DAILY TEXT, Today's Friday, February 21, 2025, We must pay more attention than usual to the things we have heard, so that we are never carried adrift (Heb. 2:1).

Let us examine the scriptures every day 2025

Friday February 21, 2025

We need to pay more attention than usual to the things we have heard, so that we will never be led astray (Heb. 2:1).

Why did the apostle Paul write to the Hebrew Christians living in Judea? Probably for two important reasons. First, to encourage them. Most had been raised in Judaism, and the leaders of that religion may have mocked them for becoming Christians. Because? Because, unlike the Jews, Christians did not have a majestic temple where they could worship God, nor an altar on which to offer sacrifices, nor priests. That could have discouraged Christ's disciples and weakened their faith (Heb. 3:12, 14). It is possible that some of them even thought about returning to practicing the Jewish religion. Second, Paul made the Hebrew Christians see that they were not striving to understand new or deeper spiritual teachings, the “solid food” found in the Word of God (Heb. 5:11-14). Apparently some of them were still following the Law of Moses. w23.10 24, 25 paras. 3, 4.

What do we need to understand, and why?

Paul explained to his Hebrew brothers why the way they now worshiped Jehovah as Christians was much better than the way they had worshiped him in the past. He said that the Jewish religion's way of worshiping God was only “a shadow of what was to come.” And he added: “But the reality belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17). The shadow of an object is just a vague image of that thing, but it is not the real object. In the same way, the way the Jews worshiped God in the past was only a shadow of the reality that was to come. We need to understand the system of worship that Jehovah has established, the spiritual temple. Because? Because it makes possible the forgiveness of our sins and allows us to worship God as he wants. Next, we are going to compare the “shadow” (the Jewish way of worshiping God) with “the reality” (the Christian way of worshiping God). To do this, we will analyze what the Letter to the Hebrews says. This way we will better understand what the spiritual temple is and what relationship it has with us.

What was the tabernacle used for?

The shadow. Paul based his explanation of the spiritual temple on the tabernacle that Moses set up in 1512 BC (see the “Shadow and Reality” graphic). The tabernacle, also called the “tent of meeting,” was the place where the Israelites gathered to worship God and offer sacrifices to Him (Ex. 29:43-46). They took it with them whenever they moved from one place to another in the desert (Ex. 25:8, 9; Num. 9:22). They used it for almost 500 years until the temple in Jerusalem was built. Now, the tabernacle also represented something much better that would come later for Christians.

When did the spiritual temple come into existence?

The reality. The tabernacle was “a shadow of heavenly things” and represented Jehovah's great spiritual temple. Paul said, “This tent [or tabernacle] is a symbolic representation for our times” (Heb. 8:5; 9:9). So, when he wrote this to the Hebrews, the spiritual temple was already a reality. In fact, it came into existence in the year 29 AD. That year Jesus was baptized, anointed with holy spirit, and began serving as Jehovah's “great high priest” in the spiritual temple (Heb. 4:14; Acts 10:37, 38).c

According to Hebrews 7:23-27, what enormous difference is there between the high priests of Israel and the great High Priest, Jesus Christ?

The shadow. The high priest represented the people before God. Israel's first high priest, Aaron, was appointed by Jehovah when the tabernacle was dedicated. But Paul explained: “Since death prevented the priests from continuing in office, there had to be many priests succeeding one another” (read Hebrews 7:23-27).d Furthermore, because these high priests were imperfect, they had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. That is a huge difference between the high priests of Israel and the great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

The reality. Our High Priest, Jesus Christ, “is a servant [...] of the true tent which Jehovah pitched, and not man” (Heb. 8:1, 2). Paul explained that since Jesus “lives forever, his priesthood has no successors.” Furthermore, he said that Jesus is “undefiled, separated from sinners” and that, unlike the high priests of Israel, “he does not have to offer sacrifices daily” for his own sins. And what can we say about altars and sacrifices? Let's see the differences between shadow and reality.

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