INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS
The book of Hebrews appeared at a critical time in the history of the early church. The destruction of Jerusalem was impending- they loved Jerusalem, the city of the living God and from Christ's saying, they concluded the destruction would likely take place in their day. Christ was coming again; of that there could be no doubt. The Old Testament prophets so declared; and Christ had confirmed their statements. But apparently, He was not coming immediately. They found by studying Christ's promises that the end could not come until the gospel had been preached in all the world; Matthew 24:14 was not fulfilled. Also, there were to be signs in the heavens; these signs had not appeared, nor had the powers of heaven been shaken. (Matt 24: 29, 30.) They clung to the promises of His soon return and passed by others that gave balance to Christ's promises. This attitude caused Paul to issue a warning in his second letter to the Thessalonian church, which evidently believ...