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"In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2). Since Jesus is the Son of God, He is the heir of all that God possesses. When Christ first came to earth He became poor for our sakes, that we, through His poverty, might be made rich (2 Cor. 8:9). He had nothing for Himself—He had "nowhere to lay His head" (Luke 9:58). Even His clothes were taken from Him when He died, and He was buried in a tomb that belonged to someone else. It is beyond our...

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Heb. 1:1-2). Jesus not only brought but in fact was God’s full and final revelation. A Samaritan woman declared, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us" (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer...

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Heb. 1:1-2). The Old Testament is but a sample of what is revealed in the New Testament. When Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets [the Old Testament]; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17), He was affirming that Scripture progressed from promise to fulfillment, from partial to complete. We call that progressive revelation. For example, the Old...

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Heb. 1:1-2). Man can’t discover God on his own; God must reveal Himself to man. Since the beginning of time, man has deceived himself by thinking he can discover God through various religions. But in reality, man lives in a box enclosed within the walls of time and space. God is outside the box, and man senses He's there but can't get to Him. Each new religion is but another...

"The point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Heb. 8:1). Since Jesus serves as our High Priest, we have access to God. Access to God was always a problem for the Jewish people. Exodus 33:20 declares that no man can see God and live. Once each year, on the great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Jewish high priest entered into the Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt in a unique sense, to approach...

"God . . . has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:1-3). Christ is superior to everyone and everything. The book of Hebrews was addressed to an audience composed of Jewish Christians, Jewish non-Christians who were intellectually convinced about Jesus but...

"By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace" (Heb. 11:31). Rahab illustrates the depth and breadth of God’s amazing grace. Our final Old Testament hero of faith is an unlikely addition to the list. Not only was she a prostitute, she also was a Gentile—and a Canaanite at that. The Canaanites were an idolatrous, barbaric, debauched people, infamous even among pagans for their immorality and cruelty. Yet in the midst of that exceedingly wicked society, Rahab came to faith in the God of Israel. Joshua 2:9-11...

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days" (Heb. 11:30). Faith is the key to spiritual conquest. Forty years had lapsed since the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land. That unbelieving generation had perished in the wilderness. Now Joshua was leading a new generation into the land. The first obstacle they faced was Jericho—a well- fortified city that was near the mouth of the Jordan River. Some city walls of that day were wide enough at the top to allow two chariots to ride side-by-side. That was probably true of Jericho...

The Apostle Paul warned in 2 Timothy 4:3 that a time would come when people would no longer endure sound doctrine but rather turn to whatever it is that causes them pleasure in a world filled with hatred and rebellion toward God. What could be more rebellious toward a holy and righteous God than denying yourself as you were created by Him and instead, turning to the myth of cross-dressing and pretending to be someone of the opposite sex? We expect the world to act this way—the Scriptures are replete with examples of societies being turned over to sexual anarchy...

In the past, we have alerted you to the disturbing reality that First Baptist Church Orlando, a Southern Baptist megachurch located in Orlando, Florida, has openly been baptizing practicing homosexuals. Shockingly, there has been a complete lack of accountability from the Southern Baptist Convention regarding these egregious actions to this day. As early as 2016, The Dissenter shed light on First Baptist Church Orlando’s surrender to the ideologies of the gay movement, exposing how the church not only welcomed a group of homosexuals onto their pulpit following the Pulse Nightclub shooting but also allowed another pastor to declare that the...

"By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned" (Heb. 11:28-29). The man or woman of faith gratefully accepts all God’s provisions, no matter how pointless some of them may seem. When the time came for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, everything on the human level said it couldn't be done. Pharaoh wasn't about to let two to...

Moses considered "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen" (Heb. 11:26-27). When you suffer for Christ, you bear His reproach. How could Moses, who lived 1,500 years before Christ, bear His reproach? Christ is the Greek form of the Hebrew title Messiah, the Anointed One. Many Old Testament personalities were spoken of as being anointed for special service to the Lord. Some have suggested that Moses was thinking...

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin" (Heb. 11:24-25). The world has little to offer compared to the riches of Christ. For forty years Moses enjoyed the best of everything Egypt had to offer: formidable wealth, culture, education, and prestige (Acts 7:22). Yet he never forgot God's promises toward his own people, Israel. Then, "when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons...

"By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones" (Heb. 11:22). God uses your present circumstances to accomplish His future purposes. Like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph was an heir to the covenant promises of God. His hope was firmly fixed on God, and he knew that some day his people would be at home in the Promised Land. Although he spent all his adult life in Egypt, never seeing the Promised Land for himself, Joseph's faith never wavered. At the end of his life, he...

"By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped" (Heb. 11:21). Jacob’s life typifies the spiritual pilgrimage from selfishness to submission. Jacob's life can be outlined in three phases: A stolen blessing, a conditional commitment, and a sincere supplication. From the very beginning it was God's intention to bless Jacob in a special way. But Jacob, whose name means "trickster," "supplanter," or "usurper," tricked his father into blessing him instead of his older brother, Esau (Gen. 27:1-29). As a result, Jacob had to flee from Esau and spend fourteen years herding flocks for...

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come" (Heb. 11:20). When you disobey God, you forfeit joy and blessing. Isaac is a fascinating Old Testament character. He was Abraham's long-awaited son, the covenant child, the child of promise. Yet aside from that, he was rather ordinary, passive, and quiet. Just over two chapters of Genesis center on him, whereas the other patriarchs (Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph) command about twelve chapters each. In the final analysis, Isaac believed God and submitted to His will. But overall, his spiritual character seems more reluctant than resolute. After a famine...

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones" (Heb. 11:20-22). Faith triumphs over death. Commentator Matthew Henry said, "Though the grace of faith is of universal use throughout the Christian's life, yet it is especially so when we come to die. Faith has its great work to do at the...

Sheryl Crow inspired and entertained the world with another hit song years ago. She sang: “If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad.” In our plights to fulfill ourselves, find ourselves, or make ourselves happy, we do all kinds of things today. Because we can. We turn to cat videos, the all-you-can-eat buffet, TikTok, online games, life coaches, self-help programs, “Christian” yoga, YouTube and podcasts, music-on-demand, and TV and movies any place, any time. We can even filter out the commercials. We have our favorite meal order queued up on our phones. Our own Instagram page shows our...

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac your descendants shall be called.' He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead" (Heb. 11:17-19). A willingness to sacrifice something precious to you is proof of genuine faith. John Bunyan had a little blind daughter, for whom he had a special love. When he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, he was deeply concerned about his family, especially that little girl....