So Christ is the Mediator of the New Testament, and redeems from under the transgression of the first, and ends it, and sprinkles the consciences and the hearts of his people with his blood, and ends the blood of the sacrifices that was offered and shed, which the people were sprinkled withal. And the Levites had the tenths for their service; but Christ’s blood which was shed, is the blood of the New Testament, which ends the blood of bulls and goats, and the Old Testament, which were sprinkled with their blood, and with which blood of Jesus the hearts and consciences of people are sprinkled from their dead works, to serve the living God.
And the apostle said, ‘the first covenant had ordinances of divine services, and a worldly sanctuary made with hands;’ and he said, ‘while the first tabernacle was standing, the holiest of all was not yet made manifest; but Christ being come, is an high priest of good things, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building of Aaron’s and Levi’s law, first covenant, first testament, with their carnal ordinances, worldly sanctuary, tithes, heave-offerings, nor outward temple at Jerusalem, where they brought their tithes unto.
So this worldly sanctuary, worldly temple, carnal ordinances, and the outward city Jerusalem, where they brought their tithes unto, and the priest that had the tithes for their service, and had no other inheritance in the land; all this Christ came to end, who is not of this building that was made with hands, nor after the order of Aaron, but of a more perfect tabernacle.
And so the first covenant grows old and decays, and is ready to vanish away: and so he is the Mediator of the New Testament, and so he ends the old with the covenant, and their carnal ordinances and sanctuary, their altar, and the priests of Levi and Aaron, and their order, and all their tithes which was their maintenance. So tithes are not their maintenance now from God; for the law by which they were made, is taken away; so their office and service is taken away, for which tithes was given them; for the tribe of Levi, which had no portion in the land by the law and command of God, but the tithes for his service.
Now the law, and service, and priesthood, and tithes, and offerings, and covenant, and order, and sanctuary, and tabernacle and testimony being taken away, and command that gave them the tithes and offerings, they may labor and buy a portion of land, for there is no tithes for them; and the apostle said, ‘he that will not work, must not eat.’ Now in the time of the law, and command of God for tithes, Levi the priest was not to eat it at all, nor to put it in his own particular barn, but the people were to carry it up to Jerusalem, which was the place the Lord did choose, and there the high priest was to offer up his heave-offerings of it, his tenth, and the Levite must not eat all the tithes himself, but the widows, fatherless, strangers, and the persons that gave it him, as you may see in Deu.12:18.
For they were not to eat it within their gates, but they were to eat at the place where the Lord did choose, and rejoice before the Lord, their sons and daughters, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and the strangers, and the fatherless, and widow, that is within your gates shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless thee, so all these must eat of the tithes with Levi, (which had no part nor inheritance with the children of Israel), but as I said before, Christ has ended and changed the Levitical priesthood.
His law that commanded tithes, and the high priest’s heave-offering of them, by the offering up of himself once for all, he has ended both the offerings and priest’s services, so Levi has no law to take tithes and wages, seeing he has no service for them; blessed be God who has sent his son, which is over the household of God, the household of faith, and of the Jews in spirit, as Moses was over the household of the outward Jews, with their tithes and offerings, and carnal ordinances, and outward temples, which all are put down by Christ, who remains a priest forever, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek.
And they were blessed that brought their tithes to the place which God had chosen, and did eat them there with Levi, and the sons, and daughters, menservants, maid-servants, strangers, fatherless, and widows, as in Deu.14.
And they were cursed that did not, for those who did not, robbed God and the whole nation, as in Mal 3, as it is said before. And the apostle said, ‘cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them;’ so you who take tithes, pretending the law and a command in scripture, and do not carry them to Jerusalem; and if it had been too far for you to carry it there, to turn into money; the place which the Lord God had chosen, which was the place of offering, where the high priest must have his heave-offering out of them, and the widows, strangers, fatherless, sons, and daughters, men-servants, and maidservants, and them that gave them, all might eat and praise the Lord together.
Now if you have not continued in all these things written in the book of the law, and done them according to the law; if you have not, cursed is everyone that continues not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. But those who are of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham, not as Levi, that paid tithes in Abraham, which after had a law, for the apostle cuts off the outward circumcision in Abraham, and so the law of tithes to Levi in Abraham, for the promise that Abraham should be heir of the world, was not to Abraham and his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith, and faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness, when he was in un-circumcision, and not in circumcision. Here the apostle cuts off, not only the Levitical priesthood and his law, but the circumcision and his law.’ Rom 4.
And the apostle said, ‘for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.’ (Gal 3:16) But Christ has redeemed us from under the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith.
All these outward things, tithes, offerings, and other shadows in the first covenant, held up by carnal ordinances, imposed on the Jews until the time of reformation by Christ; so their law is called a schoolmaster, and it served until the seed came; and a child differs nothing from a servant, but is under tutors and governors, until the time appointed of the Father; [mark,] then they were not always to be there in that state; even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world; now these outward things, the apostle calls them, Gal 4, the world’s elements; but when the fullness of their time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons; and because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father, therefore you are no more a servant but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ; so all that witness this, witness the time of his Father’s appointing, and the fullness of his time is come, and the time of reformation; and they are redeemed out of bondage from under the world’s elements, and they are redeemed from under the law, priest, tithes, and offerings, by him that is made under the law, and so from under the curse, by him that became a curse for us, and can say, ‘Christ is the end of the law for righteousness sake, to everyone that believes.’
So all the faithful walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham,* which he had before he was circumcised; for the promise that he should be heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith; and here the apostle cuts off the law of circumcision, and also the law by which the priest Levi was made, and received his tithes and offerings, and so the justification is in the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law that held up circumcision, nor the law by which the Levitical priesthood was made, and all his services, tithes, and maintenances for the priest and his services and maintenance, tithes and law, is put down and changed by Christ, who remains a priest forever; who had a better sacrifice than all those in the first covenant.
Christ is entered by his own blood into the holy place, that is not made with hands, as the Levites’ chief priest did, which were but figures of the true, but Christ the substance, is entered into heaven itself, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and now to appear in the presence of God for us, therefore he is able to save them to the utmost, that come unto God by him; seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them; for such an high priest became us believers and true Christians, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and is made higher than the heavens; so we need not daily those high priests that were made by the law, who offered up sacrifices for their own sins, and then for the people, who had tithes for their wages and maintenance; for Christ offered up himself once for all, and ended all outward offering; the law made high priests, who have infirmities, but the word of an oath which was since the law, makes the Son, who is consecrated and perfected forevermore. Heb.7:25-28.
Now of things which were spoken, this is the sum; we have such a high priest, (namely, Christ), who has ended Aaron’s priesthood, and his tithes, law, and offerings, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. And is a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle that the Lord has pitched, and not man. And so has obtained a more excellent ministry than that of Moses and Levi, by how much more also he is the Mediator of a better covenant than the first, which is established upon better promises, glory to God forever.
Abraham is the father of our faith. But Abraham did not just believe in God, his faith was a faith of obedience: The Lord said unto Abraham, ‘because you have obeyed my voice, all nations of the earth shall be blessed in your seed.’ Gen.26:5. Notice, he was not blessed because he believed in the one true God, he obeyed God’s voice. Just as Abraham had to be physically circumcised, we must have our hearts circumcised to be pleasing to God. As Abraham exercised his faith to leave his home for a new land – so we must lose our fleshly life and forsake the world to enter God’s Kingdom. As Abraham exercised his faith by obeying God’s voice, willing to sacrifice Isaac, so we too must be obedient to the voice of the Lord within, willing to give up anything the Lord tells us to. The evidence of Abraham’s faith was his obedience. The evidence of a Christian’s faith is obedience of the cross that produces the fruit of the Spirit.
And whereas you do allege what Christ said to the Pharisees in Luke 11:42, which said, ‘woe be unto you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God, these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone; to which I say, these things were before Christ was offered up, and the tenths of tenths was a heave offering, and Christ told them go offer to the priest for their cleansing, for he did not come to break the law, but to fulfill every jot and tittle of it; but when Christ was offered up once for all the offerings, then the high priests’ offerings and Levi’s tithe of mint and rue, … was ended.
Those who preached the gospel, said the Levitical priesthood was changed, and the law was changed, by which he http://www.biblesnet.com – Online Christian Library was made, and the command was disannulled that gave him his tithes for his services and offerings; and Christ was preached, and set up the unchangeable pries. So Christ the Priest by offering up himself, has ended the first priesthood and his offerings. Then Christ said to his apostles, ministers, and messengers, ‘freely you have received, freely give,’ so people may keep their tithe of mint, and their rue, and other herbs and things to themselves, for Christ has taken away the law that gave them. The apostle was to go without bag or scrip; therefore, they were not to take people’s mints and herbs, as the Levitical priesthood did by the law. Christ has changed this law and Levi, and put down his office; therefore, Levi has no power to take them of people, and therefore, people may keep them to themselves for where there is no law, there is no transgression for not paying of them. Christ remains an unchangeable Priest forever, who by the offering up himself, has ended all their offerings, and all people must come to God by him, who is consecrated a new and living way. Heb. 10:9-10,20.
So Christ has ended old Levi’s priesthood, with his old wages, his old tithes and offerings, his old altars, his old temple, his old carnal ordinances, his old offerings, his old washings, the old tabernacle made with hands, and his old testament, which is sprinkled with the blood of bulls and goats, his old covenant, the old worldly sanctuary, and the old shadows and sacrifices. Christ, I say, has ended all these things by the one offering and sacrificing of himself once for all, and is set down at the right hand of God above them all, and over them all. No one comes to God but through him, and by him; and Christ has appeared to put away sin, by the sacrificing of himself.
After Christ had offered one sacrifice for sins, he forever sat down at the right hand of God. So he has ended the Levitical priesthood that offered up for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people; so Christ I say has ended their work and their service; so likewise he has ended the tithes that were for their wages. And everyone’s faith is to stand in Christ the author of it, and to live by it, and walk by it, if they are justified, and come into the inheritance with faithful Abraham.
{The ministers of today tell you the law is dead, that all your past, present, and future sins are forgiven because you believe in Jesus. They excuse sin. And then they tell you that you must tithe. Can you see where they have everything turned around. Tithes are dead, but the moral law is not; they say the moral law is dead, but tithes are still required. The parts of the law that died were: ordinances, offerings, sacrifices, washings, ceremonies, rituals – which includes tithes. But these whitewashed tombs, pretending to be righteous representatives of Christ, take your money and excuse sin – Christendom is the religion of the beast, the religion of Satan – the exact opposite of what it should be.}
And after Christ was risen, he said unto his disciples, Luke 24, ‘while I was yet with you, I told you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the http://www.biblesnet.com – Online Christian Library law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me;’ so the law and the prophets are fulfilled in Christ, and he is the end of them; who is the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, the amen.
Divinity & Humanity 