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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman End
Of Time Advice End of the age prophecy
is a never-ending topic of discussion among Christians. How
close we are to the end is debatable, but however close we are, Hebrews
10:24 and 25 have some good advice for us.
"And let us watch
out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to
gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each
other, and all the more as you see the day approaching." Many think this verse
tells us not to stop attending church meetings, but is that how the
original, mostly Jewish Christians understood it? Might
there be a historically more fundamental meaning that we miss in our
English Bible? The Book of Hebrews was
originally written in Greek. Interestingly,
our English words "gather together" in "not neglecting to
gather together" are not translated from Greek but from the Hebrew
word "episynagoge." I
suggest this insertion is significant to how the original Jewish Christian
readers would have understood this text, which I think is beneficial for
us today. Such Hebrew words
as "episynagoge," "synagoge," and "synago" suggest a
gathering of people. These
words are rooted in Old Testament Judaism where God's people were gathered
together into a community of individuals living in right relationship with
God and each other. This
community provided all of the necessities for one's spiritual and material
well-being. It was central to
Jewish life. It was not just a
meeting, or an extra-curricular activity.
It was to be a counter-cultural community, distinguishing it from
other communities. The Jews seldom lived in
God's style of community. Synagoge,
a community became synagogue, a meeting place for a meeting.
Similarly, church, a community has become a meeting place for a
meeting we call church. Hebrews 10:24 and 25
encourage us to look out for one another as we spur each other on towards
love and good deeds. Practically
speaking, this cannot be fully realized in a meeting.
Looking out for one another with loving good deeds is effectively
realized outside of a meeting with those Jesus has placed us alongside in
church.
I believe we should not
neglect church meetings, but historically and grammatically speaking, I
also suggest Hebrews 10:24 and 25 tell us not to neglect our brothers and
sisters in Jesus. This is
important as the Day of the Lord, the end of the age draws near, as
Hebrews 10:25 states. The
anti-Christ culture that surrounds us will intensify, making things real
rough on us. We will certainly
need each other in those days. Just
attending a weekly meeting won't be of much help.
When I consider church
as being a counter-cultural community of Christians who live in supportive
relationships, I'm always reminded of 1 Corinthians 12:13.
There, Paul wrote that "we were all baptized [immersed] by one
Spirit into one body." That
is to say, the moment the Holy Spirit entered your life was also the
moment you were baptized or immersed into the Body of Christ, the lives of
those Jesus has placed you alongside in His New Testament community.
Not neglecting these relationships is how I believe the original
Jewish readers understood Hebrews 10:24 and 25.
It's a bit of good end time advice for us today.
Postscript
There are many
suggestions why the author of Hebrews inserted the Hebrew word
"episynagoge" into his Greek text instead of its Greek
equivalent "episunagoge" or "ekklesia."
The above is my suggestion.
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