And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11)
Dear fellow laborers in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Greetings yet again from the Breakers! July and August have zoomed by so quickly. Is it just me, or is time going by much faster than it used to when we were kids? Whether it is or not, Christ’s return can’t come soon enough for me. Even so come Lord Jesus! But until he returns, we serve him amidst times of absolute joy and unexpected pain.
HAVING DIFFICULTIES WALKING
The end of July I fell off a ladder while painting the house, and I hurt my left leg pretty bad. I don’t know if I broke the bone, as I didn’t go to a doctor, but I was left unable to walk for several weeks. My Mom’s a nurse and she thinks I bruised the bone, broke a blood vessel and maybe did some nerve damage. But, I am now walking again on my own, and hobbling around with the use of a cane. My leg is very weak though and I’ll have to do some exercise therapy to get it back in shape. Thank God it wasn’t any worse! But I now have a nice-sized bump on the bone to remind me of my fall!
HAVING PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK
While down with a bum leg, I had a lot of time to think these last two months as I rested and read my Bible, and God has shown me a few things. I’m going to enclose them with this prayer letter in the hopes that they will be stimulating. (Iron sharpeneth iron, Amen?). One is on the teaching of the “atonement” and what that actually entails. Did you know there are two parts to the atonement? There are. I’m also enclosing my new Gospel Tract entitled, “Have you received the Atonement?” I think it’s pretty good, but I’ll let you be the judge.
The other deals with the question of when the book of Hebrews was written. There are some who say that it couldn’t possibly have been written by Paul, and they deny his authorship. For me, I’m just a King James Bible Believer, so when my Bible says: “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews,” I believe it! Yet there are many who claim that what’s written in Hebrews doesn’t line up with the doctrine of Paul’s other epistles. I believe I might know the answer why, and it still keeps Paul as the author of the Book. I hope it too will stimulate you to much thought, as the Book of Hebrews is probably the greatest book in the Bible about the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And, if it is indeed Paul’s first epistle, as I propose, then that means that the foundation of Christianity is indeed based upon Blood Atonement.
HAVING OPPORTUNITIES TO WITNESS
When I did start walking again, the Lord opened some doors to witness to Hispanic people. Laura and I love to Garage Sale on Saturdays, as it’s a great way to meet people, witness, and pass out tracts. Often we see Hispanic people there, and I enjoy speaking with them and giving them Gospel tracts. One Saturday in Pensacola, I met an older man named Eugenio (Eugene in English) from Cuba and gave him and his family a few gospel tracts. Please pray for their salvation. I’ve seen them twice and enjoy speaking with them.
Probably the saddest thing I saw in August was a Sinner walking down the street in the town we live in. He had no shirt on, and in big letters on his back was a tattoo which read, “HELL BOUND!” How sad! People are not only going to Hell today, but they are proud of it, and want others to know they are going there. I didn’t get a chance to speak to the young man, but I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately praying for his salvation. I hope you’ll do the same.
I also have had many opportunities to speak with people on the phone who call me up and ask me Bible questions. They find my website and seek to speak with me. I can’t tell you how many people have contacted us this way, and it’s quite a blessing to minister to them. The Bible tells us to reach the world for Christ, and what a great way to do so today through the WORLD-WIDE WEB. Amen?
Anyway, thanks again for all your prayers and support. We love you all and thank you for your faithfulness.
Because of Christ Jesus our Lord,
Robert Breaker
1 Sam. 12:24!
A Little Something Extra God Showed me Lately
As you know I preach hard about the Blood Atonement. That is because very few today do so. This really bothers me, as it’s the foundation of Christianity. Salvation through blood atonement is the crux of Christianity, and what sets it apart from other “religions!” For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission (Heb. 9:22). And it is the blood that forgives (Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14)!
Thus, I have always been active to point out the importance of trusting the blood of Jesus, shed for our sins. We are clearly instructed in the scriptures to “trust the blood” or to put our “faith in the blood” (Rom. 3:25). And in Romans we see that justification is by three things:
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by FAITH without the deeds of the law.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his BLOOD, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Therefore, justification, (or salvation), according to the above scriptures are by three things: GRACE, FAITH, and BLOOD, or better stated:
We are justified by God’s GRACE through our FAITH in Jesus’ BLOOD!
But as I’ve read the scriptures more lately, I’ve learned something that I believe needs to be pointed out, that is, the importance not only of the shedding of blood, but also the offering of blood as well. You see, I’ve said it for years, and maybe you have as well, that sinners should trust the “shed blood” of Jesus Christ for salvation. But speaking just about the SHED blood is only speaking of the blood on the cross. I’ve found I was omitting the final part of the atonement, which is the OFFERING of that shed blood before God.
Let’s look at a couple of Old Testament verses in order to make this clear:
Leviticus 1:4 “And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make ATONEMENT for him.”
Leviticus 4:26 And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
Leviticus 5:10 And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
In the Old Testament, there were two parts to a blood atonement. First, was the shedding of the blood of the animal, and in Leviticus, we are told that the Sinner himself had to cut the throat of the sacrifice. That is HE shed the blood. But even though he did that, he didn’t receive the atonement until THE PRIEST took the blood and offered it for him. So, the first verse above says that his animal sacrifice shall be (future tense) accepted to make an atonement for the Sinner. But the other verses say that the atonement wasn’t actually made for him until the shed blood was OFFERED by the priest on his behalf. In other words, blood had to be shed, but then it also had to be offered before God accepted it and forgave the Sinner.
Now looking at the New Testament, we see Jesus as our sacrificial blood atonement. He not only SHED his own blood, but HE was the HIGH PRIEST who himself took His own blood up to the mercy seat and OFFERED it before God. Hebrews 9:12 illustrates this clearly: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
If we take the Old Testament type and apply it to Christ, then it is THERE ON THE ALTAR IN HEAVEN that we find the finished atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s not just that Jesus shed his blood here on earth, but that he also offered it to God in heaven for us. Thus, when we trust the blood of Jesus, we are trusting not only in the shed blood, but also in the offered blood as well! For that is what completed the atonement!
This might sound strange to some, but the scriptures clearly teach that TRUSTING THE BLOOD ATONEMENT of Jesus consists of trusting in the all encompassing finished work of Jesus Christ. He not only shed His blood here on earth, He also sprinkled it in heaven before God. It is a completed atonement consisting of two parts. Thus, when we trust the blood of Jesus for salvation, we are accepting His finished blood atonement for our sins! This is why the Gospel is not just that Jesus died (shedding his blood), but that he also was buried, and RESURRECTED from the dead (for after he arose he offered his blood to God).
I’ve added a gospel tract that I’ve written lately about “Atonement” with this prayer letter. I hope it will be a blessing to you. This message really needs to be gotten out! Jesus not only offers his blood to all today for salvation, but 2000 years ago he offered it to God as well. God accepted that offering, how about you?
WHEN WAS HEBREWS WRITTEN?
If you look at some Bibles, you’ll see a note that says the book of Hebrews was written in about 64 A.D. But this doesn’t make sense. Why would Paul write an epistle at such a late date that doesn’t sound like the rest of his other epistles? And why would he write to Hebrews (Jews) if he was the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13)? It just doesn’t make much sense! That is, unless you look at the book itself and compare scripture with scripture, and then it makes sense that Hebrews was not only written by Paul, but most likely penned much earlier than once believed, and it appears the last chapter was quite possibly added on by him at a later date. Let’s explore this idea.
At the end of the book of Hebrews, in chapter 13, we read of Timothy, who we know was with Paul toward the end of his life, and we find the whole chapter is very different from the rest of the book. What if, and I throw this out as a theory, and am not teaching this as some “peculiar doctrine” that I adhere to, but what if chapter 13 was tacked on by Paul at a later date, possibly sometime around 64 A.D., right before Paul died? And what if the first 12 chapters were written by Paul early in his ministry, during the events taking place fairly early in the book of Acts?
If this be so, then we would find evidence of this, right? Well, there’s something interesting in the book of Second Timothy that gives us something to ponder, something that I always wondered why it was written there at all. In 2 Timothy 4:13 we read Paul’s command to Timothy, in which he says: “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the BOOKS, but especially THE PARCHMENTS.”
Here we have Paul requesting Timothy to bring several things to him before he dies. Could the “books” refer to the Books of the Bible? And what are the “parchments,” and why does Paul “especially” want them? Could one of those “books” or “parchments” be his own epistle to the Hebrews, written years before?
What if at that time Paul was asking Timothy to bring him his own epistles which he wrote aforetime, and what if it is at that time that Paul added chapter 13 to his epistle of Hebrews? That would make perfect sense, wouldn’t it? For the last chapter clearly doesn’t read much like the rest of the book. And since Timothy is mentioned by name, doesn’t that just make more sense? Let’s look at some strong evidence that might prove this to be the case.
1. The Book of Hebrews (written to HEBREWS, which are JEWS) without chapter 13 would have only 12 chapters, just like there are 12 tribes of Israel. Also, chapter 12 ends with verse 29 speaking of a “consuming fire.” What a great way to end a message, with HELL! Amen?
2. What the book of Hebrews deals with seems to correspond much with what’s spoken about early in the book of Acts, which we know is a transition book in which God goes from the Jews to the Gentiles. In Acts 7 the Jewish leaders reject their Messiah for the third time, with the stoning of Stephen, and we find chapter 8 begins with “And Saul,” (which we know to be Paul). God then later chose Paul to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, but Paul first preaches to Jews. What if Paul wrote the book of Hebrews to the Jews at this time, before taking the Gospel to the Gentiles?
3. As the book of Acts goes on we find some things taking place and changing until eventually the Gospel is set in stone. What are those things? Peter first preaches to Jews and he often preaches repentance and water Baptism. He also preaches in believing in Jesus’ name (or in WHO Jesus was—i.e. the Jewish Messiah). And, there is a lot of “laying on of hands” to get the Holy Spirit. But as time goes on, this transitions to preaching salvation by faith alone, and justification through Jesus and WHAT he did for the Sinner. And the Jewish stuff is slowly phased out, as Paul goes to the Gentiles with the message of the Gospel. This would certainly explain Hebrews chapter six where Paul says in verse 2 and 3: “Of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment, and this will we do, if God permit.” At that time, God went from Peter’s preaching of “baptism FOR the remission of Sins” to the Jews, to a Believer’s Baptism, or being baptized AFTER one is saved. Eventually, Paul’s emphasis was on the Gospel alone, and not on water baptism at all (1 Cor. 1:17). Also, the “laying on of hands” was no longer necessary in order to get the Holy Ghost as the book of Acts progressed. And finally the “resurrection of the dead” sounds like the signs God gave the Jewish apostles, and we remember that Peter did raise the dead in Acts 9.
4. There are places in Hebrews which make it sound that a person can lose their salvation. But Paul is clear we cannot today, as we are eternally secure in Christ. Could it apply to Acts then, in a time when a Jewish believer could have rejected Christ and reverted back to Judaism (i.e. keeping the law like those at Galacia that Paul warns against).
5. If Paul is the author of Hebrews, which I strongly believe, that means he wrote 14 books all total. (Without him writing Hebrews, you have only 13, and that’s not a good number!) If you divide those 14 books into what some call “pre-prison” and “post-prison” epistles, you have something interesting. Paul wrote 7 pre and 7 post-prison epistles. (We know what seven means, right? It’s the number of completion!) But the only way to make it seven and seven is to put Hebrews as a PRE-PRISON epistle. That would make it like this:
PRE-PRISON EPISTLES:
Rom., 1 Cor., 2 Cor., Gal., 1 Thess., 2 Thess., and Heb.
POST PRISON EPISTLES:
Eph., Phil, 1 Tim., 2 Tim., Col., Titus, and Philemon
6. In Galatians chapter one we read of Paul’s testimony of what he did after he was saved. In verses 16-18 we find Paul going to Arabia and Damascus, and then after three years going to Jerusalem to see Peter, where he abode with him fifteen days. Could Paul have penned the book of Hebrews during that time, and then spread it to the Jewish Believers through Peter? It’s interesting, as Arabia is where Mt. Sinai is (Gal. 4:25), and that’s where the law was given to Moses. Could Paul have written scripture in Arabia as well? And did he write it for the Jews before he went to the Gentiles? It’s certainly worth further study. For Hebrews is very “Jewish” in content, speaking often of “priests” and it continually puts them down while exalting Jesus Christ as the only true High Priest. This would certainly be a slap in the face to the Pharisees and Sadducees of the time which continually persecuted the early Church.
7. Finally, the content of chapter 13 and the order of the writing of Paul’s epistles show that Hebrews is hard pressed to be dated around 64 A.D. as it is so different from his other contemporary writings.
The order of the epistles of Paul are as follows:
1 Thes. 49 A.D.
2 Thes. 52-54 A.D.
Galatians 57-58 A.D.
1 Cor. 57-58 A.D.
Romans 58-60 A.D.
2 Cor. 60 A.D.
Ephesians 62 A.D.
Phil. 62-64 A.D.
Col. 64 A.D.
Philemon 64 A.D.
Titus 65 A.D.
1 Tim. 65-68 A.D.
2 Tim. 66-68 A.D.
Notice I left Hebrews out, because it just doesn’t seem to fit with his other writings during the time. Why doesn’t the entire book of Hebrews sound like what he wrote in Phil., Col., Philemon, etc., if it was supposedly written in 64 A.D.? Why so many references to Judaism in the book, if Paul during that time was supposed to be reaching the Gentiles for Christ?
When we actually look at the first 12 chapters of Hebrews, we find a writing style that almost sounds like a great learned “Lawyer” (which was what Paul was when he first got saved), and only chap. 13 sounds like the Paul we know in the Church age, which is further proof that he probably wrote chapters 1-12 first when he ran in Judaism, and then years later as an apostle to the Gentiles he tacked on chap 13 towards the end of his life and ministry.
So there it is. Take it or leave it. But I do hope you will study it out more. I’ve enjoyed reading Hebrews and Acts over and over and trying to see if Hebrews (chapters 1-12) could have possibly been written sometime before 49 A.D. by Paul. And it seems to fit! It’s also strengthened my faith. For if it’s true, then it is proves the importance of the blood atonement to the early Church, and it would also answer the question why Paul didn’t mention “blood atonement” too often in his other books. It was already the foundation of Christianity and so ingrained in the minds of believers that he didn’t need to address it much! If this idea be so, then it appears Paul didn’t want people to forget to read his epistle of Hebrews, even though it didn’t line up completely with Church age doctrine to us Gentiles, so that’s why he tacked on chapter 13, and addressed it to Christians before he died. As the author of the book of Hebrews, Paul certainly could have added to his work anytime he liked, adding an extra chapter whenever he desired to do so. It makes sense to me. How about you?
Like I said, I’m not teaching this dogmatically. I just throw it out there and hope you’ll toss it around. It’s an interesting thought, and would definitely explain why Paul told Timothy to bring the books and parchments to him in jail before he died. Timothy, then, would be the reason why we have Hebrews chapter 13, for had he not brought the books to Paul, then Paul might never have penned the final chapter of Hebrews, and Timothy might never have had it with him to give to others. (By the way, if you want a fun study, go verse by verse from Hebrews chapter 13 and compare it to Paul’s other writings, for it does sound a lot like Paul in his other epistles written around the same time, while the rest of Hebrews does not).
