READINGS FOR DECEMBER 18-24 

DECEMBER 18

Paul is no longer under house arrest when he wrote this letter to Titus. He made visits that are recorded in other writings that tell about Paul's travels to the furthermost reaches of the Roman Empire (which abruptly ended at Hadrian's Wall in Scotland). Monasteries, museums, cathedrals, and even the Vatican itself records Paul's travels into Western Europe. Paul went to other places, travels that are not recorded in the canonized Bible. In these other travels Paul established a faith in Jesus as the Messiah to the people of Western Europe. (see Acts 29) There is a link to a website that tells a bit about Paul's other travels.  http://www.matthewmcgee.org/paultime.htm

"After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects" (The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, Chapter 5).

Clement lived at the same time as Paul and had knowledge of Paul and his travels.

The letter to Titus is full of warnings about false teachers and false doctrine. Titus was a Greek believer taught and nurtured by Paul, who later became the overseer of the churches on the island of Crete. This letter helps us know how to train others to lead and teach. The church there was most likely started in Jerusalem at Pentecost.

We must remember that Paul was preaching to the Gentiles and his letters were to the leaders and teachers of the Gentile churches. Most of them did not have the background of the scrolls (the Old Testament). Possibly many of them worshiped pagan gods before being introduced to Jesus. Most of the believing Jews did have this background in the Old Testament. The Gentiles didn't have a moral code from God or even from their pagan gods. They weren't even looking for a messiah like the Jews were.

Titus 1:2

a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

Eternal life was promised to us before the beginning of time. These plans were established before the creation, before time (as we know it) began on the fourth day of creation. What an amazing thought! But not only does God promise eternal life through Jesus, He has promised us wisdom, destined for our glory before time began.  There will later come a time when time will end bringing everything to completion. 

1 Corinthians 2:7

No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

And not only does He promise us eternal life and wisdom and glory, He redeems us and He summons us by name!

Isaiah 43:1

But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

And not only does He summon us by name, He leads us out!

John 10:3

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Totally AMAZING! 

How do we “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive”? (Titus 2:10).  

There is a fine line between making the teaching attractive and compromising the truth.

Titus 2:15

These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise (disregard) you.

“Encourage and rebuke” is to build others up but to also hold others to account, as we should have someone to hold us to account. In other words, we need a "Barnabas" in our lives.

Believers should always be "...eager to do what is good.."

To be eager is to have a keen interest in something. In this case we should have a keen interest in doing good things. But, of course, it goes way beyond that. It also means that we should be burning with zeal, vehemently contending. So, not only should we have a keen interest in doing good things but we should be burning with zeal to be doing good things. That takes some effort!

DECEMBER 19

During the writing of the second letter to Timothy, Paul is once again in Rome. This time he is a prisoner in chains, not under house arrest. While we may want to think of Paul as having some amount of freedom and humane conditions while in prison, most likely that was not the case. For information on prisons at the time of Paul, go to this website.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14354155/Life-in-Prison-in-1ad

2 Timothy 2:9
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained.
Praise God, His Word is not chained!

Paul warns Timothy (and all of us) about godless men who are teaching in the church. Some very stinging words follow. "Their teaching will spread like gangrene." Could he be talking about the myths that he mentioned earlier? Paul hoped that God will lead them "to a knowledge of the truth" and "escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." Again Paul warns about quarreling over such matters. Arguing a case is one thing, but quarreling is going too far.

Paul warns us that there will be terrible times in the last days.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Sound familiar???  Having a form of godliness but denying its power is the description of the apostate church, church for the sake of church (churchianity or religiosity).

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What a powerful piece of Scripture this is! Check out the definitive words ALL, THOROUGHLY, and EVERY. All Scripture is God-breathed! That would include the Old Testament - after all the only Scripture they had at the writing of this letter would have been the Old Testament scrolls. And this mostly for the Jews. Many of the Gentiles had no background of the scrolls. The leaders of the early church really had their work cut out for them.  So often we want to focus on only those parts of Scripture that make us feel good.  But what about those verses that rebuke and correct?  First we are taught the right way to live and then it is through rebuking and correcting that we are trained in how to live a righteous life.

Paul mentions that he was "delivered from the lion's mouth". Was he delivered from being sent to the arena where Christians were thrown to the lions?

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
What a great statement of faith, from Paul or from any Believer in Jesus!

Paul mentions several people who had deserted him.  Luke remains with him. He asks Timothy to join him if possible, bringing with him Mark, as well as his cloak, the scrolls and especially the parchments. Scrolls had writing. Most likely the parchments were blank to be written on.

We would urge you to re-read 2 Timothy 4:9-18 and weep in remembrance of Paul!

DECEMBER 20

James was the half-brother of Jesus.  But notice James does not list that fact. He calls himself a “servant” of Jesus. Josephus, Jewish scholar/historian of the Roman army of Judea, says that James was the bishop of the church in Jerusalem. This would be the followers of the Way, made up mostly of the Messianic Jews there.

James 1:1-6
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

While James' letter is for all of us today, the writing of the letter is addressed specifically to the scattered tribes as far as Western Europe.

Greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Quite a tall order to consider all these trials and testings pure joy! Testing that comes our way is not for God to see what we will do. It’s for us to see what God will do through the testing. Can we have faith that is mature and complete without the trials, testing, and perseverance?

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

God gives wisdom generously to those who ask, if they believe and not doubt.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

It's very easy to listen to a pastor on Sunday morning and be lulled into an assumption that we don't need to do anything more than that, just listen to the pastor. We are deceived if we think that.

James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.

James makes it very clear in the previous two verses that merely listening to the Word or just believing there is a God is not enough. Those who just believe are “shadow makers” in the pews. The idea is not to just believe there is a God but instead believe in the God that is just. We must believe in Him, not just acknowledge He exists, even the demons do that.

James 3:2a
We all stumble in many ways.

And yet our ever faithful God catches us as we stumble and sets us back on the right track.

James 4:1-4
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

This scripture is often taken out of context. Look what comes after that.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 
Ouch!

There is so much "meat" in the book of Jude. Jude was the brother of James and also the half-brother of Jesus. Jude was most likely writing to Jewish believers and not to the Gentile churches. Gentile believers didn’t have the background of Hebrew and Jewish teaching to fall back on. Probably most of the Gentiles had had some deity they worshiped before being introduced to Messiah Jesus. This naturally polluted their ways of worship once they became “the church”. And they, no doubt were letting some of their pagan practices creep into their church. Jude was warning the Jewish believers, followers of The Way, of this. Are we any different in the church today mixing myths, fantasies, and pagan practices?

So Jude lays out a warning about false teaching and apostasy. But we all know that this apostasy or a falling away from the truth begins with apathetic people. Apathetic people are disinterested, unconcerned, lethargic, and basically lazy. Jude is saying to us that many will be led astray by this false teaching, especially if they are apathetic. However, we as believers in Jesus should not be led astray. We should be just the opposite of apathetic. We should be interested, concerned, enthusiastic, and energetic. While we will read about many warnings from Jude, we need to remember that we who are believers in Jesus as Messiah are different from the world. We need to act as we were!

DECEMBER 21

Peter addresses himself not as Simon but as Peter, “The Rock”, a name given to him by Jesus. He also acknowledges himself as an apostle, a “sent one”. He is writing to “strangers in the world”. Those to whom he is writing had been dispersed throughout a wide area. They are strangers, as we are strangers in an alien land. Our real home is in heaven. We are sojourners here, as they were there.

It seems that Peter may be strengthening and building on what Paul had started. If that is the case, it is a great example of two aspects of the gift of apostleship. One characteristic is that an apostle can blaze new ground and establish new ministry. Another characteristic of an apostle is that of empowering a ministry that may be floundering and breathe into it new life. In either case, Peter certainly was using his gift of apostleship. 

Peter tells us that we may suffer grief in all kinds of trials so that our faith may be proved genuine. Faith is proved genuine by persevering through many trials. If our faith crumbles under pressure, we probably haven’t had enough trials in our lives.   Salvation is secure even though our body may suffer. 

Peter mentions the prophets and searching intently for evidence of the coming of the Messiah.  This leads us to think that Peter was writing to people who would know of these Scriptures.

1 Peter 1:12b
Even angels long to look into these things.

Angels are curious about the gospel and salvation through Jesus, but they have no need of it. They cannot receive salvation because they are not equal with believers.

1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

We grow as Believers in Jesus much like we grow as babies and children. As we get nourishment from milk, we grow, and soon that nourishment is not enough. It isn’t healthy. It would not be healthy to give a child, or an adult, just milk. We need to move on to more solid food.  We should crave this pure spiritual milk, which nourishes us and causes us to grow spiritually.  But we must also as Paul states, "move on from the elementary teachings."

Peter says to that we are like living stones being built into a spiritual house, "offering spiritual sacrifices..."

Paul wrote something similar. 

Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 

1 Peter 2:25

For you were once like sheep going astray, but now have returned to the Shepherd...

Was Peter speaking to the Jews who had turned away from God and have returned?  Or is he speaking generally to those who are Believers but stray from the perfect path?

1 Peter 3:7b
…so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
What are some things that may hinder our prayers?

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

That’s why we all need to study the Bible, not just read the words, but really study. This is how we will be able to give correct answers.  The last part of the verse gives us warning to give these answers with gentleness and respect and not in an "in your face" kind of way.

Jesus "went and preached to the spirits in prison".  When the people were destroyed by the flood those evil spirits who had inhabited people suddenly had no one to inhabit. The only place they could go was back to the abyss. (see Jude) He didn’t preach a message of salvation.  He announced that He is the victor over sin and death.

1 Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

This was nearly 2,000 years ago. The beginning of the end had begun.

“Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”

We should not be distracted by anything, or as we are told earlier “so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Not being self-controlled and clear minded can hinder our prayers. 

1 Peter 4:16
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

What a great responsibility we have as Christians! We bear His Name!  Therefore we should display the qualities of His character.

1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

He didn’t say some things, or just the big stuff…he said ALL. He can handle it! He’s GOD!

1 Peter 5:8-9
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

There is nothing that Satan would like any better than to devour (Greek word  for devour is katapino and means  "to gulp entirely"). Satan seeks to devour our testimony, our witness. We must be alert to his schemes, and they are many. Peter tells us that we must “submit to God” and be “clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” and then we are told to “stand firm”!

Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are undergoing sufferings just because they bear His Name.

Peter exhorts the people concerning suffering by telling them that they must suffer "a little while" and after that they will be restored and made strong, firm, and steadfast. Was Peter speaking from experience? Think of what Peter suffered during the three days between Jesus' death (after Peter had denied Jesus) and the time that He appeared privately to Peter. What agony must Peter have suffered and what joy he felt to be restored! No wonder Peter could be strong, firm, and steadfast!

Peter mentions "She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings...", a sentence that implies present tense. Does this mean that Peter was in Babylon (60 miles southeast of Baghdad in modern day Iraq) when he wrote this letter?

DECEMBER 22

In 1 Peter he uses the name Peter, the Rock. Here in 2 Peter he addresses himself as Simon Peter. And he also describes himself as a servant of Jesus. 

2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Grace and peace in abundance are promised to us through Jesus. Only through Him do we get real peace. But we get that grace and peace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus. Peace increases as we know Him better. We cannot just know about Him, we must know Him.

2 Peter 1:4
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Peter lists the qualities necessary to go beyond knowledge and into love and he says, 

2 Peter 1:8

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We certainly do not want to be ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of Him, therefore we must possess those qualities in increasing measure.  Maybe we should go back and reread those qualities 

2 Peter 1:15
…and I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Boy, did he ever!!! You are remembering them now…here…wherever you are at this moment, as you are reading this.

2 Peter 1:18
We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Peter is referring to the Mount of Transfiguration in which he, James, and John witnessed the appearing of Moses, Elijah, along with Jesus.  They heard the voice of God telling them to listen to His Son. 

Peter, along with the other writers of the New Testament consistently warn of the dangers of false teaching. Peter uses the phrase, "exploit you with stories they have made up." We must be extremely careful of what we hear, see, or read. It must be consistent with Scripture and especially the teachings of Jesus.

In 2 Peter 1:16-21 Peter reminds us that the Old Testament prophecies were for the coming of the Messiah.  The New Testament prophecies are for the triumphant return of the Messiah.  Prophecies were (and are) as lights of hope until the day dawns and Jesus comes (or returns).

In the second chapter of 2 Peter, he warns of the danger of false teachers.  There are numerous parallels to the book of Jude.

2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

KJV uses “chains of darkness” in place of “gloomy dungeons”. Satan and his demons are like dogs on a chain. They are allowed to move and do only what God allows them to do depending on the length of their “chain”.  The word hell is the Greek word tartaroo.  The definition of this word is the Abyss, the home of the wicked where they await their future punishment.  This verse in 2 Peter is the only reference to tartaroo in the New Testament, and this is in reference to fallen angels, beings that cannot die and will suffer torment for eternity.

More details concerning this can be found in the book These Last Days Second Edition by Phil and Patti Moore. 

2 Peter 3:1
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.

If we read God’s Word we will be stimulated to wholesome thinking. If our minds are filled up with wholesome thinking, we won’t have room for unwholesome thinking. Peter tells us that this is his reason for writing both of the letters.

2 Peter 3:9a
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Or to quote my dad (Patti’s)…”I know you’ll keep your promises, Lord, I just wish you wouldn’t wait until the last minute.”

DECEMBER 23

There are many opinions on the author of the book of Hebrews. We believe it was a collaborative effort with Paul and some of his closest companions. Most researchers agree on the time frame of the writing and it would place the writing of Hebrews near the time of Paul's death. In his last recorded letter Paul asks Timothy to bring the scrolls, especially the parchments. Could it be that the parchments had no writing on them and that is what was used to write Hebrews?  He also asked Timothy to bring Mark with him. Luke was already there with him.

Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory (see Genesis 1 - He broke through the darkness of sin) and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

God spoke in the past through the prophets, the Old Testament. Now we have God speaking to us through His Son, the New Testament. Not only did Jesus create everything, He sustains it and keeps it together. There will come a time when He will stop sustaining everything and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (see 2 Peter)

Until we make the "Son" the center of our universe with all our lives revolving around Him, then we fall short of all God wants us to be.

There is an important teaching point in
Hebrews 1:6
Let all God's angels worship him.

There is a footnote from the Old Testament to which the writer refers.  The part of the verse that mentions the angels is not found in all Bible versions.  In fact, in e-sword only one version mentions Let all God's angels worship him. and that is the Brenton English Septuagint.  This led us on a search to find which Bible versions contained that part of the verse.  We found N.L.T. (New Living Translation).  Their sources include the Latin Vulgate, Syriac scrolls, the Greek Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Hebrews 1:14
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

This verse is a great comfort for those of us who have loved ones who are not yet believers. Even when they have not made a decision, angels are sent to serve them. This verse took us on a thought journey concerning holy angels and evil angels. It seems that only holy angels have the ability to manifest themselves in human form. Evil angels must inhabit some person or animal and are unable to manifest themselves in human form. They are however able to inhabit unbelievers, who are willing to accept them.

Hebrews 2:15
and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

How many believers live in fear of death? So many of us "worms" are afraid to go into the "cocoon" in order to emerge as a beautiful "butterfly". Jesus freed us from the fear of death.

Hebrews 3:6
But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

Courage and hope are built on the foundation of Jesus. We are His "house" while we sojourn here.

Hebrews 3:10-13
That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

The writer(s) or Hebrews tells us that God was angry with the generation of Moses and said that they would never enter His rest. They wandered around for forty years and were not allowed to go into the "Promised Land". If we substitute salvation for rest, we can make the connection that if we do not know His ways, if our hearts go astray, if we have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from God, we will not have His "rest" (salvation).

The "Today" that is mentioned in this passage is the first day of our eternity. Today begins at the moment of our conversion and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is what the criminal on the cross experienced.

Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

For the criminal, his "today", was the first day he believed and the first day of his eternity. On that "today", Jesus did not literally go to paradise.  He went in spirit to proclaim to the evil spirits in prison (tartaroo). He proclaimed His victory over sin and death. It wasn't until later after the resurrection that He presented Himself to God the Father in heaven.

Hebrews 3:19
So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

They don't have salvation, therefore no rest. The gospel was preached to Moses and the others in the desert. The message was of no value to them because they did not combine it with faith.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

How is the word of God living and active?

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We have this confidence in Him not in ourselves. It is approaching the throne without doubt or fear and with respect.

Hebrews 6:1-2
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

As Believers in Jesus we should have no need of laying again the basic foundations of the faith. We should know the fundamentals. These are the major "biggies".  We grow in our understanding of those areas that may be "fuzzy" for us.

Hebrews 6:7
Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.

Matthew 13:8
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Sounds as if we should drink in the nourishing "rain" and produce a crop of righteousness.

DECEMBER 24

For more insight into the promise God made to Abraham in which God swore by Himself read Genesis 15 again. In this passage in Genesis, the lamp represents Jesus as the light of the world and the furnace represents the lake of fire.

Ever wondered who Melchizedek is?

Hebrews 7:1
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,

Psalm 110:4
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

Hebrews 6:20
where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:3
Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

Still wondering??? If so read Hebrews 7 again.

In writing about the priests…
Hebrews 8:5
They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

We could think of the tabernacle as a foreshadowing of what is to come. Or we could think of the tabernacle as a shadow like the shadow of a person. A shadow is not the real thing. It is not a living, breathing, moving thing on its own.  But it is a shadow of the real thing.  The first covenant was incomplete.  The new covenant was complete in Jesus. Also, concerning the priesthood.  Neither Jesus nor Melchizedek were from the Levitical line and yet were priests.

The book of Hebrews is full of references comparing the old covenant to the new. The old law was based on works. A person had to DO something, again and again. The new law is based on grace. Jesus is the one who had to DO something once for all. All we have to DO is believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Hebrews 9:13-14
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Jesus cleanses our conscience. Sacrifices covered up the sin, and only temporarily, they didn’t cleanse the conscience.

Why did the Ark of the Covenant contain the jar of manna, Aaron's staff, and the stone tablets? Obviously they are there as reminders, but reminders of what?  Food for thought: The jar of manna reminds us that God miraculously provided for the daily needs of the people in the wilderness.  Aaron's staff that budded overnight and produced almonds may be a reminder of how God will miraculously provide for people at the beginning of the Millennium before crops have time to grow after the cleansing of the earth by fire.  The stone tablets remind us that the laws of God never change and are literally carved in stone.

Hebrews 9:22
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 9:28
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time,  not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Jesus has appeared "once for all at the end of the ages..."

Jesus instituted a new covenant at the end of "ages". These ages represent changes in man's relationship to God. The time periods can be broken down as:
1. Adam and Eve before the fall
2. Adam and Eve after the fall till Noah
3. Noah to Moses
4. Moses to Jesus

"...man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..."
The dead know nothing until the judgment. We await the judgment having no knowledge of the passage of time. (see also John 5)

Ecclesiastes 9:5
For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten.

Daily the priests stood to perform their duties implying that they had to continually sacrifice for the people. Jesus on the other hand, sacrificed once for all, mission accomplished, and then He sat at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 10:14
because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
We are being "made holy".  We are all “in process”. God isn’t finished with us yet.