Sermon Central
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Spacing Matters
Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Mar 18, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: If we renumber Hebrews 11 and 12 we can remove a misconception that many believe.
People seem to forget that the chapter divisions are not inspired, but placed to help us with reading. Unlike English, there were no capitals, punctuation or spaces in ancient Greek.
forgodsolovedtheworldthathegavehisonlybegottenson
or
FORGODSOLOVEDTHEWORLDTHATHEGAVEHISONLYBEGOTTENSON
A bit hard for us to read but we could adjust. Yet, reading all of the Scripture that way would take quiet a bit of adjustment of our brains.
Sometimes a split is made that causes confusion to the casual reader and allows some doctrines/traditions to be made out of them that are not true. If Hebrews 12:1,2 were actually Hebrews 11:41,42 it would clarify who the cloud of witnesses are and they are not our relatives looking down on us nor do they hang around us like guardian angels.
They might remember us like the rich man in Hell remembered his brothers, but then again that was before the saints were transferred to Glory. Heaven is likely to be a whole new thing. Since we have no data, we should not speculate. That only opens us up to all sorts of strange doctrines like praying to saints and anthropomorphisms to make us feel better or try to explain what God said neither eye has seen or ear heard.
Many of our songs and thoughts about Heaven are based upon our emotions, but not biblical fact. There are no antebellum mansions and that can be proven by studying Hebrew marriage customs. People do not become angels. We were created a little lower than them and we shall judge them, not become one of them. We will become as them in that we will no longer have marriage since there is no longer a need for reproduction as death is done.
There is to be no sorrow in Heaven and if our loved ones could look down and see us in our sorrow or trouble and things they wish they would have been apart of there would be sorrow.
All of those people mentioned in Hebrews 11 are our cloud of witnesses. Placing Hebrews 12:1,2 in Hebrews 11 allows us to keep those verses in context. There are other such breaks so make sure you read before a verse and after it. Sometimes you have to go forward two verses to get the clear picture and in some cases go back five verse to get the correct picture of a verse or two you are wondering about or heard preached.
