True believers in Jesus Christ are strangers and aliens on the earth - The nation of Israel is not the promised land

And they admitted that they are aliens and aliens on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for their homeland. (Hebrews 11:13-14)

by Brian Shilhavy

Hebrews 11 is often referred to by Christians as the “Faith Chapter” in the New Testament part of the Bible, with its long list of “heroes of faith” in the Old Testament.

This is the chapter that should define “faith” with the following verses:

Now faith is the belief of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

And it is impossible to please God without faith, because whoever comes to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him.. (Hebrews 11:6)

But this chapter, in the context of the entire book of Hebrews, is not only a display of “heroes of faith.” This is the last chapter that concludes the debate about the superiority of the New Testament over the Old Testament.

In previous chapters we have discussed the superiority of Jesus Christ over the Law of Moses as well as the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ and how the “household of God” has now replaced the temple.

This chapter, chapter 11, is about the promise made to Abraham under the Old Testament that his descendants would inherit the “promised land” forever, which is the majority of Christians today, the nation of Israel, and it clearly shows that this promise has nothing to do with the nation of Israel or any other nation on earth.

And, of course, none of the believers mentioned in this chapter were “heroes” during their lifetime. They were strangers in their own society.

Some faced ridicule and whipping, others were chained and imprisoned.

They were stoned; they were cut in two; they were killed by the sword. They walked in the skins of sheep and goats, were poor, persecuted and mistreated.the world did not deserve them.

They wandered in the desert and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground. All these were commended for their faith, but none of them received what was promised. (Hebrews 11:36-39)

There is no promised land on earth

As I said in a recent article on the Gentile position of High Priest held by JesusHebrews was written by Paul as a legal summary that argues that the New Testament is superior to the Old Testament, and it is a masterpiece of rhetoric (the art of persuasion and argument) in ancient literature.

Chapter 11 is the climax of this discussion, with the promise made to Abraham about the “promised land” showing that even the Old Testament saints who lived in ancient Israel did not actually enter the “promised land”.

This is the logic that Paul wrote in the first 16 verses of the 11th chapter of Hebrews.

Now faith is the belief of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. This is what the ancients praised for it.

By faith, we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen, from what was not visible.

By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain. By faith he was declared a righteous man, when God spoke well of his gifts. And by faith he speaks even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, that he should not see death; He could not find him because God had taken him.

For before he was taken away, he was described as a person pleasing to God.

And it is impossible to please God without faith, because whoever comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

By faith, Noah, when warned of things not yet seen, built an ark in holy fear to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes through faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, although he did not know where he was going.

By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a strange land; he lived in tents like Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs of the same promise.

Because he was impatiently waiting for the foundation city, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith, Abraham, although he was old and Sarah herself barren, allowed him to become a father, because he considered her faithful as he had promised.

Thus, from this one man, and as dead, came generations, as numerous as the stars in the sky and countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive what was promised; they only saw them and greeted them from afar.

And they admitted that they are aliens and aliens on earth.

People who say such things show that they are looking for their homeland. If they thought about the country they left, they would have the opportunity to return.

Instead, they longed for a better country—a heavenly country.

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:1-16)

Having concluded his argument, Paul now applies this truth to the Old Testament saints, showing how their faith produced a lifestyle in Hebrews 11 and the following chapters.

When you read the 11th chapter of Hebrews and read the description of people of faith according to the Old Testament, compare it with the American Christians today who claim to live by faith. when they gathered last weekend to honor their hero in the “faith” Donald Trump.

By faith Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God tested him. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his only son, even though God had told him:

“Your descendants are counted through Isaac.”

Abraham thought God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he brought Isaac back from the dead.

By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau about their future.

By faith, Jacob, when he died, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and leaned on his staff and worshiped.

By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, spoke of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

With faith, Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was not an ordinary child and they were not afraid of the king’s order.

By faith, Moses, when he grew up, refused to be recognized as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

He chose to misbehave with God’s people rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He considered disgrace for the sake of Christ more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, because he was waiting for his reward..

By faith, he did not fear the anger of the king and left Egypt; He was patient because He saw the Invisible.

By faith he performed the Passover and the sprinkling of blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

With faith, people passed through the Red Sea, as if on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do this, they drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after the people marched around them for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot was not killed with the rebels because she welcomed the spies.

And what else can I say?

I don’t have time to talk about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, did justice and got what was promised; who stopped the mouths of the lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped from the edge of the sword; whose weakness had turned into a strength; who became powerful in war and defeated foreign armies.

The women brought back their dead and came back to life.

Others were tortured and refused to be releasedto get a better recovery.

Some they faced ridicule and flogging, others were chained and imprisoned.

They were stoned; they were cut in two; they were killed by the sword.

They walked in the skins of sheep and goats, were poor, persecuted and mistreated.the world did not deserve them. They wandered in the desert and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.

All these were commended for their faith, but none of them received what was promised.

God designed something better for us so that they could be perfected only with us. (Hebrews 11:17-40)

True people of faith are always the minority because they go against the crowd and the “heroes” of their culture and we suffer for it.

Deluded Christians who believe that Israel and the United States are special and more privileged than other nations because they are the “chosen ones” and then flock to places like Washington DC to worship with millions of other people who believe as they do, are not people who live by faith. in Jesus Christuntil we enter our “promised land” to endure the sufferings of this world, which Jesus also suffered.

No, these “believers” who worship their heroes, believe in the world and the leaders of this world, who all serve Satan. See: