Hebrews 12:1 NRSVUE
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

Since I wrote the piece on humanity’s destiny being permanently tied to the earth, I have decided to keep putting out short posts to address the conceivable whatabouts bound to emerge. In this piece, I want to address the famous text above.

Hebrews has a long history of torturing exegetes, especially those who come to it with unyielding preconceived notions. This work is full of warnings and encouragements to believing Christians facing severe hardship. The author draws copiously on the Hebrew Bible to encourage believers. For instance:

Hebrews 2:1-3 NRSVUE
[1] Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. [2] For if the message declared through angels proved valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, [3] how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was confirmed for us by those who heard him,

The contrast here is that just as unbelieving Israelites perished in the Hebrew Bible, so will believers perish, even more severely, if they “neglect so great a salvation.” Of course, much of Western Christianity has strongly disagreed on the question of the perseverance of the saint – whether a believer can forfeit salvation. I’m not going to rehash the points, but I will include links to my entries on the various positions below. But if we read Hebrews on its own terms, there is no escaping the fact that the author believed and argued that a Christian can forfeit salvation. But that does not have to happen precisely because of Jesus. The first 10 chapters detail Christ’s priestly work, established on firmer grounds than the Levites’. Jesus has opened access to God in ways the old order of priestly functions only dreamt of. Indeed, Jesus is right now functioning as a priest on humanity’s behalf as he intercedes for us: