This is Part 3 in a 4 part introduction to Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews.
We have been studying Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews from the perspective that Paul knew God would be dealing with the nation of Israel in the Tribulation to bring them to their national new birth. You see evidence of this truth when you read the following words in certain passages in Hebrews.
Brethren – Heb 2:11, 12, 16, 17 – when these folks are referred to as “brethren” of the Lord Jesus, Paul is specifically talking about Israel. See the similar use of the word “brethren” in connection with Israel in Deut 18:15 and Matt 25:40. Both of these references are to Jews as brethren of the Lord. Paul called Jesus the “seed of Abraham” in Heb 2, helping us to understand that he is referring specifically to Jesus’s relationship to Israel.
End – Heb 3:6 – “the end” is a reference to the end of the world about which Jesus spoke in Matt 24:3, 13. Jews in the Tribulation [Matt 24:21] will have to endure to the end to be saved. Contrast Heb 3:6, referring to the house of God, with Eph 2:19-22. When you are saved in the church age, you are in the household of God permanently. In the Tribulation a Jew is in house if he holds fast… “unto the end.” Contrast Heb 3:14 with Eph 5:30-32 and Eph 2:6. In the church age, we are in Christ permanently. In the Tribulation a Jew is a partaker of Christ if he holds “steadfast unto the end.” Contrast 1 Cor 12. Therefore, a Jew in the Tribulation only has assurance of his salvation if he is diligent to maintain his faith and patience “unto the end,” [Heb 6:11-12].
Impossible – Heb 6:4-6 – therefore, because a Jew can lose his salvation in the Tribulation by falling away, Paul said it is impossible to renew him again to repentance. This is vastly different than the eternal security of the church age. Consider the young man in 1 Cor 5:1-5. His fornication caused him to be separated from the congregation and turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. Nevertheless, he repented according to 2 Cor 2 and he was forgiven and restored to the fellowship of the church. Even the church repented in 2 Cor 7. He didn’t lose his salvation and it was possible to renew him again to repentance. Heb 6:4-6 is compared to Heb 10:38-39. In the Tribulation, some draw back to perdition while others believe to the saving of the soul. Look at Heb 10:26-31. The willful sin in the context would be something like unbelief, rejection of Jesus Christ, or taking the mark of the beast. Those sins would be like crucifying Jesus Christ all over again
Conclusion: So, you see that there are some things written in Hebrews that perfectly address the condition of Jews during the Tribulation. Only a remnant will be saved. They are the remnant of Christ’s “brethren” who hold fast “to the end” and who do not “fall away” and “draw back to perdition” before Jesus returns.