Epistle to the Hebrews of a structural quality, continuity, common to all the Epistles of St. Paul, and is, moreover, unerring evidence that his own pen must have also traced the argumentative sentences occupying the expanded Epistle in our New Testament to the Christian Israelites.

St. Peter affirms of St. Paul that in writing to the Hebrew Christians, he is " speaking extensively, λαλῶν. The actual writer of our Epistle to the Hebrews declares of himself:

"We have many things to say.”—Heb. 5. 11.

These marked coincidences of extensiveness and multiplicity demonstrate identity of authorship in St. Peter's Epitome of his St. Paul's Epistle and the Epistle to the Hebrews in our New Testament Canon.

3. The third historical coincidence; PERVERSION OF SCRIPTURE.

"The unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures hard to be understood."-2 Peter 3, 16.

"They wrest."

"

The Greek verb, στρεβλοῦσιν, here translated "wrest is in the Bible only in this place, and 2 Samuel 22. 27, where the English version expresses the verb by the word "froward.' But Psalm 17. (English Bible 18.) 27, defines the Greek original oτpeßlou, of "froward" by a verb, diaσtéyets, which means to pervert.

"Pervert dtaoτpéqov, the right ways of the Lord.”. Acts 13. 10.

When, therefore, "the unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures unto their own destruction," they pervert the Scriptures to the production of this fearful and immeasurable loss. They are precisely so represented by OTEẞhodow, in the Epistle St. Peter says St. Paul committed to writing.

Does the same representation of deadly Scripture-perversion exist in the Epistle to the Hebrews of the New Testament? Most undoubtedly. This fact we can now show most plainly and most fully.

We give below a translation required by the Greek of the passage, Heb. 6. 4-8, containing the destructive representation.

Impossible is it to renew unto repentance persons who were once enlightened, namely, by tasting the free-gift from heaven, and by becoming partakers of the Holy Spirit, and by tasting the good promise of God, namely the miracles of the Christian Age, and yet fall away; because they are crucifying to their own hurt the Son of God, and are putting Him to an open shame. For [to illustrate] land, which drinks in the rain oft coming upon it, and brings forth herbage fit for those on whose account the land is tilled, partakes of the blessing from God; but when bearing thorns and briers, it is worthless and near His curse, whose end is burning."

Both the destructive wresting of the Scriptures St. Peter assigns to his Compendium of the Epistle he attributes to St. Paul as its author, and also the deadly perversion of the Word from God, respecting Melchisedec, Heb. 5. II, the perversion so graphically and impres sively pictured in the portion of the New Testament Hebrews we have just repeated, are, it must be conceded, substantial identities.

Both in St. Peter and in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the persons, because fallen Christians, are the same, and their conduct is the same, perversion of the truth respecting Christ.

But in this coincidence of persons and conduct, as always elsewhere, identities are demonstrations that St. Paul wrought out by his own mind and pen our Epistle to the Hebrews.

The argument for St. Paul as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews furnished by the coincidences between St. Peter's language and that of this Epistle respecting the perversions of Scripture is greatly strengthened by two other facts:

I. Nowhere in the New Testament but in St. Peter's Epistle and in the Epistle to the Hebrews is there any mention whatever of the perversion of Scripture.

St. Peter mentions this perversion :

66

2 Epistle 3. 16.-The Epistle to the Hebrews menions it, 65, 6, tasted the good Word of God" [the written Book of Joshua 21. 45; 23. 15, kaldy pìμa], and "fall away."

2. With the exception of St. Peter, 2 Epistle 3. 16, St. Paul is the only New Testament writer who, under

his own hand, refers to the perversion of the substance of the Gospel, as preached, but not written.

There be some that would pervert the Gospel of Christ, preached unto you.”—Gal. 1. 7, 8.

In the Epistle to the Hebrews its writer refers to the same perversion "of the doctrine of Christ" as preached, but not written.-Heb. 6. I.

Only St. Paul, Gal. 1. 7,8, and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews ever make this reference to the perverted substance of the Gospel. Since the reference is thus exclusively the same, St. Paul and the writer of the Hebrews are the same persons and the same authors.

4. The fourth historical coincidence: SELF-DE

STRUCTION.

The concluding words of St. Peter's Summary of the Epistle he pronounces St. Paul's announce the self-destruction of the ignorant and unstable perverters of God's Revelations concerning the Melchisedec-Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Unto their own destruction.".
'—2 Peter 3. 16.

The meaning of this phrase is, Unto their self-destruction.

This sense of " their own," is sufficiently established by these two declarations in the New Testament.

(a) "He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory."-John 7. 18.

་་

Because speaking of himself he seeketh his self-glory. (b)" He that standeth steadfast in his heart hath power over his own will."-1 Cor. 7. 37.

His heart being the seat of his steadfastness, his power is over his self-will.

The monograph we have in the Third Historical Coincidence, already given from Heb. 6. 4-8, embodies reiterated evidences that the backsliders there exhibited to our view are self-destroyers.

1. They "fall away from Christ by their own will and act. The Aorist Tense announcing their fall expresses voluntary and self-controlled action. The Tense describes the process of the action. Παραπεσόντας, the Aorist of Habitude. Buttmann, N. T. Gram. p. 201.

2.

To their own hurt, savτõis, Heb. 6. 6, do they

crucify the Son of God. Their hurt is thus self-inflicted. 3. The land which represents these self-made apostates, bears thorns and briers of its own sterility.

Self-destruction is, for these conclusive reasons, the admonitory truth which characterizes both St. Peter's Compendium and Heb. 6. 4-8, and renders both the Compendium and this appalling passage identical in their beacon-light histories.

It is this very warning the Epistle to the Hebrews again emphasizes, and by its emphasized warning once more identifies itself with St. Peter's Epitome in its final

sentence

have received the

"If we sin wilfully after we knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour [destroy] the adversaries."-Heb. 10. 26, 27.

This Fourth Historical Coincidence, proving St. Paul the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, is very strongly confirmed by the additional facts we now exhibitI. In the New Testament only St. Peter and St. Paul apply the word "destruction to sinful men. 2. St. Peter uses the word àrwhelα, "destruction." 2 Epis. 3. 16.

3. St. Paul, in his Epistles bearing his name, uses this word ànolsta five times. [See Concordance.]

4. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews uses the word àñoleta, once, 10. 39, but he describes the fact of destruction eleven times, Heb. 2. 2, 3; 3. II; 4. 3, II; 6. 6, 8; 8. 9; 10. 26, 27, 29, 31; 12. 25.

St. Paul when addressing Gentiles employs the Greek Classic word, απώλεια. But when addressing Jews, Rom. 2. 3, he avoids àñoleta, and uses the term “escape," associated in their minds with flight from the avenger of blood to a city of refuge, Num. 35. 11-28, and from any pursuing enemy.-Ps. 68. 1.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews repeats this very usage of St. Paul in his address to the Jews.-Rom. 2. 3.

If the word spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape, if we neg

lect so great salvation?"-Heb. 2. 2, 3. See 12. 25. This repetition in Hebrews of the word " escape Romans is most instructive.

in

1. By the repetition St. Paul in Romans reappears in the Hebrews, and is, therefore, its writer.

2. The use by St. Paul in Romans of Jewish language when addressing Jews, fully explains much of the language in the Hebrews, which causes some interpreters to deny that St. Paul is its author. Admit that St. Paul writes in Hebrews as a Jew, just as he writes in Romans 2. 3, and the difficulties about the language of the Hebrews largely disappear.

II. THE VERBAL COINCIDENCES

between St. Peter's Epitome of the Epistle_he pronounces St. Paul's and the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, are three in number.

A verbal coincidence exists, when in separate passages, the words, though different in form, coincide in their signification.

1. The first verbal coincidence: DIFFICULT SUBJECTS.

The first verbal coincidence is between δυσνόητα, "things hard to be understood," 2 Peter 3. 16, and duasрurvevтos, a thing hard to be interpreted.-Heb. 5.

II.

The Greek of these two phrases is not found, except in these two places, either in the New Testament or in Bible Greek. This fact restricts most absolutely the reference of the two phrases solely to St. Paul.

The Difference Between a Reader and a Writer.

(a) As a reader, St. Peter could use only the phrase, Hard to be understood. His limitation is proved by the connection of the words "read" and " understand," in the New Testament. "Let him that readeth, understand,” ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω.—Mark 13. 14.

Things hard to be understood" by the reader. Subjects incapable in themselves of being fully understood by the reader is the sense of this phrase of St. Peter, δυσνόητα, Things hard to be understood."