and his family were the exceptions to the general apostasy of his day. Noah was not without sin, else why would he need grace? But “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet…” such as the rain, the flood, and the destruction of all having the breath of life apart from those shut in the Ark. Noah Believed God!
Genesis 6:22, “¶Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” and 1 Peter 3:20, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.“
Romans 3:22, “Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” and Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:“
Noah’s faith, represented by his works in the building of the Ark over a period of 100 years, served as a condemnation and passed judgment on the unbelief and wickedness of others, and thereby made their unbelief and rebelliousness more obvious. It is not unlike Lot warning his sons-in-law about the coming destruction of Sodom (and Gomorrah), as we read in Genesis 19:14, “And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.” They thought it was all just a joke. Well, sadly, they were very wrong.
Jesus warned explicitly in Luke 17:26-29, regarding the examples of the days of Noah before the Flood and the days of Lot before Sodom was destroyed, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.”
Unbelief is evil enough, but it appears more evil and deliberate in the presence of faith. This faith made Noah another heir of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ.
We should take a minute to ponder the implications of what Jesus said concerning the end times when Jesus compared them to the time just before the Flood and just before the destruction of Sodom. While not “everyone” in the world of Noah’s day, or in the entire city of Sodom, necessarily heard the warnings implied by the Ark or the words spoken to Lot’s sons-in-law, but the principle of a warning being present was there at the time, just as it is in our day. How many people are paying heed to God’s Word in the Bible today? The answer is…not many. Moreover, the world today is exactly as the world in Noah’s day just before the Flood and in Sodom just before the destruction by fire and brimstone.
This is how God described the scene in Noah’s day, in Genesis 6:11&12, we read, “¶The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”
We are also in a day much like that at the end of the days of Judges, as we read in the very last verse of the book of Judges, Judges 21:25, “¶In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.” Jesus is not revered as King in this world today, and hence we are in a lawless time.
A “Type” of All Believers Throughout Time, Who Walk by Faith and Not by Sight Sojourning in Tents
Hebrews 11:8, “¶By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.“
2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
Genesis 12:1-3, “¶Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.“
Romans 4:1-5, “¶What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God.For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned ofgrace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.“
Romans 4:16, “Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,” All believers are the heirs of the promised Seed, Who Is Jesus, via Abraham.
We should also remember that God changed his name to Abraham 15 years after he left Ur. God leads His people in ways known to Him but not known to them.
Hebrews 11:9, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:”
Genesis 12:8, “And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.“
Genesis 15:4, “¶And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. ¶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.“
The martyr, Stephen, recounted this just before he was stoned to death, Acts 7:2-5, “¶And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not [so much as] to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when [as yet] he had no child.“
Romans 4:13-20. “¶For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law [be] heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, [there is] no transgression. ¶Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;“
Hebrews 11:10, “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God.“
The city was in Heaven, not the temporal earthly city of Jerusalem, but the heavenly Jerusalem, Hebrews 12:22, “¶But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,” that we also read about in Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.“
This is all the more clear when we read 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, “¶For we know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing [is] God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.“
A “Type” of All Believers Throughout Time, Who Represents the Church and the Faith of the Saints in the Wilderness of This World
Hebrews 11:11, “¶Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.“
Although we know that both Sarah and Abraham were initially doubtful that Abraham at 100 and Sarah at 90 could have a son (Sarah even laughed at the thought), we know from this verse that they nonetheless were both brought to full belief and Sarah was strengthened enough to conceive and bear Isaac and raise him up with Abraham.
Genesis 17:19, “¶And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.” Genesis 18:11, “Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old [and] well stricken in age; [and] it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.” and Genesis 18:14, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.“
It is reminiscent of Luke 1:36, “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.“
Jude 1:3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.“
Hebrews 11:12, “Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.”
Note the phrase “and him (Abraham) as good as dead“…God raised up seed from essentially “dead ” Abraham via his wife Sarah (whose womb was also “as good as dead”) which “figuratively” could be viewed as a preview resurrection from the dead, which will be discussed more again when we get to verse 19.
Abraham’s “faith” is further explained and expounded here in Romans 4:17-25, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. ¶Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.“
It is also interesting how this verse referred to the promise by God to Abraham and its subsequent earthly fulfillment. In Genesis 15:5, “And he (God) brought him (Abraham) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And later in Deuteronomy 1:10, Moses declared, “The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye [are] this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.”
However there is also a Heavenly fulfillment in view as well, because the believers are likened to “stars”. We see this clearly in Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” And please note also how the words “stars” and “sons of God” are used together in this verse: Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Remember also that Queen Esther, who’s very name means “star”, and that Esther was representative of all believers.
Hebrews 11:13, “¶These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.“
These elders died the normal physical death without seeing either the earthly promises fulfilled or the eternal spiritual promises in Jesus Christ fulfilled, but their faith sustained them to know that they had an eternal life, and an eternal abode (not sojourning in earthly tents) awaiting them because of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would eventually come from Abraham’s seed through Isaac and Jacob.
Jesus said in John 8:56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad.“
Psalm 39:12, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I [am] a stranger with thee, [and] a sojourner, as all my fathers [were].” and 1 Peter 1:17, “¶And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear:“
Hebrews 11:14, “For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.“
We, as believers, are all just strangers and pilgrims sojourning in this temporal world awaiting our resurrection on Judgment Day to be with God in Heaven praising and thanking Jesus for evermore.
1 Peter 2:11&11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.“
Hebrews 13:14, “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”
It is very clear from John 18:36, that this world is not our eternal home or hope, “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.“
The believers make it clear that they have seen things by faith that the natural man (unbelievers) do not see and cannot see apart from it being given to them. Please see: The Hearing Ear and the Seeing Eye
Hebrews 11:15, “And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.”
They never turned back, just like Lot did not even look back as his wife did, whereupon she died as result (clearly dying in unbelief).
Hebrews 11:16, “But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
Matthew 22:32, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.“ and Acts 7:32, “[Saying], I [am] the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.“
John 14:2&3, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place foryou. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there ye] may be also.“
Acts 20:32, “¶And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.“
Hebrews 2:11, “For both he (Jesus) that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified [are] all of one: for which cause he (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren,”
Hebrews 11:17, “¶By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son],”
Genesis 22:1–14 Provides the context of what is being described. Abraham showed that as much as He loved his son, he was going to be obedient to God trusting that God would later raise his son from the dead. He trusted in the Words of God,
Side note: In James 2:20-24, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” The Key point to takeaway here is that a person is saved by grace through faith, and NOT by works, however, once a person is saved, good works must and will become evident.
Hebrews 11:18, “Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:“
This is referring directly back to Genesis 21:12, “And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad (Ishmael), and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.“
We are reminded of Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
The Apostle Paul clearly had to have been referring to Genesis 22:17 when he wrote Galatians 3:16, which hinged on the Hebrew letter waw (possessive pronoun masculine singular suffix) which we would interpret in English as “his”. In this respect, the Apostle Paul was able to declare that the ultimate promised seed of Abraham was a singular male person based on the plain and normal reading of Genesis 22:17, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ ))H2233 as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ ))H2233 shall possess the gate of his enemies;“
And knowing that this reference is pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, is it not all the more clear when we read the next verse…Genesis 22:18, “And in thy seed (זַרְעָ (zeraʿ))H2233 shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.“
Note that the “enemies” are the devil and his minions, the gate(s) of Jesus’ enemies is the prison house/Hell. Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “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.“
Isaac was therefore the “Type”, which pointed to that ultimate Seed, or Son, Jesus Christ, Who would be the Sacrifice, and through Whom the blessings of Abraham would flow to the world.
Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed (זַרְעָהּ (zeraʿ))H2233; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Genesis 12:3, we read, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Genesis 13:15&16, “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ)H2233 for ever. And I will make thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ)H2233 as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ)H2233 also be numbered.”
Genesis 22:17, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ)H2233 as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed (זַרְעֲךָ (zeraʿ)H2233shall possess the gate of his enemies;“ The key is that the possessive pronoun points to a “singular male” which tells us that the “seed” is also singular as Paul stated in Galatians 3:16.
Hebrews 11:19, “Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”
This verse on its surface is saying that, because of Abraham’s faith that God could raise Isaac back from the dead and Abraham was going to go through with the sacrifice (determining in both his mind and his heart), then God stopped Abraham, and so Isaac was in effect raised from the dead “in a figure“. The word for “figure” is in the original Greek, παραβολή (parabolē)G3850 which means “similitude” or “parable”.
Romans 4:20, “He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
It can also be interpreted as saying that Isaac was established by God to serve as a “figure”, hence similitude or parable (historically) and therefore also an allegorical “Type”, to represent the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was sacrificed by God as the Lamb of God (God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering). And note also that Jesus was thus also typified by the “ram caught in a thicket by his horns.” Does not this remind us of the “crown of thorns” around Jesus’s head on the cross?
Hebrews 11:20, “¶By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.“
This refers back to the Genesis accounts of Isaac’s blessings, which have been fulfilled, most importantly, the blessing on Jacob that pointed to the coming of the LORD God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Isaac was confident that there would be a future that would come to pass, and he had full faith in God and knew that the blessing, which he gave would also come to pass.
This is the blessing that was given by Isaac to Jacob (instead of his elder brother Esau as a result of Jacob deception) Genesis 27:28&29, “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.“
While it may seem contrary to normal human understanding how such a deception could yield a blessing from God we must remember what Joseph said to his brothers, who previously wanted to kill him, in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive.”
And we know that Esau was also blessed as we read in Genesis 27:38-40, “¶And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me,[even] me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. ¶And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.” For more on this, and similar, brotherly enmity, please see: The Prodigal Son
Hebrews 11:21, “¶By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, [leaning] upon the top of his staff.“
Genesis 48:14&15, “And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,“
Jacob/Israel knew that there would be a future that would come to pass, and he had full faith in God trusting that the blessing would come to pass.
It is therefore all the most significant that the man named Oshea (“Salvation”) was descended from Ephraim as we read in Numbers 13:8, who name was later changed by Moses to Joshua (“Jehovah is Salvation”) as we read in Numbers 13:16, and Joshua was, without doubt, used by God to be a great “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land. And “Jesus” is the same as “Joshua”, but as translated from the Greek. (for more on the meaning of name changes in the Bible please see this post)
Hebrews 11:22, “¶By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention (remembered) of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.”
Genesis 50:24&24, “¶And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying,God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.“
Joseph was confident that there would eventually be an exodus back to the promised land of his forefathers and God had promised hence the commandment to bury him not in Egypt but in land of Israel.
Hebrews 11:23, “¶By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw [he was] a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.“
Exodus 2:1–10 provides the details of the account described in this verse. Exodus 1:16-22 details Pharaoh’s commandment to kill Jewish male babies and the efforts of midwives to circumvent that decree.
Hebrews 11:24, “¶By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;“
As we read in the last verse of the preceding reference, Moses was raised up as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses was 40 years old, wealthy, educated and a likely successor to Pharaoh, but he rather identified with the Israelites. He must have believed and desired the eternal promises of God over the temporal advantages he had in the land of Egypt.
Hebrews 11:25, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;“
Psalm 84:10, “For a day in thy courts [is] better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.“
Hebrews 11:26, “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
Two related references: Hebrews 13:13&14, “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” and Hebrews 10:35, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.“
Hebrews 11:27, “¶By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.“
Exodus 10:28, “And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in [that] day thou seest my face thou shalt die. ¶And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.” and remembering what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.“
Hebrews 11:28, “Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”
Exodus 12:21, “¶Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip [it] in the blood that [is] in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that [is] in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.“
Hebrews 11:29, “¶By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.“
Exodus 14:10-21, ending with Exodus 14:22, “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry [ground]: and the waters [were] a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
Hebrews 11:30, “¶By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.“
The Israelites who crossed the River Jordan at flood stage compassed the walls of Jericho a total of 13 times and the wall fell at the sound of trumpets’ blast and the people shouted as we read in Joshua 6:20, “¶So the people shouted when [the priests] blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.“
Please note the spiritual correlation between the use of the trumpet and shouting that brought down the walls of Jericho, leading to its total destruction in fire, to what we read of Judgment Day and the end of the world for the unsaved in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “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.“
Hebrews 11:31, “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.“
Joshua 2:18, “Behold, [when] we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line (תִּקְוָה (tiqvâ))H8615 of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, [that] whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood [shall be] upon his head, and we [will be] guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood [shall be] on our head, if [any] hand be upon him.” תִּקְוָה (tiqvâ))H8615, in the original Hebrew that is translated here as “line”, actually means “hope”, “expectation”, “that which is longed for”. Is not the Lord Jesus Christ, The Hope, Expectation, and Whom the believers long for?
And let us see how Rahab exhibited her faith…Joshua 2:21, “And she said, According unto your words, so [be] it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line (תִּקְוָה (tiqvâ))H8615 in the window.” Rahab’s faith in the coming earthly redemption was shown by her placement of the scarlet line, but spiritually it exemplifies the spiritual longing and expectation of all believers for our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, coming on the clouds of Glory to save them on Judgment Day.
The “scarlet thread/scarlet line” was another sign pointing to the precious atoning shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as being the only means of anyone’s Salvation.
Joshua Orders Rahab’s Rescue
Joshua 6:22-25, “¶But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. “And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that [was] therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel [even] unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.“
And the reader should be particularly mindful of the fact that Rahab the harlot became a progenitor of Boaz, the man who married Ruth, the Moabitess, and that Boaz was the great-grandfather of King David and hence a progenitor of Jesus through Mary. For more on this please see: Jesus’ Ancestry
Four Named Judges Typify The Lord Jesus Christ as Judge
Hebrews 11:32, “¶And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and [of] Jephthae; [of] David also, and Samuel, and [of] the prophets:“
Each of these has a pertinent detail account that goes beyond this chapter study.
Please see for example: Gideon & Barak. Interestingly, God equated Gideon with Barak in another place in the Old Testament. Psalm 83:9&10 references the exploits of these two men of faith together, 1) with respect to Gideon: “Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; … then 2) with respect to Barak: “as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: [Which] perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.“
Regarding Samson we have his account in Judges 13:1 to Judges 16:30, And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew in his life.“
For Jephthah: Judges 11:1-40 provides us all we need to know about Jephthah, as well as the seriousness of making a vow to God.
David is too much to address here, but his life account begins with 1 Samuel 16:1. But perhaps the most dramatic and famous evidence of David’s faith is when he slew Goliath as a young shepherd boy in 1 Samuel 17:37-51.
Samuel is also too much to address here, but his life account begins with 1 Samuel 1:1, but we know that even as a youth he was always ready to harken to the Voice of God. Even as an aged man he was valiant in faith towards God. Please see more background in this account from the Book of Esther
There are certainly a number of prophets who walked by faith and died as martyrs, as Jesus stated in
Matthew 23:31, “Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.“
Hebrews 11:33, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,“
Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and David defeated kingdoms, Samuel wrought righteousness, David obtained the promises. We also know that Samson killed a lion with his bare hands in Judges 14:5&6, and David, while a young shepherd, also killed a lion in 1 Samuel 17:34&35, but also, by God’s grace, Daniel was present when the lions’ mouths were stopped in Daniel in the Lions’ Den.
Perhaps most importantly these are parables in that we know that the faithful believers can stop the mouth of the devil as we read in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:“
Hebrews 11:34, “Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.“
We know that Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were prophets and by God’s grace they were present when the violence of fire was quenched in the Fiery Furnace account recorded in the Book of Daniel. King Saul continually sought to have David killed by the sword. Barak certainly waxed valiant in the fight and turned to flight the Canaanites.
Hebrews 11:35, “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:“
We have the record of the account in 1 Kings 17:17-24 where Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead and her reaction was what we read in 1 Kings 17:24, “And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou [art] a man of God, [and] that the word of the LORD in thy mouth [is] truth.“
The others strong in faith are not named particularly, but they are representative of all believers throughout time who, when required, were valiant in faith in God, even in the face of torture and death.
Hebrews 11:36, “And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Hebrews 11:37, “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;“
These are largely unknown martyrs of the faith, but there can be no doubt that over the millennia, thousands, if not millions, have suffered torture and death… and many today are now also suffering similar fates. Communists, along with many other religions that serve the devil rather than Jesus, hate Christians just as they have hated Jesus. The Apostle Paul saw this in his own life, as both a Pharisee perpetrator (he assented to the stoning death of Stephen) before being quickened in The Spirit, as well as a recipient of such abuse once becoming saved by Jesus.
Hebrews 11:38, “(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth.“
Again we do not know the details, beyond what god provides here, as they do not appear to have been documented elsewhere in the Bible, but we do know that sufferings for the faith in Jesus Christ continue to this day, and cannot be expected to stop until Judgment Day.
Hebrews 11:39, “¶And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:“
Jesus Christ is the Promise, for He Is the Fulfillment of All things Promised by God to the Elders of the Old Testament.
We should remember what we find in Luke 24:44&45 “And He (Jesus) said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,” This point is reiterated in Acts 3:18, “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” Again in Acts 10:43, we read where the Apostle Peter declared, “To him (Jesus Christ) give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” In John 1:45 we read where, “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Finally, in Romans 1:1-3, we read, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord…” And finally, remember that Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 , “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Jesus Is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament scriptures!
The Old Testament believers rested in and looked for the promise of Jesus Christ and life eternal in Him, though He came to Earth after they all had died. Although Job was not mentioned in this chapter of Hebrews, we know that he said in Job 19:25, “For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:“
Hebrews 11:40, “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.“
The great men of faith had Jesus only in Promise, we have Jesus, Himself, in reality. They were looking forward to His first coming, while we look back and know that He has come, but we all still look forward to His Second Coming. They saw in Types and Figures, but, over the past 2000 years, all believers have been able to “see” and “know” Jesus in Person through His Word and by his Spirit.
We can rest assured that while there may have appeared to have been two different dispensations, there is nonetheless only one assembly and only one eternal church. Ephesians 4:4, “[There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.“
Colossians 2:6-9, “¶As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him. Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ¶Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
The bottom line is that mankind, through its own efforts, will never achieve salvation, because, as we read in Jonah 2:9, ” Salvation [is] of the LORD.”, and Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” and finally Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
In Numbers 24:2, we read about the “soothsayer”, Balaam (Joshua 13:22) and that “the spirit of God came upon him” and directed this Messianic prophesy by Balaam in Numbers 24:17, “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” (Side Note: Balaam was hired by the king of the Moabites to curse Israel, but God made Balaam instead pronounce a blessing on Israel [Deuteronomy 23:5] and, because Balaam was a soothsayer, we read that he was later slain by the sword in Joshua 13:22.)
1 Peter 1:8, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:“
Conclusion
We can summarize Hebrews Chapter 11 with some key scripture verses penned by the Apostle Paul (the evident earthly author of the Epistle to the Hebrews):
2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
Romans 4:1-5, “¶What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.“
Romans 4:16, “Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”
All believers are the heirs of the promised Seed, Who Is Jesus, via Abraham, by grace through faith.
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