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Originally Posted by votivesoul
I agree. 1st century persecution of Jewish Christians by Jews who were not followers of Jesus was causing many Jews to doubt their faith. When Hebrews was written, it was written to second generation believers who never met Jesus, or possibly any of the Apostles in person, and had believed without seeing.
But the pressure to give up their faith because they were standing to lose their cultural identity as Jews because they were being cast out of synagogues, families were being torn apart, brethren were disowning each other, and etc (all prophesied to happen by Jesus), caused so much doubt that Jewish believers were on the verge of falling back wholesale.
If you take the time to read up on the Birkat Ha-Minim, it will make a lot more sense:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/birkat-ha-minim
But, for the Jewish believer in Jesus who was on the verge or re-embracing Rabbinical Judaism, they weren't seeing how they were going to enter into a ministry of death and condemnation, and that the very temple system they were considering following again, was on the verge of complete annihilation, which was something that would come down on them, too.
And that's why Hebrews 6:4 reads that way. |
Big problem for the first century Church is that Jesus was crucified by the Romans. He wasn't married, had no children. His mother gets a marriage contract signed. Then leaves town to see her relative. She comes back and is found pregnant with Him before she came together with her husband. Jesus also made some claims that the temple would be destroyed and that it would be demolished without a trace. This was inconceivable to the Judeans because destroyed temples meant that either your god was weak, and couldn't protect himself, or that he left you and his temple behind. These people didn't believe that Jesus was the messiah. They said that even as far back since the fathers fell asleep that his coming was proclaimed but everything still continued as it has always done. Being conquered by Gentiles wasn't anything new. It had been happening way back in their history. Their languages were influenced by the Gentiles. From Aramaic to Greek their original Hebrew was denigrated to a liturgical language. The early church had to deal with this tried and true system. Hellenized Judaism with a complete perfectly working temple, priests, and animal sacrifices. With a little fledgling group claiming their Rabbi who was killed by the Roman was somehow still alive. Alive and now dwelling within them spiritually. Yet, the Judaizers could always tap a Christian neophyte on the shoulder and say,
"Look Hiram, didn't your dead Rabbi say that one stone will no longer sit upon another? That the whole house of God would be destroyed? Still looks good and in perfect working order to me." That was a good point, the teacher did say it was supposed to be destroyed and that not even one stone would remain upon another.
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