Conversion, persecution, and malaise : life in the community for which Hebrews was written

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Authors

Koester, Craig R., 1953-

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Volume Title

Publisher

Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria

Abstract

Hebrews was written for Christians whose situation had developed as a result of several stages. Firstly the readers’ community was established when the message of salvation led to conversion and was confirmed by experiencing miracles and a sense of the Spirit’s presence. Secondly, during a time of persecution conditions became more difficult but the community remained steadfast in the wake of abuse, dispossession, and imprisonment and was not pressurised into relinquishing their commitments. During the third stage, conditions within the community seemed to deteriorate as ongoing friction with non-Christians and the demands of mutual support within the Christian community evidently moved some to exhibit a diminished commitment to the faith and to neglect the community’s gatherings. In response, the author develops the contrast between the seen and the unseen in order to address the apparent contradiction between the promises of glory that drew them to faith and the inglorious experience of life in the world. The author seeks to bolster the readers’ confidence by showing that Jesus’ suffering was followed by exaltation to heavenly glory and that Jesus’ followers can be confident that God will also bring others who suffer into the glory that has been promised to them.

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Spine cut of Journal binding and pages scanned on flatbed EPSON Expression 10000 XL; 400dpi; text/lineart - black and white - stored to Tiff Derivation: Abbyy Fine Reader v.9 work with PNG-format (black and white); Photoshop CS3; Adobe Acrobat v.9 Web display format PDF

Keywords

Hebrews

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Koester, CR 2005, 'Conversion, persecution, and malaise: Life in the community for which Hebrews was written', HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies, vol. 61, no. 1&2, pp. 231-251.[http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/issue/archive]