RachelYsrael

My given name is Rachel. My given family name is Israel. I would love to speak with you privately. I don't speak THAT language, because my people were sold into slavery. We don't know that language, therefore. It's OK to speak English to me - the language of the present captors of my enslaved people. We broke the 10 Commandments and were cast out of our homeland. I wait patiently for the end of all things, and for my family to be restored to Jerusalem. The following verses tell what God would do to HIS people if they did not obey His law. If we believe the Bible, then the following verses are talking about a specific group of people. God said He would do these things to His people for a SIGN...A sign tells you what something is. If we believe the Bible, and I do, then these verses tell me who I am. Kind of lenghty, but very specific to God's people Israel. One group fits this profile. Please read with me.... Deu 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Deu 28:16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Deu 28:17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Deu 28:18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Deu 28:19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. Deu 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. Deu 28:21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. Deu 28:22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. Deu 28:23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. Deu 28:24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. Deu 28:25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. Deu 28:26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. Deu 28:27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. Deu 28:28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: Deu 28:29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. Deu 28:30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. Deu 28:31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine foot shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. Deu 28:32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. Deu 28:33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: Deu 28:34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. Deu 28:35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. Deu 28:36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. Deu 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. Deu 28:38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. Deu 28:39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. Deu 28:40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Deu 28:41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. Deu 28:42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. Deu 28:43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. Deu 28:44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Deu 28:45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: Deu 28:46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Deu 28:47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Deu 28:48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. Deu 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; Deu 28:50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: Deu 28:51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. Deu 28:52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. Deu 28:53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: Deu 28:54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: Deu 28:55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. Deu 28:56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, Deu 28:57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. Deu 28:58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Deu 28:59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Deu 28:60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Deu 28:61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. Deu 28:62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. Deu 28:63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. Deu 28:64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. Deu 28:65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: Deu 28:66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: Deu 28:67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. Deu 28:68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

The Gentiles were/are grafted into Israel. The Gentiles and the rest of the sons of Adam became a part of the commonwealth of Israel. The Church was started in the Wilderness. All Israel shall be saved. Jesus Crist is the Minister of the Circumcision - The Sons of ABRAHAM by Believing. Jesus Christ is the King of Israel. Not on person who is not an Israelite wrote one word in the Bible. At the End, all the world will be keeping the Sabbath and Feast Days given to Israel, and the Strangers among them. Read Revelation 19 again, and throw in Isaiah 50-56 while you are at it. It may help your understanding a bit. Not a lot, but maybe a little. RachelYisrael

Yes, Waysider... I have kicked that around, and a few of my friends as well. God split the languages in Genesis after He divided the earth between Shem, Ham and Japheth. But the people were rebellious and didn't go where He sent them. So he split the languages. Somewhere in the Prophets it talks about returning everyone to a pure language, and everyone will once again speak one language. Another thing I have mused on....The internet is (In my opinion) the modern day Tower of Babel... Rachel

"Baruch Ha Shem, Rachel Yishrael" The word tongues in Corinthians means language. The word unknown is in italics, meaning it has been added by the translators. The above statement - Baruch Ha Shem, Rachel Yishrael Is you speaking in tongues to me - I don't speak that language, nor do I understand it. But you do - apparently. I speak English - With other languages (english, French or German - Whatever language they speak I suppose) will I speak to this people, and they still won't hear me, sayeth the LORD. Peace, Rachel Ysrael

Hi there, My point is that while he spoke against the catholic church, he maintained much of its teaching and doctrine. Like Martin Luther, who split from them and forming the protestant (?) denomination, there was/is very little difference in the beliefs and practices. (I can't remember right now specifically, but I think the one of the few things M.L. did away with was indulgences). The things I mentioned previously about food, sunday ect. is straight out of the Roman Catholic religion. It is not Biblical, and you will not find those things being practiced by the first christians in the Bible. It just is not there. So, while vpw may have spoke strongly against RCC - He continued in and maintained their doctrine. There is similarities also between the Nunnery/Preisthood with the WOW and Corp sexually. We all know homosexuality and sex among the priests and nuns is a very real issue in the RCC. There have been thousands of stories since the dark ages of mass baby graves - babies of nuns and priests. And now the thing with priests molesting children. You put people in close quarters together and tell them to remain celibate. Not gonna happen. The first commandment given was to be fruitful, and God blessed each and every one of us with the desire and will to obey that commandment. VP put single people and families together, under one roof to "move the Word" and caused them all to sin by the rampant illicit sex that can't but help to occur when men and women - or men/men - women/women live in such close quarters. They have sex. With each other. Very few people have enough restraint to not do it, at least once. That's why we all know the absolute HORROR stories about sex in the way. Just like in the catholic church. I know many may disagree with me, and that's OK. But there are more similarities in doctrine and practice than differences. Sure he SPOKE against the RCC. But he taught what they teach. Repackaged, for sure, but if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck... Rachel

I beg to differ on VP being anti-catholic. 95% of ALL madern christianity is catholic. I am suprised at the forgetfulness about everything concerning Martin Luther. He broke from the catholic church aver divorce, but he didn't change much. Christmas Easter Sunday Worship Eating Unclean Animals All this is from Rome. If Jesus himself appeared in the flesh and told a christian to keep the Sabbath or don't eat pork there would be the familiar fight. Christians didn't eat pork until around 325AD. They also kept the traditional Sabbath until Emporer Constintine, under the threat death forced christians to do sun worship and called it the new christian sabbath day. Same with christmas and that old tree - which has very specific prohibitions in Jeremiah 10. All this came from what has evolved into the catholic church. To me, it's very sad that we can read the Bible, and then do what we want and say it's OK because of "traditions of men" Rachel

I know this thread has come and gone, but it has caught my attention just the same. I have learned SO MUCH sisnce the way days, and as I look at the SIT occurences, my understanding has ... expanded (?) Looking at Acts 2, the first thing I see is Israelites keeping an annual High Day - A Sabbath. When it says it was "fully come" , I don't think it means it was 3000 years in the making, I think it means the sun had come up. Biblically, the day starts at sundown. To God, the day starts at sundown (full dark) even today. So when the sun rose, they were smack dab in the middle of the day, literally. There we thousands and thousands of Israelites coverged on the Holy City for this feast. It is a commandment to this day that it be observed by believers. (Yes, even Christians, and I can show you another time) All these people spoke different languages. Picture the U.N. The miracle on this day was not that they "12" were speaking another language (I don't believe the were, by the way) but that they were UNDERSTOOD in the listener's language. "Do we not HEAR them speak in out tongue the wonderful works of God"? The emphasis was not on the ones speaking, but the ones hearing. Other place throughout Acts indicate the same thing - The emphisis is always on the ones hearing. Even when "the holy spirit fell on them as it did us in the beginning", the listeners heard in their own language. It doesn't say the speaker spoke another language. (Pretty slick, huh?) Now, this is just me (we may not find out until The End) But, I believe the spoke their own language, every time, and the miracle was for the people that heard it. So, what are we doing when we SIT? I have no idea. There are more things in heaven and earth.... The Bible says we shall give an account of every (idle) word Matt 12:36 And Paul says Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? He said if comes to them with tongues, if it is not with knowledge or revelation or prophecying....Wait a minute. I thought you don't know what you are saying when you speak in tongues, right? So, how could Paul speak in tongues with knowledge, or revelation...And the point he was making was to speak so everybody could understand.(in a common language) Even when he said: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. The mphasis is not on him, but the hearer. I haven't got this all worked out, but to me, there is more scriptural evidence that tongues is a miracle for the hearer, than the speaker talking in a laguage they don't know. That's my 2 cents.

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

I am looking for them - Would love to see how they are. Used to live in Hayward CA. If anyone knows where they are please let me know. Thanks, Rachel

As I go over my notes from those days, I marvel at how we were taught to study the Bible. I appreciate and am truly thankful for the PFAL class. I know that may sound a bit demented, but I took those keys and ran with it. What really sucks balls (I got that from my 14 year old) is while we were learning something so absolutely wonderfl, we were being brain-washed into not using those keys. Here something: The Bible can be (forgot that part) In the verse, in the context and where it was used before. So, take something like this: Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; I see a condition there. I have to continue in the faith in order to be presented unblameable. But that way taught once and always. This bothered me, but I was taught not to question doctrine. But if I use the keys, then I can go from Genesis to Revelation and prove these verses. Things like this really bother me, and they bothered me then. I still use the PFAL tools to study, but I have found myself targeting EVERYTHING we learned. I guess I am still a radical at heart.

I remember when I took the class a statement vpw made about God telling him He would teach vp the word like it wasn't known since the 1st century if he would teach it to others. I remember liking the fact that the way was radical, different. They taught Speaking in Tongues!!! Jesus Christ was NOT God!!! They proved the Rapture. It was so different than what "traditional" christianity taught. Everybody kicked against it. Many of us lost our lifelong friends and became estranged from our families because of that doctrine. I know my family prayed for me on a daily basis. (And thank God they did) Now every church, especially COGIC, and even the Catholics teach PFAL. Have any of you considered this? Old vpw really did what he said God told him to. It's pretty fuzzy in my mind now, how we managed to change "church" doctrine, but he/we did it. The things we thought were so radical biblically has become common place in American christian churches. After dumping out all that old way wine, and really finding the Word of God, I began to question everything we learned in PFAL. I am sure you all did it too. Jesus said: Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. I THINK this means that whatever most are doing and believing in terms of christianity is wrong. He said the gate is straight and the way narrow that leads to life. Few find it. But everybody believes PFAL. These verses sent me on a quest through my Bible, and while I have many things to share with everybody in the world, I want to share this first one. Let me say though, the Rapture doctrine always scared the crap out me, so this is one of the first things I looked into when I recovered. Here goes, and I would love some feedback. It's just some verses, not what I think about them, yet. (Please not the Trumpets. There are specific ones in the Bible) Have a Great Day, Rachel Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

I read this when it was first posted and considered it. I have read over the responses and they all sound beautiful. I know the verses quoted start ell on into the chapter, but if you look at it from the beginning, Paul is re-affirming obedeince, telling them to keep the law. Which I believe is an act of love and obedience. (If you Love Jesus, keep His Commandments) Anyway, I hold that Not One Blessed Thing in the New Testement is New. I believe Paul was talking about a specific time, using imagery from the "Old Testement" (I really hate that old and new stuff - I see it as one book - Can't have one without the other) Anyway, we are instructed to be like Jesus, right? Paul told us mimic him, because he does just what Jesus does. (I think it behooves us to really go through the Gospels and see what habits Jesus kept and try to keep them as well) So, the following is prophecy about Jesus, in the last days, which is often referred to as a specific day. I think the verses in question are tellin us to be like Jesus, prepared, in that last Evil Day. (As I do not believe the rapture myth, this is not a problem to or for me). Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. IAnd he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. So, what is the practical application? Keep His COmmandments, and get ready. There is battle coming. I for one want to be the one throwing the rocks, not the one getting hit. We have to put the word in our minds, not Dr Phil or Joyce Meyer.

I agree, Pond. I am old-fashioned. I believe the Bible contains everything pertaining to Life and Godliness. There's not much else that need to be written, and I am very suspicious of "prophecies" that contradict the written word. Rachel

]How do I get the command prompts out of my wonderful tag and my posts, like this one? Is there some secret?

OK, I haven't been around in while, and I want to do some things. Get active. Participate. First - How do I do all that stuff in my personal page? I want to write some things about me and I just cant figure it out. Next - How do I fully utilize this dialog / posting window I am typing into right now? I see all the command buttons but it's just not working for me. Any suggestions and/or comments appreciated. I want to post some pic, and maybe Haiku, term papers, recipes for Kalua ect. Thanks, Rachel

this for fun so we could think about some hard questions When do you believe the seed of Christ is planted? 1. seed of Christ planted when? The seed of Christ is planted when you hear the word. Faith comes by hearing - The sower soweth the word (plant and sow are the same) 2. When does new birth come? I believe the New Birth happens when we get our new bodies - Jesus is the only and first begotten or born from the dead at this time. 3. How long must I wait for the return of Christ after my death? Don't have to wait - just wake up, like taking a nap. 4. Why must I sat in the grave until ? Hmmm. I don't understand. I think - We will get up when Jesus returns, if we are dead. If we are still alive when He returns, we will be born again then - Changed. 5. Did Christ have sex? Jesus was in all pints tempted like us, yet without sin. There is no record of Him marrying, so I would have to say no, He never had sex. yes lets ask the odd questions just for fun thank you with love and a holy kiss blowing your way Roy

Maybe this will help. www.zabasearch.com (Edited to remove phone and address info. Forwarded the info to Connerron)

I'd just like to hear other's well considered opinions. There's gotta be others besides my first choice. Hi All, I haven't been around in a while, so long I forgot my log in and had to join up again. This topic caught my eye, though. I understand the reasoning of why many think it couldn't be Paul that wrote this, mainly because it doesn't say "Paul" anywhere in the book, and the writing style is different than the epistles of Paul to the Gentiles. I think the audience is the source of the confusion for most people. We know that Paul was sent to the Gentiles to do what Peter refused to do. Everyone assumes because Paul was officially sent to the Gentiles that he didn't witness or communicate with Israel any longer. I think that Paul had a very tender relaitionship with the believing Israelites. We know from scripture that he went to Jerusalem often, keeping the Feast Days, the Sabbath and he also took money to them from the Gentile churches. Given all that, if you stop to think about it, would it be a stretch to believe that he also wrote to the Israelites? As you read Hebrews, you clearly see the writer is writing about things that pertain to Isreal. A great portion of Hebrews is teaching the transition from the Law of Animal Sactifice, which Jesus ended, to Jesus being the complete and final offering. Animal sacrifice was the foundation to and of redemption up until Jesus' death, and it was a great stumbling block to Israel, so much so that I believe the Israelites that still did it after the Ressurection taught the Galatians to do it. (I believe this is waht Paul was referring to when He asked them who had bewitched them). Gal 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Paul taught that the Body of Christ was not divided - Even if his office was to teach the Gentiles, that did not exclude him from teaching Israel, did it? As to the writing style of Hebrews - Of course it would be different than Romans - Thessalonians. Paul said he fed the Gentiles with milk and not with meat. This tells me that those first seven books are the ABC's of believing. The Gentiles had NO KNOWLEDGE of the God of Israel. When you read Hebrews, James, Peter and the Epistles of John, you see WORK. Which I believe is the meat of the walk with Jesus. God is merciful, but eventually you have to take what you have learned and do it. Which is what those epistles teach. They exhort the reader to do something - If you love God, keep His Commandments. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ (which Israel already knew through the Royal Law) not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctines of baptisms ect. These are what the 7 epistles of Paul teach - and Hebrews teaches how to walk. Not even how, but just do it. I believe Paul wrote Hebrews, to his physical brothers in Christ. He wrote to them the meat of the Word, which they understood. But since Paul's writings are hard to be understood, many fight with it, because they haven't moved on to perfection, by DOING IT. I am absolutely positive someone is going to kick against my pricks, but somebody here wanted another point of view. Hebrews 2:3 - How shall we escape a just recompence of reward for disobediance if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first - When the LORD gave the 10 cammandments. It was confirmed by the people when they said all that Moses has told us we will do. God bare witness after that with great signs and wonders, so much so that the people were afraid and told Moses to tell God please don't speak to us anymore. And yes, there were gifts of the Holy Spirit given on that day - read the record in Exodus. There is nothing written in the New Testament that is not in the Old. Rachel