Hebrews 6:19-20 Commentary

Updated: Sun, 08/31/2025 - 16:00 By admin

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CONSIDER JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
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The Epistle to the Hebrews
INSTRUCTION Hebrews 1-10:18				EXHORTATION Hebrews 10:19-13:25
Superior Person of Christ Hebrews 1:1-4:13	Superior Priest in Christ Hebrews 4:14-10:18			Superior Life In Christ Hebrews 10:19-13:25
BETTER THAN PERSON Hebrews 1:1-4:13	BETTER PRIESTHOOD Heb 4:14-7:28	BETTER COVENANT Heb 8:1-13	BETTER SACRIFICE Heb 9:1-10:18	BETTER LIFE
MAJESTY OF CHRIST	MINISTRY OF CHRIST			MINISTERS FOR CHRIST
DOCTRINE				DUTY
DATE WRITTEN: ca. 64-68AD

See ESV Study Bible "Introduction to Hebrews"
(See also MacArthur's Introduction to Hebrews)

Borrow Ryrie Study Bible

Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: en os agkuran echomen (1PPAI) tes psuches asphale te kai bebaian kai eiserchomenen (PMPFSA) eis to esoteron tou katapetasmatos

BGT ἣν ὡς ἄγκυραν ἔχομεν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀσφαλῆ τε καὶ βεβαίαν καὶ εἰσερχομένην εἰς τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος,

Amplified: [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil, [Lev. 16:2.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: This hope is to us like an anchor, safe and sure, and it enters with us into the inner court beyond the veil. (Westminster Press)

KJV: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

NKJ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,

NLT: This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the very certainty of God himself in Heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf, (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: which [hope] we are having as an anchor of the soul both stable and steadfast and which anchor enters into the place within the veil,

Young's Literal: which we have, as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and entering into that within the veil

NET We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,

CSB We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

ESV We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

NIV We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

MIT This hope we hold on to as a firm and reliable anchor secured inside the veil.

NJB This is the anchor our souls have, reaching right through inside the curtain

NRS We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,

RSV We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain,

NAB This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,

GWN We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives. This confidence goes into the holy place behind the curtain

BBE And this hope is like a strong band for our souls, fixed and certain, and going in to that which is inside the veil;

ASV which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil;

PARAPHRASES:

Our hope is like an anchor for the soul—secure and unshakable—reaching into God’s presence behind the curtain.

This hope steadies our lives like an anchor, firm and dependable, pulling us into the inner sanctuary where God dwells.

We possess a hope that is an anchor for our souls—certain, stable, and already entering beyond the veil.

Our hope serves as the soul’s anchor, unwavering and reliable, holding fast as it extends into the Holy of Holies.

This hope we cling to is an anchor that keeps our souls steady and safe, drawing us into the very presence of God.

Hope is the anchor of our lives, firm and secure, reaching right into the sanctuary behind the veil.

We hold onto hope as the anchor of our souls—a hope both unshakable and dependable—that brings us into the presence of God Himself.

As an anchor Ac 27:29,40
Hope - Col 1:5. 1Th 5:8. 1Pe 1:3, 4; Acts 27:29,40
Soul Lk 9:24. Ps 103:1. Lk 1:46
both sure and steadfast - Ps 42:5,11 43:5 62:5,6 146:5,6 Isa 12:2 25:3,4 28:16 Jer 17:7,8 Ro 4:16 5:5-10 8:28-39 1Co 15:58 2Ti 2:19
enters - Heb 4:16 9:3,7 10:20,21 Lev 16:2,15 Mt 27:51 Eph 2:6 Col 3:1
Hebrews 6 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Related Passages:

1 Timothy 1:1+ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

Colossians 1:5+ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel

Hebrews 2:1+ For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

Exodus 26:33+ “You shall hang up the veil (LXX = katapetasma) under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within (LXX = esoteros) the veil (LXX = katapetasma); and the veil (LXX = katapetasma) shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.

Leviticus 16:2+ The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside (LXX = esoteros) the veil (LXX = katapetasma), before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.

Matthew 27:51+ (THE VEIL TORE WHEN JESUS' EXPIRED, HIS TORN FLESH SYMBOLIZED BY THE TORN VEIL) And behold, the veil (katapetasma) of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

⚓
HOPE THE ANCHOR
OUR OUR SOUL

This hope we have (echo - present tense = continuous possession) as (simile) an anchor (agkura) of the soul (psuche), a hope both sure (asphales) and steadfast (bebaios) and one which enters (eiserchomai - present tense = continuous) within (esoteros) the veil (katapetasma) - Amplified adds a comment - "it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it." The pronoun this reaches back to hope in Hebrews 6:18 but the actual word Hope is not in the Greek but is added by NASB although they did not italicize it (in the first use) as they usually do when they are indicating an addition of a word which is not present in the original Greek text! Literally the Greek reads "which like anchor we continually have" with obvious subject being "Hope".

Remember that a believer's hope is
not "hope so" but "hope sure!"

We have (echo - present tense = continuous possession) indicates we keep on having this hope. The word AS introduces the figure of speech (simile) anchor (agkura). Hope functions like an anchor of the soul (psuche), the inner person/life, the mind, will, emotions. Hope stabilizes the whole inner life.

Spurgeon on anchor - The design of an anchor, of course, is to hold the vessel firmly to one place when winds and currents would otherwise remove it. God has given us certain truths, which are intended to hold our minds fast to truth, holiness, perseverance—in a word, to hold us to Himself.

From sermon The Anchor - The ship may not need an anchor in calm waters; when upon a broad ocean a little drifting may not be a very serious matter. But there are conditions of weather in which an anchor becomes altogether essential. When a gale is rushing toward the shore, blowing great guns, and the vessel cannot hold her course, but must surely be driven upon an iron-bound coast, then the anchor is worth its weight in gold. If the good ship cannot be anchored, there will be nothing left of her in a very short time but here and there a spar. The gallant vessel will go to pieces, and every mariner be drowned; now is the time to let down the anchor, the best bower anchor if you will, and let the good ship defy the wind.
Our God does not intend His people to be shipwrecked. Shipwrecked and lost, however, they would be if they were not held fast in the hour of temptation. If every wind of doctrine whirled you about at its will, you would soon be drifted far away from the truth as it is in Jesus, and concerning it you would make shipwreck. But you cost your Lord too dear for Him to lose you. He bought you at too great a price, and sets too great a store by you for Him to see you broken to pieces on the rocks. Therefore He has provided for you a glorious holdfast, that when Satan’s temptations, your own corruptions, and the trials of the world assail you, hope may be the anchor of your soul, both sure and steadfast.

Richard Phillips on anchor - Anchors are a clear and familiar image of security, yet there is something special about this anchor in Hebrews 6:19. Every other anchor goes down into the sea, but this one goes up into heaven. The anchor of a ship goes down beneath the waves to a place unseen to hold us secure, but this anchor of our hope goes up to a place where by faith we can see “into the inner place behind the curtain” (Heb. 6:19). What a powerful portrayal of Christian hope, which is like no other hope in this world. For others, hope is mere wishing; it is wanting but not having.....unlike the hope of the world, which goes nowhere and has no anchor, our hope in Christ goes before us into heaven, where it is anchored in the unchanging character of God and the oath he has sworn

Both sure (asphales) and steadfast (bebaios) are two similar adjectives piled up for force (See KW for more detail). Sure (asphales) means safe, certain, secure (negates fall/”slip”) and emphasizes safety from loss. The point is that our hope in Christ is not fragile or tentative but fully trustworthy—something that cannot fail or collapse. In (Acts 21:34 = "facts") asphales describes the truth, the facts which are certain and definite. Asphales was used in Greek to describe friends and the like as unfailing. In the present context asphales speaks of something that cannot be made to totter when put to the test.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul,
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll.
Anchored to the rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.
-- Priscilla Owens (1882)

Steadfast (bebaios) means firm, stable, reliable, guaranteed (used of a legally ratified claim) and emphasizes validity/guarantee. Steadfast (bebaios) speaks of something which does not break down under the weight of something that steps on it. Wuest amplifies these two adjectives writing "This hope which the believing soul has in the Lord Jesus is an anchor of the soul which cannot be made to totter nor break down when put under stress and strain." (Wuest)

Spurgeon - both firm and steadfast Notice that our hold on the anchor should be a present thing and a conscious matter, for we read, “we have this hope.” We are conscious that we have it. No one among us has any right to be at peace if he does not know that he has obtained a good hope through grace. May you all be able to say, “we have this hope.”

One which enters (eiserchomai - present tense = continuously enters) within (esoteros) the veil (katapetasma). Note some version favor it is the hope which enters in (NASB, Heb 6:18ESV, Heb 6:18RSV) but others favor leave it more vague, so that it could be either hope or the anchor which enters within the veil. One way to resolve this is to combine hope and anchor is to say it is the hope which enters with the veil and the anchor is the metaphor which describes the hope's function (stability, security, prevention of drift). To say it another way, it is hope that enters within the veil and is described as an anchor because of what hope does — it secures the soul and ties it firmly to God’s presence in Christ.

It is notable that the writer has repeatedly used this verb (eiserchomai) in his description of entering (belief) or not entering (unbelief) God's rest (Heb. 3:11; Heb. 3:18; Heb. 3:19; Heb. 4:1; Heb. 4:3; Heb. 4:5; Heb. 4:6; Heb. 4:10; Heb. 4:11). Entering rest (Heb 3–4) and entering within the veil (Heb 6:19) both point to the same ultimate reality: Unbroken fellowship with God in His presence. Security of salvation anchored in Christ’s finished work. In Hebrews’ theology, “rest” and “veil” imagery converge: both are about access into God’s presence — whether pictured as Canaan rest, Sabbath rest, or the sanctuary of heaven. Therefore entering within the veil is tantamount to entering God’s rest, with this nuance: Rest emphasizes enjoyment of God’s completed work. Veil emphasizes access to God’s presence through Christ. Both images converge in the believer’s eternal security and future inheritance, grounded in Jesus’ priestly work.

Spurgeon - entering into the inside of the curtain Sailors throw their anchors downward; we throw ours upward. Their anchor goes within the veil of the waters into the deeps of the sea; ours goes within the veil of glory, into the heights of heaven, where Jesus sits at the right hand of God.

Enters (eiserchomai - present tense) within (esoteros) the veil (katapetasma)- In the OT tabernacle/temple, the veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) (Ex 26:33; Lev 16:2 both use esoteros in the Lxx). Only the high priest could enter, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). Enters (eiserchomai) in the present tense paints a picture of continuous, abiding access—Jesus’ entrance was not temporary like Aaron’s, but ongoing, permanent, and effectual. He didn’t just visit behind the veil once a year—He remains there as our interceding High Priest.

The imagery is of Christ as High Priest entering the true sanctuary (heaven itself).The “veil” here represents the barrier between earth and heaven, time and eternity, man and God. Unlike the OT high priest Aaron entered with animal blood (Lev. 16:14). Christ entered with His own blood (Heb. 9:12). Aaron entered for a moment while our Great High Priest Christ entered to abide forever (Heb 6:20). So the “picture” is of Jesus carrying the "anchor-rope of our hope" through the veil into the heavenly sanctuary, securing it to God’s throne. Our hope is anchored in Him because He has gone where we could never go, and stays there on our behalf. Because He continually remains there, our souls are securely tethered to eternity (cf "anchor of the soul").

Within the veil - If one takes the Holy of Holies as a figure of heaven where God dwells, within the veil clearly refers to into heaven itself. Gnosticism was preoccupied with the curtain between heaven and earth and taught that a cosmic curtain was a hindrance to the heavenly journey of the soul from the cosmos to the pleroma (fullness). The writer of Hebrews demolishes such foolishness.

Vine adds "what an anchor is to a vessel in its tossings, so the hope is to us in our times of trial, difficulty and stress. The anchor is outside the ship, is connected with it, and keeps it secure."

In the context the anchor is not dropped down into shifting sands but cast upward and inward into the very presence of God within the veil. The anchor is out of sight, but it holds and that is what matters.Within the veil is the unseen, eternal reality of the heavenly world. A ship’s anchor goes down to the ocean, the Christian’s anchor goes up into the heavenly sanctuary and "moors" us to God Himself.

Ray Stedman on hope - What, specifically, is that hope? It is the Melchizedek ministry of Jesus, as Heb 6:19–20 make clear. He has already entered heaven on our behalf and stands ready as a great high priest to impart comfort, strength, forgiveness, love, joy and peace to any who flee to him for refuge in time of trouble. Like an anchor which holds a boat steady in the midst of a storm, He can sustain and steady us when we are battered and beaten by life. He can do this forever since He is not an Aaronic priest who can only minister for one lifetime, but a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 6:20), Who ministers in the power of an endless life! (The Anchor of the Soul)

Grant Osborne - Hope is meant to anchor us more deeply in Christ, and it is based on the unchangeable and immovable God of Heb 6:15–18. So this new anchor is both objective (based on who God is) and subjective (how he is experienced by us) and, as a result, is both “firm and secure” (Heb 6:19), a truly eternal security! We may not know how things are going to turn out in the near future, but we absolutely know how they will turn out in the deep future. So as I face serious health issues and economic troubles in the present, as people on whom I counted let me down and shocking down-turns in our society and economy threaten, I must turn to the God of the future. (See Hebrews Verse by Verse)

Jon Courson on anchor - In the catacombs of Rome, where Christians hid in times of persecution, one symbol can be seen more than any other: the anchor. No matter what storms come our way, we are anchored in the Word of God, in the promises He made. We have this sure hope that He will do what He says. So don’t go back to temple worship, entreats the author. Don’t go back to heathen practices, to partying, to wherever else you came from. Be anchored in the immutable, unchangeable, sure, and steadfast Word of God. (BORROW Jon Courson's Application Commentary)

The anchor is the shadow,
of which Jesus is the substance.

In Hebrews, bebaios is a favorite term for that which is assured (Hebrews 2:2; 3:6, 3:14; 6:19; Romans 9:17 see notes Heb 2:2; 3:6, 3:14; 6:19; Ro 9:17). The distinction between the two adjectives expresses the relation of the same object to different tests applied from without.

William MacDonald adds a devotional thought - "In the storms and trials of life this hope serves as an anchor of the soul. The knowledge that our glorification is as certain as if it had already happened (ED: cf Ro 8:30+ = "He also glorified" = past tense! - proleptic aorist) keeps us from drifting on the wild waves of doubt and despair. The anchor is not cast in the shifting sands of this world but takes hold in the heavenly sanctuary. Since our hope is the anchor, the meaning is that our hope is secured in God’s very Presence behind the veil. Just as sure as the anchor is there, we shall be there also." (BORROW Believer's Bible Commentary)

Kenneth Wuest on anchor of the soul - The writer speaks of the hope of eternal life as an anchor of the soul. He uses two adjectives to describe this anchor, “sure” and “steadfast.” The distinction between these two adjectives here is in the relation of the same object to two different tests applied to it from without. The word “sure” is the translation of asphales, which is made up of a (á), “not,” and sphallo, “to make totter,” the compound word meaning “not to make totter, not to baffle or foil.” It speaks, therefore, of something that cannot be made to totter when put to the test. Steadfast (bebaios) is the translation of bebaian which means “sustaining one’s steps in going.” Thus it speaks of something which does not break down under the weight of something that steps on it. This hope which the believing soul has in the Lord Jesus is an anchor of the soul which cannot be made to totter nor break down when put under stress and strain. The words which enters go back syntactically to the word “anchor.” It is the anchor that enters into that within the veil. (ED: NOT EVERYONE AGREES) The words that within are the translation of to esoteron), the definite article and the comparative, the latter speaking of something farther within. The words speak, therefore, of the place within the veil. The word “that,” properly a demonstrative, does not point to anything definite here. The idea is merely that the anchor is within the veil. The veil of the temple separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. But the writer is not speaking here of the type but of the reality, the Holy of Holies of heaven itself which is the reality of which the earthly Holy of Holies is the type. The anchor of the believer is, therefore, fastened within the veil of the Holy of Holies of heaven. We have some rich figures here. This present life is the sea; the soul, a ship; the hidden bottom of the sea, the hidden reality of the heavenly word. The soul is seen as storm-tossed on the troubled sea of life. The soul of the believer, as a tempest-tossed ship, is held by the anchor within the veil, fastened by faith to the blessed reality within the veil. The anchor of the believer’s soul, his hope of eternal life in his High Priest, the Messiah, is fastened securely to a Rock within the veil of the Holy of Holies in heaven. That Rock is Messiah, whom the writer now speaks of as the forerunner.(Hebrews Commentary)

Now think for a moment to whom this letter is primarily addressed. Is it not Hebrew Christians and those Hebrews who were seriously contemplating Christ? It therefore behooves us (most of us being Gentile believers today) to step back and put yourself in the mind-set of the Hebrew, for only then can you see how radical this declaration would have been to the first century Jewish readers. It should be no less astounding to us Gentiles who were far even further removed from the Holy of holies for as Paul explained

Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands--remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13+; +)

F B Hole (Biographical Note) writes that…The Christian's hope is heavenly; therefore it is said to enter into "that within the veil." Within the veil was the holiest of all, typical of the third heaven; that is, the immediate presence of God. That within the veil was the ark of the covenant, typical of Christ. Now Christ is entered into the immediate presence of God, and that on our behalf. He is entered as Forerunner and as High Priest. Our hope being centred in Him acts as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast. Our hope has anchored itself already in the glorified Lord Jesus. We are already anchored to the Person and the place, to whom and to which we are going. It is as though an outgoing Atlantic liner found herself securely attached to New York by an anchor pitched in New York harbour, before ever she had got clear of the English Channel! The fact that Christ has become our Forerunner guarantees that we who are the after-runners shall reach the place where He is. And as High Priest He ever lives to carry us through. That He should be our Forerunner is amazing grace; for in the East where these customs prevail the forerunner is a person of no consequence who clears the way for the important personage who follows after. Think of the Lord Jesus taking a place like that on our account! (Hebre ws Commentary Notes)

Anchor (45) (agkura, Latin = ancora, an anchor) is a heavy weight of stone or metal attached to a rope or chain and dropped overboard to keep a ship from moving with the current (Acts 27:29, 30, 40). Ancient anchors were much like the modern ones with iron hooks to grapple the rocks and so hold on to prevent shipwreck. A vessel that is not securely anchored does not have much hope of riding out a violent storm. Figuratively, as used in Hebrews it speaks of that which provides security, support, stay, safeguard (as hope). The anchor refers to the hope generated by faith in gospel which enables the believer to stand firm in face of temptations, calamities and storms. Hope is found represented on ancient coins by an anchor.

SEE Nautical Terms Used in the Book of Hebrews

A literal anchor was a heavy device sailors cast into the seabed to keep a ship from drifting and symbolized stability, security, and steadfastness. In Greek literature, the anchor often symbolized hope or trust in times of uncertainty. Here, it is uniquely applied to hope in Christ, tied to God’s promise and oath (6:17–18).

Anchors symbolized hope in Greek secular world. Agkura is used by the writer as vivid picture of that which supports and keeps one steadfast in the midst of waves of doubt or stormy trials. If you fear, if you doubt, place all your trust in Christ: the "Anchor" Who holds forever. The anchor was an ancient Christian symbol for safety, security, and hope.

The sworn promises of God and the faithfulness of God should serve as an anchor to calm fears in storms of life. The anchor conveys the sense of the stabilizing influence of a hope grounded (anchored!), one grounded not on so called "terra firma" (which is passing away) but in the inner sanctuary of heaven in the Forerunner Himself. Christ Jesus is fulfillment of the unchangeable divine purpose based on two immutable facts: God’s Word of promise and His oath.

AGKURA - Acts 27:29, 30, 40; Heb 6:19), all three of the Acts uses referring to a literal anchor.

Easton's dictionary states that "it would appear that the Roman vessels carried several anchors, which were attached to the stern as well as to the prow. The Roman anchor, like the modern one, had two teeth or flukes. In the word is used metaphorically for that which supports or keeps one steadfast in the time of trial or of doubt. It is an emblem of hope. "If you fear, Put all your trust in God: that anchor holds.

Thayer writes that "(ancient anchors resembled modern in form: were of iron, provided with a stock, and with two teeth-like extremities often but by no means always without flukes;

Soul (5590) (psuche from psucho = to breathe) refers to whole person particularly inner, immortal person who lives in the mortal body.

PSUCHE IN HEBREWS - Heb. 4:12; Heb. 6:19; Heb. 10:38; Heb. 10:39; Heb. 12:3; Heb. 13:17;

Sure (804) (aphales from from a = w/o + sphallo = throw down, trip up, totter, bring to the ground, make someone fall) is an adjective which literally means that which cannot be thrown down, tripped up, tottered or overthrown. It describes that which is secure and safe from stumbling or falling. Asphales thus means firm, sure, secure, safety, unshakeable, certain, steady, immovable (as of the anchor in Heb 6:19 - see below - or in Septuagint referring to the sky above in Pr 8:28) and then figuratively referring to a state of safety, stability and security which can be relied on and hence free from danger and secure from peril. Asphales describes something that cannot be made to totter when put to the test. In Acts 2:36 the related adverb asphalos means certainly, surely, speaking of that which is known beyond a doubt. Asphales is used figuratively to describe that which is stable, firm, safe, secure and which can be relied upon or confided in.

APHALES - 5V - Acts 21:34; Acts 22:30; Acts 25:26; Phil. 3:1; Heb. 6:19

Steadfast (949) (bebaios from baino = to go, walk, step) means sustaining one’s steps in going and describes that which is fixed, stable, sure, attested to and certified. It is something which is unwavering and persistent and thus can be relied on or depended on. It pertains to that which is known with certainty. It refers to something that has validity over a period of time (e.g., the promise made to Abraham remained valid to NT believers, Ro 4:16+). Figuratively bebaios refers to that upon which one may build, rely or trust. Bebaios is something that can be relied on not to cause disappointment for it is reliable and unshifting. In practice, though not originally, bebaios is close to pistos (4103) (trustworthy, dependable, reliable, faithful) That which cannot be thrown down and is secure against all attempts to break the hold. This "anchor" will not totter, though the earth should shake all around us. Bebaios speaks of something which does not break down under the weight of something that steps on it.

BEBAIOS - 9V - Rom. 4:16; 2 Co. 1:7; Heb. 2:2; Heb. 3:6; Heb. 3:14; Heb. 6:19; Heb. 9:17; 2 Pet. 1:10; 2 Pet. 1:19

TDNT says that bebaios "means “standing firm on the feet,” “steadfast,” “maintaining firmness or solidity,” “steadfast for…” Hence “firm” in the sense of having inner solidity. In respect of abstract things and persons bebaios thus comes to mean “steady,” “sure,” “reliable” “steadfast,” or “certain. " (BORROW Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament)

Bebaios has a legal sense, signifying a legal guarantee, obtained by the buyer from the seller, to be gone back upon should a third party claim the thing. Thus in classic Greek bebaios described a warranty deed somewhat like a guarantee one might have today on an automobile or similar product.

Peter uses bebaios describing the Word of God, writing that "we have the prophetic word [made] (not in Greek. Literally = "word more sure") more sure, to which you do well to pay (close) attention (nautical term that meant to hold a ship in a direction and so to sail towards!) as to a lamp shining in a dark (miry, filthy, murky, dismal, dark) place, until the day dawns (shines through, breaks forth) and the morning star arises in your hearts." (2Pe 1:19+)

J D Watson - BEBAIOS - Another pivotal text concerning the doctrine of inspiration is 2 Peter 1:19: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”
First, the Word of God is accurate. “Prophecy” refers, of course, to the OT Scriptures. In verses 15–18, Peter writes about his witnessing of Christ’s transfiguration, but now he declares that there is something much surer than “personal experience.” How important that is in light of how many Christians today speak of their “experience.” Peter declares here that he, too, had an experience but that it cannot compare with the “more sure word of prophecy,” that is, the written Word of God.
Sure is bebaios <G949>, which means “fit to tread on, having a firm foundation, durable, unshakeable, sure, reliable, and certain.” Used in a legal sense, it meant “valid and legal.” As one authority writes, “Thus the hope and confidence of man is firmly secured as by an anchor, when the object of the trust is the Word of God, which He has legally confirmed with an oath (Heb. 6:16, 19).”306 As another adds, this word “in the NT is not used of persons but objects (Heb. 6:19), that which does not fail or waver, immovable, and on which one may rely.”307 So, as long as we cling to the Word, we will be firm, unshakable, sure, and certain. The reason for this “surer proof” is because the Word of God came by inspiration, as Peter goes on to write in verses 20–21.
Second, the words “take heed” teach us that the Word of God is admonitory. The Word of God is challenging and helpful in all things. How we so desperately need to listen! As our text says, it is the light that shines in darkness, and our world today is dark, indeed. There is, in fact, only one other thing that outshines the light of the Scripture: Christ’s Second Coming (“the day dawn”).
Third,bebaios clearly demonstrates that the Word of God is authoritative. Authority lies not in human reason nor in the church and its traditions, but in Scripture alone. Only it is sure. (A Word For the Day)

Enters (1525) (eiserchomai from eis = into + erchomai = come) means to go or come into or to enter into.

EISERCHOMAI IN HEBREWS - Heb. 3:11; Heb. 3:18; Heb. 3:19; Heb. 4:1; Heb. 4:3; Heb. 4:5; Heb. 4:6; Heb. 4:10; Heb. 4:11; Heb. 6:19; Heb. 6:20; Heb. 9:12; Heb. 9:24; Heb. 9:25; Heb. 10:5;

FRIBERG - (1) literally, in a local sense go or come into, enter (Mt 2.21); (2) figuratively; (a) of the birth of Jesus come into (the world) (Heb 10.5); (b) of demons enter in, take possession of (MK 9.25 ); (c) of persons; (i) in a good sense come into, enter into, begin to enjoy (Mt 5.20); (ii) in a bad sense begin to experience, meet, encounter (Mt 26.41); (d) as the first stage of an activity begin, come up (Lk 9.46) (BORROW Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament)

Gilbrant - It simply denotes “go into, enter.” As frequently happens in Koine Greek, the preposition which is in the compound eis may appear in conjunction with the compound even though it is redundant (e.g., “enter ‘into,’ ” Matthew 2:21; 7:21; John 3:4; etc.). It also occurs in other constructions such as “enter through” (eiserchomai dia), for example, Luke 13:24; John 10:1,2; or less frequently “enter to” (eiserchomai pros), Mark 6:25; Luke 1:28. Eiserchomai can speak of a thought “coming into” mind (Herodotus), wisdom entering someone (Wisdom of Solomon 1:4), the “entering” of the prophetic spirit (Josephus Antiquities 4.6.5), demonic spirits that “enter” into men (Mark 9:25; Luke 8:30), and Satan “entering” Judas (Luke 22:3).Figuratively it can denote the acquiring of something, i.e., “to attain something” (wealth, property, and so on). It is used of the kingdom of God/heaven (Matthew 5:20; 7:21; 19:24; Mark 9:47; 10:15; et al); it describes attaining eternal life (Matthew 18:8f.; 19:17; Mark 9:43,45); or it can speak of entering rest (Hebrews 3:11,18; 4:11). (See Bauer.) (Complete Biblical Library)

EISERCHOMAI - 180v - Matt. 2:21; Matt. 5:20; Matt. 6:6; Matt. 7:13; Matt. 7:21; Matt. 8:5; Matt. 8:8; Matt. 9:25; Matt. 10:5; Matt. 10:11; Matt. 10:12; Matt. 12:4; Matt. 12:29; Matt. 12:45; Matt. 15:11; Matt. 18:3; Matt. 18:8; Matt. 18:9; Matt. 19:17; Matt. 19:23; Matt. 19:24; Matt. 21:10; Matt. 21:12; Matt. 22:11; Matt. 22:12; Matt. 23:13; Matt. 24:38; Matt. 25:10; Matt. 25:21; Matt. 25:23; Matt. 26:41; Matt. 26:58; Matt. 27:53; Mk. 1:21; Mk. 1:45; Mk. 2:1; Mk. 2:26; Mk. 3:1; Mk. 3:27; Mk. 5:12; Mk. 5:13; Mk. 5:39; Mk. 6:10; Mk. 6:22; Mk. 6:25; Mk. 7:17; Mk. 7:24; Mk. 8:26; Mk. 9:25; Mk. 9:28; Mk. 9:43; Mk. 9:45; Mk. 9:47; Mk. 10:15; Mk. 10:23; Mk. 10:24; Mk. 10:25; Mk. 11:11; Mk. 11:15; Mk. 14:14; Mk. 15:43; Mk. 16:5; Lk. 1:9; Lk. 1:28; Lk. 1:40; Lk. 4:16; Lk. 4:38; Lk. 6:4; Lk. 6:6; Lk. 7:1; Lk. 7:6; Lk. 7:36; Lk. 7:44; Lk. 7:45; Lk. 8:30; Lk. 8:32; Lk. 8:33; Lk. 8:41; Lk. 8:51; Lk. 9:4; Lk. 9:34; Lk. 9:46; Lk. 9:52; Lk. 10:5; Lk. 10:8; Lk. 10:10; Lk. 10:38; Lk. 11:26; Lk. 11:37; Lk. 11:52; Lk. 13:24; Lk. 14:23; Lk. 15:28; Lk. 17:7; Lk. 17:12; Lk. 17:27; Lk. 18:17; Lk. 18:25; Lk. 19:1; Lk. 19:7; Lk. 19:45; Lk. 21:21; Lk. 22:3; Lk. 22:10; Lk. 22:40; Lk. 22:46; Lk. 24:3; Lk. 24:26; Lk. 24:29; Jn. 3:4; Jn. 3:5; Jn. 4:38; Jn. 10:1; Jn. 10:2; Jn. 10:9; Jn. 13:27; Jn. 18:1; Jn. 18:28; Jn. 18:33; Jn. 19:9; Jn. 20:5; Jn. 20:6; Jn. 20:8; Acts 1:13; Acts 3:8; Acts 5:7; Acts 5:10; Acts 5:21; Acts 9:6; Acts 9:12; Acts 9:17; Acts 10:3; Acts 10:24; Acts 10:25; Acts 10:27; Acts 11:3; Acts 11:8; Acts 11:12; Acts 14:1; Acts 14:20; Acts 14:22; Acts 16:15; Acts 16:40; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:19; Acts 19:8; Acts 19:30; Acts 20:29; Acts 21:8; Acts 23:16; Acts 23:33; Acts 25:23; Acts 28:8; Acts 28:16; Rom. 5:12; Rom. 11:25; 1 Co. 14:23; 1 Co. 14:24; Heb. 3:11; Heb. 3:18; Heb. 3:19; Heb. 4:1; Heb. 4:3; Heb. 4:5; Heb. 4:6; Heb. 4:10; Heb. 4:11; Heb. 6:19; Heb. 6:20; Heb. 9:12; Heb. 9:24; Heb. 9:25; Heb. 10:5; Jas. 2:2; Jas. 5:4; Rev. 3:20; Rev. 11:11; Rev. 15:8; Rev. 21:27; Rev. 22:14

Within (2082) (esoteros) describes a position within an area. What is inside. It refers to the innermost part. In Acts 16:24 the inner prison was the worst part of a prison where no light and little air could enter. In Hebrews 6:19 esōteros speaks of that which is within the veil, or curtain, which is the unseen or heavenly world, the heavenly Holy of Holies. Only 2 uses in NT - Acts 16:24; Heb. 6:19. In Lev 16:15 = "bring its blood inside (esoteros) the veil (katapetasma)"

FRIBERG - ESOTEROS - an adjectival comparative of the adverb eso (within); (1) as indicating relative position within an area inner, interior ( Acts 16.24); (2) neuter accusative as an improper preposition with the genitive, indicating relative position between two areas, one more inward beyond, farther in (Heb 6.19) (BORROW Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament)

ESOTEROS IN SEPTUAGINT - Exod. 26:33; Lev. 16:2; 1 Sam. 24:3; 1 Ki. 6:27; 1 Ki. 6:29; 1 Ki. 6:30; 1 Ki. 6:36; 1 Ki. 7:50; 1 Chr. 28:11; 2 Chr. 4:22; 2 Chr. 23:20; Est. 4:11; Job 28:18; Isa. 22:11; Ezek. 8:3; Ezek. 8:16; Ezek. 10:3; Ezek. 40:17; Ezek. 40:23; Ezek. 40:27; Ezek. 40:28; Ezek. 40:34; Ezek. 40:44; Ezek. 41:3; Ezek. 41:17; Ezek. 42:3; Ezek. 43:5; Ezek. 44:17; Ezek. 44:21; Ezek. 44:27; Ezek. 45:19; Ezek. 46:1;

Veil (2665) (katapetasma from kata = down + petomai = flies) literally means that which is spread out over or downward and hence a veil, a curtain or a cloth drape. It describes that which falls down and thus a curtain or cloth hanging over an opening. The katapetasma was the veil of the tabernacle or temple used to separate the Most Holy Place (Holy of holies - place of the Ark of the Covenant) from the Holy Place. The hope, the anchor, takes hold in the very presence of God. Christ Himself who is there and is the pledge of all that is coming, prevents us from making shipwreck. According to the Talmud, the veils were 60 feet long and 30 feet wide, about the thickness of a man’s palm (four inches), and made of 72 squares that were sown together. The veils were so heavy that it took 300 priests to hang them, according to Jewish tradition.

KATAPETASMA - 6v Matt. 27:51; Mk. 15:38; Lk. 23:45; Heb 6:19; 9:3; 10:20 - see below and notes on Hebrews 9:3

The synoptic gospel writers record that just before Jesus breathed His last, the veil was rent from top to bottom…

And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (not a natural way for it to tear but a supernatural way indicating that God did it), and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, (Mt 27:51)

And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38)

the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." And having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:45-46+)

The tearing of the veil symbolized the opening of the presence of God to mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus, a truth which was elaborated upon by the writer of Hebrews who stated that…

Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20)

Comment: Christ's body was the Temple as He stated in Jn 2:19, 2:21and His flesh was the "veil". As long as He was alive there was no access to God. His rent flesh opened the way, a new and living way, and made available our "introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand" Romans 5:2.

KATAPETASMA 33X in Septuagint (LXX) - Ex. 26:31, 33, 37-see commentary; Ex 27:21; Ex 30:6; 35:12; 36:34, 37; 38:18, 27; 39:40; 40:3, 5, 21f, 26; Lev. 4:6, 17; 16:2, 12, 15; 21:23; 24:3; Num. 3:10, 26; 4:5, 32; 18:7; 1Ki. 6:36; 2Chr. 3:14

Unger on the veil - The veil (Hebrew = pārōket, a “separation”), particularly described in Ex. 26:31-33; 36:35-36, was the screen between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. It was of the same material as the door screens but was embroidered with cherubim. It is thought that there were two, their extended wings touching each other. The veil, like the other hangings, was suspended upon pillars and, probably, “bands” (curtain rods), though the latter are not mentioned. These pillars (and bands) were covered with gold, the hooks were of gold, and the sockets of silver. For the veil four pillars were used, and as no one of them ran up to the peak, it did not, therefore, need to be in the center. The upper corners of the veil were fastened to the gold hooks in the boards. If we follow the proportions of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the Temple, we must suppose the latter in the Tabernacle to have been square and the former to have been twice as long as broad. This will fix the dividing line between the two rooms at two-thirds of the width of the seventh board from the rear; the presumption is that the pillars were wholly within the Most Holy Place. (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary)

⚓ Illustrations of
Hebrews 6:19

1. Ship’s Anchor in a Storm

A ship caught in furious waves throws its anchor forward. Unlike earthly anchors that sink into mud, this one is carried upward through the veil into heaven, fastening to the throne of God. The ship may toss and heave, but it cannot drift away because its anchor is secure.

(Security in Christ, not circumstances.)

Sailors in a violent storm will cast their anchor, trusting it will dig deep into the seabed and hold the ship steady until the storm passes. But what if the anchor itself could be carried into the safest harbor and hooked directly onto an immovable rock? That is the picture the writer of Hebrews paints. Our hope is not tossed down into shifting sand, but carried upward into heaven itself and anchored to the throne of God. Storms may rage, but the ship of faith cannot drift.

2. Mountain Climber’s Rope

A climber, dangling over a cliff, drives a piton into the rock above and ties his rope to it. His life depends on the strength of that rock and the security of the rope. Our hope is the rope—Christ has anchored it in the heavenly Rock, and we can rest knowing it will not fail.

(Hope tied to Christ’s permanence.)

A climber scaling a dangerous cliff drives a piton into the rock above him and ties his rope securely. He knows his life depends not on his strength but on the firmness of the rock and the grip of the rope. Our hope functions the same way. It clings to the eternal Rock within the veil, and because Christ has secured it, we cannot fall to destruction.

3. Bank Guarantee

When depositing money, the guarantee is the FDIC seal—your money is secure no matter what happens. God’s oath and promise are the “divine guarantee.” Our hope is not wishful thinking, but a backed, guaranteed security anchored in God Himself.

(God’s promise + oath as divine insurance.)

When you deposit money in the bank, you don’t worry that it will vanish overnight. The FDIC guarantee backs it with the government’s authority. Our hope has something infinitely better — God’s unchangeable promise and His oath. Two “divine guarantees” that make it more secure than any bank or contract. Hope is not wishful thinking; it is backed by the eternal faithfulness of God Himself.

4. Child Holding Parent’s Hand

In a busy street, a child holds his father’s hand. But the child’s security is not in his weak grip on the father, but in the father’s strong grip on him. So our hope is not our hold on God but God’s hold on us in Christ within the veil.

(Security rests in God’s grip, not ours.)

A child in a crowded street may think he is safe because he is holding his father’s hand. But in reality, the child’s grip is weak—it is the father’s strong hand holding him fast that ensures safety. In the same way, our hope is secure not because of how tightly we cling to Christ, but because Christ has entered within the veil and holds us with His mighty grip.

5. Courtroom Advocate

A defendant fears condemnation, but his advocate has already gone inside the judge’s chambers with irrefutable evidence securing acquittal. That’s Christ—our Forerunner has entered within the veil, securing our eternal verdict: “No condemnation.”

(Jesus interceding before the Father.)

A defendant trembles, waiting for the verdict. But his advocate has already gone inside the judge’s chambers carrying irrefutable evidence that secures acquittal. The defendant cannot see what’s happening behind those closed doors, but he knows his case is safe. That’s what Christ has done. He has gone within the veil as our Advocate, and because He stands before the Father, our eternal verdict is secure: no condemnation in Christ Jesus.

6. Tethered Astronaut

An astronaut outside the spacecraft, tethered by a strong lifeline, floats in space. His life depends on that tether. Our soul is like the astronaut; our tether is hope, and its anchor point is inside the heavenly sanctuary with Christ.

(The line may seem invisible, but it is unbreakable.)

Picture an astronaut working outside the space shuttle, floating in the blackness of space. His security does not come from his own strength or skill but from the tether that fastens him to the craft. Our soul is like that astronaut — suspended in a vast and hostile world. Our lifeline is hope, and that line is fixed not to earth but inside the heavenly sanctuary, tied to Christ Himself. As long as He holds us, we can never drift away.

7. Vault Security

When someone deposits precious treasure in a bank vault, it is out of sight but secure. Our hope is “within the veil”—unseen, but safeguarded in the most secure place in the universe: the presence of God.

(The unseen reality is the most secure one.)

People place valuables in a bank vault because it is impenetrable, climate-controlled, and guarded. Even if everything outside collapses, the contents inside remain untouched. Our hope is stored in a vault far more secure than any bank—in the very presence of God within the veil. Nothing in this world can touch it.

8. Harbor Pilots

In ancient harbors, a small boat would carry the anchor ahead into safe water, fastening it, so the ship could be drawn in. That boat was called the forerunner. Christ has entered heaven as our Forerunner, securing our hope in glory.

(Direct tie to v. 20 and the prodromos imagery.)

In the ancient world, great ships faced danger when approaching shallow or narrow harbors. They could not safely enter on their own. Instead, a smaller vessel called the forerunner would take the ship’s anchor, row ahead into safe water, and lodge it securely. Then the larger ship would be winched into safety, following the anchor already in place.

That’s the exact picture the writer of Hebrews paints. Jesus Christ is our Prodromos — our Forerunner. He has gone before us, entering within the veil, carrying our hope into the very presence of God, and fastening it to His throne. We are like the great ship still at sea, battered by waves. But because the anchor is already in the harbor, fastened securely, we know with certainty we will be drawn in after Him. Our destiny is as sure as His presence in glory.

9. Sealed Document

In ancient times, a king’s decree was sealed with his signet. Once sealed, it was unchangeable. Our hope is sealed both by God’s promise and His oath (Heb. 6:17–18), making it doubly secure.

(Hope guaranteed by God’s unchanging character.)

In the ancient world, when a king issued a decree, he would press his signet ring into wax and seal the document. That seal made the decree unchangeable and irrevocable. Once sealed, no one could alter it. It carried the full authority of the king himself.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that God has done even more. He gave His promise to Abraham, and then, as if to silence every doubt, He confirmed it with an oath. Two unchangeable things — His promise and His oath — seal our hope. Just as no man could break the seal of an earthly king, so nothing can undo the word of the King of kings. Our hope is doubly secured, sealed not with wax but with the very character of God, who cannot lie. That means the believer’s confidence is not a wish but a certainty — a decree written and sealed in heaven itself.

10. Light Behind the Curtain

Imagine a bright light behind a heavy curtain. Though you cannot see it directly, you know it is there because the glow leaks through. Our hope has “entered within the veil”—we don’t yet see it fully, but its light assures us of its reality.

(Faith sees what eyes cannot.)

Stand in a dark room with a thick curtain covering a window. You may not see the sun directly, but beams of light slip through, assuring you it is there. So it is with hope. We don’t yet see Christ face to face, but the light of His presence shines through the veil, reminding us our hope is real, secure, and eternal.

11. Lighthouse Beam

A ship lost at sea at night can’t see the harbor, but the steady beam of a lighthouse pierces the darkness. Hope is like that beam—fixed in heaven, guiding us home though storms surround us.

(Hope directs and steadies us in the dark.)

On a stormy night, sailors straining at the ropes can see nothing but darkness and waves. Yet far ahead, a steady beam cuts across the water from a lighthouse on shore. That light never wavers and never fails to point the way home. That’s what hope does for the Christian. Even when life feels pitch black, hope shines from heaven, directing our eyes to Christ and assuring us that safe harbor lies ahead.

12. Wedding Ring

A wedding ring is a visible token of an invisible covenant. Our hope functions similarly—anchored in God’s oath and promise. Even though we don’t yet see the consummation, the symbol reminds us of what is guaranteed.

(Hope is covenant assurance, not guesswork.)

A wedding ring is just a circle of metal, yet it carries profound weight. It is the visible sign of an invisible covenant. Even if husband and wife are miles apart, the ring reminds them of their promise and bond. Our hope is like that. We don’t yet see Christ face to face, but the presence of hope, grounded in God’s oath and promise, is the “ring” that assures us the covenant is real and unbreakable.

13. Compass Needle

A compass needle always points north, no matter how tossed or turned. Hope works the same way—orienting the soul toward Christ in heaven.

(Hope keeps direction when disoriented by life.)

A compass needle doesn’t argue or wander—it always points north, no matter the storms around it. Hope works the same way. It continually points our soul toward heaven, toward Christ our Forerunner. Even when life spins us in circles, hope stabilizes our direction and guides us safely home.

14. Bridge Support Piers

A bridge may sway, cars may shake, but deep below the water massive piers hold it immovable. Our hope is those piers, sunk not in mud but in the throne room of God.

(Hope stabilizes what otherwise would collapse.)

Drive across a bridge on a windy day, and you may feel the roadway sway beneath your tires. But below the surface, unseen by the eye, are enormous piers sunk deep into the bedrock of the river. They don’t move. That’s what our hope is like. Life may shake and tremble, but the unseen support of Christ within the veil is what keeps everything from collapsing. Our anchor is sunk deeper than any storm can reach.

15. Kite in the Sky

A child flies a kite on a windy day. The kite disappears into the clouds, yet the tug on the string assures the child it’s still aloft. Our hope is like that string—anchored beyond our sight, but very real.

(We feel the pull of heaven though we cannot yet see it.)

On a breezy afternoon, a child lets a kite soar higher and higher until it disappears into the clouds. Though the child cannot see it, the steady tug on the string assures him the kite is still flying. Our hope is like that string. Though our anchor is out of sight—hidden in heaven—we feel its pull. We know it is real and secure, drawing us upward toward our eternal home.

16. Hospital Waiting Room

A family waits anxiously for word of their loved one in surgery. They rest secure because the surgeon is skilled and trustworthy. So we wait in life’s “waiting room,” our security resting in the Great Physician who has entered behind the veil.

(Hope rests in the competence of Christ.)

A family sits nervously in the waiting room while their loved one undergoes surgery. They can’t see what’s happening behind those closed doors. They have no control. Yet they rest their confidence in the surgeon’s skill. That is how hope works. We cannot yet see what Christ is doing behind the veil, but we rest secure, knowing that He is the Great Physician at work, ensuring our ultimate healing and deliverance.

17. Fireproof Safe

Important documents (birth certificate, will, deeds) are placed in a fireproof safe. Even if the house burns down, they remain secure. Our eternal hope is stored in the safest place—the very presence of God.

(No fire, storm, or trial can touch it.)

Families keep their most precious documents—marriage licenses, deeds, wills—in a fireproof safe. If the house burns down, those documents survive. That is a picture of hope. Though the fires of trial may consume what is earthly, our hope is locked away in the safest place possible—the sanctuary of heaven.

18. Electric Current

The power source is hidden behind walls and wires, unseen, yet it energizes the home. Hope “within the veil” is unseen, yet it energizes faith and perseverance daily.

(Hope unseen still empowers life.)

The average person never sees the electric current that powers their home. The wires are hidden in the walls, the source is miles away. Yet when they flip a switch, the lights come on, and the unseen power becomes obvious in its effects. Hope functions like that. We cannot see heaven’s realities, but hope “within the veil” energizes our faith and endurance. Its effects are unmistakable, even if the source is invisible.

19. Airline Pilot’s Autopilot

When fog reduces visibility, the pilot trusts the instruments. Hope is our spiritual instrument panel, keeping us steady on course toward heaven, not by sight but by trust.

(Hope is faith applied to navigation.)

When thick fog blankets the sky, a pilot cannot trust his eyes. Visibility is too limited. Instead, he must rely on the instrument panel and autopilot system that guide him safely to his destination. Our hope is like that spiritual instrument panel. We may not see clearly in the fog of suffering and doubt, but hope keeps us steady on course toward heaven. We trust not what we see, but what God has promised.

20. Anchor Rope in Ancient Harbors

Historically, small boats (forerunners) carried an anchor into the harbor and lodged it onshore. The larger ship would then be pulled safely in by the rope. That’s exactly the image in Heb. 6:19–20—Christ our Forerunner has anchored hope inside heaven, and we are being drawn in after Him.

(Hope is a living tether to our future glory.)

In ancient harbors, large ships couldn’t safely approach the dock on their own. Instead, a smaller boat called the forerunner would carry the anchor into the harbor and lodge it firmly. Then the larger ship would be winched safely into port. That is exactly what Christ has done. He is our Forerunner, who has carried our hope behind the veil and fastened it to the very throne of God. We are being drawn in after Him.

Spurgeon - Fear, but No Danger
I may say to every believer in Jesus that his condition is very like that of the landsman on board ship when the sea was rather rough. He said, “Captain, we are in great danger, are we not”? As an answer did not come, he said, “Captain, don’t you see great fear?” Then the old seaman gruffly replied, “Yes, I see plenty of fear, but not a bit of danger.”

It is often so with us; when the winds are out and the storms are raging there is plenty of fear, but there is no danger. We may be much tossed, but we are quite safe, for we have an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast, which will not start.

Life with Christ is an endless hope; without Him, a hopeless end.

Jeremy Taylor (1613-67) wrote: “Faith is the Christian’s foundation, hope is his anchor, death is his harbor, Christ is his Pilot, and heaven is his country.”

Karen Whiting - Secure Knots - 365 Devotions for Hope

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. —Hebrews 6:19

Sailors tie strong knots with twists and loops to prevent slipping. To secure a boat to a dock, the knot must be dependable. Campers, climbers, and fishermen also use knots for safety and security. In tying a boat to a dock, a cleat hitch is simple to tie and holds fast. A poorly tied knot may slip and cause the loss of the anchor or boat.

You are like a ship on the sea of life. Sometimes life, like the sea, will toss you up and down. When times seem turbulent, you need an anchor to hold you steady. That anchor must be tied to a rope with a firm knot, which is your hope. Your hope will slip away if it is not well fastened. Doubts cause a knot that is tied to the anchor to be loose and slip. A rope that is not cared for will also weaken a knot. Always take care of your rope through prayer, Bible reading, and developing strong relationships with other believers. These priorities will help your knot remain secure. Confidence in your hope, like confidence in a good knot, is essential during turbulence.

Dear God, help me to hold fast to You with hope so that I will not slip and be lost. Amen.

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Anchored Hope

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. —Hebrews 6:19

An anchor with a grasping claw digs deep to cling to gravel, rock, and coral. The powerful anchor holds on with all its might and prevails against the stormiest seas. When you encounter the most demanding trials or rockiness of abuse, let hope be your claw anchor. One of the most difficult tests written in the Bible was when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham obediently prepared Isaac for slaughter, but God stopped him and provided a ram instead. Abraham passed the test, and God promised to bless Him. When God made that promise, He swore an oath. The author of Hebrews explained, “Since there was no one greater for [God] to swear by, he swore by himself” (Hebrews 6:13). The promise was Abraham’s hope; the oath sealed the promise like a claw anchor because it is impossible for God to lie.
What God has promised, He will do. With hope like that you can dig in deep against the difficulties that tug at you. Push deep, and hold on to your dreams and your faith. Use all your strength and willpower as you hang on tight. With such strong faith in your hopes, you will overcome your struggles.

Dear God, thank You for Your promises that give me hope. I trust that You will do what You have promised. Amen.

A W Tozer - HOPE: THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings - Page 331

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.HEBREWS 6:19

In the New Testament, the word “hope” becomes one of the great words that Christ gave us. It was a word often used before but it has received new and wonderful meaning because the Saviour took it into His mouth.

Hope is the music, the drift and direction of the whole Bible. It sets the heartbeat and atmosphere of the Bible, meaning as it does desirable expectation and pleasurable anticipation!

Human hopes will fail and throw us down. But the Christian’s hope is alive. The old English word “lively” meant what the word “living” means now; the word coming from God Himself for it is the strongest word in the Bible for life. It is the word used of God Himself when it says He is the Living God. So it is that God takes a Christian’s hope and touches it with Himself and imparts His own “livingness” to the hope of the believer. The true Christian hope is a valid hope! We have been born of God. There has been a new creation. No emptiness there, no vanity, no dreams that can’t come true. We have no great place of beauty in this world—Taj Mahal, Buckingham Palace or the White House—that can compare with the glory that belongs to the true child of God who has known the major miracle, who has been changed by an inward operation of supernatural grace unto an inheritance, a living hope!
Your expectation should rise and you should challenge God, and begin to dream high dreams of faith and spiritual anticipation. Remember, you cannot out-hope the living God!

Billy Graham - AN ENDLESS HOPE Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional - Page 114

We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure. HEBREWS 6:19 NIV

An unbeliever only sees a hopeless end to life. But the Christian sees an endless hope. In a network television program, Malcolm Muggeridge reflected that a true Christian “is longing for the termination of life in time as one longs for the end of a long and arduous three-week sea voyage when one is in the last three days. I look forward to the time when my life will partake of eternity with near irrepressible eagerness.”

Perhaps these words of Malcolm Muggeridge do not describe your feelings about death. Perhaps you are afraid of death and don’t relate to the quiet confidence this famous British journalist and TV personality feels. The torturing, tormenting fear of death is a condition that is perfectly normal for any who have never come to Christ. Death is an experience from which people instinctively shrink. Yet for the Christian the fear is removed. He has the assurance that the sins for which he would be judged at death have been dealt with, whereas the non-Christian has no such assurance. I do not look forward to the prospect of dying—but I do look forward to death itself. It will be a glorious release. It will be the fulfillment of everything I have ever longed for. The Scripture says, “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Our Father and our God, thank You for Jesus, who anchors my soul in the troubling seas of this life. He is my Savior, my eternal life preserver, my rescuer. He is my joy, my peace, and my ever-present comfort in times of trial. I wait impatiently for His coming again to take me home. And in His name I pray. Amen.

Robert Hawker - Hebrews 6:19-20

PAUSE over these words, my soul, this morning. Is the vail removed? Was the vail rent in twain, from the top to the bottom, in the hour that Christ died? And did Jesus, as thy High-priest, with all his blood, then enter into the place not made with hands, having obtained eternal redemption for us? Did he enter too as thy Forerunner? Pause over this thought—it is a sweet one. Is Jesus still there? Nay, my soul, look in and see. He calls thee to look unto him—nay, to follow him, having boldness to enter into the holiest by his blood, in the new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh. And what canst thou see there? Within the vail of the Jewish temple there was the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant, and the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy-seat. But within that vail, whither our Forerunner is entered, look up my soul, and see Jesus with the golden censer of his own merits and blood; and not the symbols of the covenant only, but he himself the whole of the Covenant, God the Father hath given him for the people; not merely manna, but himself, the living bread, the bread of God, of which whosoever eateth shall live for ever; not the rod of Aaron, but the rod of his power, to make poor sinners willing in the day of his power; not the cherubims of glory, but himself, the mercy-seat, the propitiatory, the sacrifice, High-priest, and all in all. Look up—look in—go in, my soul, after him, by faith, and contemplate him as thy Forerunner; and while all thy faculties, in grace and faith, are going forth in the most lively exercise, hear him say, and let his words sink deeper and deeper in thine unceasing remembrance, “I only go to prepare for you a place. I will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Hail, thou glorious Forerunner, who art made an High-priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec!

Daily Light on the Daily Path

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!—“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”—Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.—For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
And who is a rock, except our God?—“They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”—Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!—We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.
Ps. 61:2; Phil. 4:6–7; Ps. 142:3; Job 23:10; Ps. 90:1; Isa. 25:4; Ps. 18:31; John 10:28; Ps. 119:116; Heb. 6:19

Kenneth Osbeck - THE HAVEN OF REST Henry L. Gilmour, 1836–1920 - Borrow Amazing Grace

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. (Hebrews 6:19)

What stabilizers are to a ship in stormy water, the conscious presence of Christ is to a Christian during the storms and stresses of daily living. Christians have never been promised an exemption from any of life’s storms. The Scriptures teach that “man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). It is our reaction to life’s storms that reveals the level of our spiritual maturity. We can either become bitter and belligerent, or we can use the experience to develop greater spiritual strength as we learn to rely more fully on our Lord.
Not only do we have the indwelling presence of Christ, but we also have the assurance that Jesus Christ is in heaven today interceding for us. Just as an Old Testament priest stood behind the veil in the tabernacle or the temple to represent the Israelites before God, so Jesus pleads our case in the heavenly realm on the basis of His death and resurrection. What security this gives us!
The author of this text, Henry Gilmour, came to the United States from Ireland as a teenager. He practiced dentistry for a number of years and then spent the last 25 years of his life as a gospel musician. He was a gifted soloist and was greatly respected as a choir director. “The Haven of Rest” first appeared in Sunlight Songs, published in 1890.

My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea, so burdened with sin, and distrest, till I heard a sweet voice saying, “Make me your choice!” And I entered the Haven of Rest.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace, and faith taking hold of the Word, my fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul—The “Haven of Rest” is my Lord.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole, has been the old story so blest of Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have a home in the Haven of Rest!
O come to the Savior—He patiently waits to save by His power divine; Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest, and say, “My Beloved is mine.”
Chorus: I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I’ll sail the wide seas no more; the tempest may sweep o’er the wild, stormy deep—In Jesus I’m safe ever more.

For Today: Exodus 33:22; Psalm 34:19; 61:2; Isaiah 66:12; Philippians 4:7; Hebrews 4:3; 6:13–20
Regardless of your circumstances, determine to rely more fully on the indwelling Christ and the awareness of your heavenly advocate. Carry this musical testimony with you—

A mariner in a storm, Ps 107:23–32. There are few things more frightening than the wind and waves in a hurricane! Life is like a voyage at sea, bound for the great haven of eternity. In the storms and cyclones of life, man needs a compass, a pilot, and an anchor of the soul, Heb. 6:19. There is One who is Master of wind and wave, and who can say to the storm, “Peace, be still”, and there can be a great calm, Mark 4:39.

Robert Hawker - An anchor of the soul.—Hebrews 6:19.

In the opening of a new month, look, my soul, at thine anchor. Surely it is good and profitable for thee to see thy safety, that thou mayest ride out all the storms which arise, and never make “shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.” And what is thine anchor? Nay, who or what can it be, but Jesus and his finished righteousness? He hath accomplished redemption by his blood, and hath entered within the veil to prove its all-sufficiency. On him, then, thou hast cast anchor; indeed, he is himself the anchor of all thine hopes, and the “rock of ages,” on which thou resteth thine eternal security, “both sure and steadfast.” True, it is unseen; and like the sailor’s anchor, thrown out into the deep. But, though unseen, it is not unenjoyed; for concerning him, who is the anchor of the soul, it is the blessed privilege of faith, “whom having not seen, we love; and in whom, though now we see him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls.” But the anchor of this world’s mariner, and that of the spiritual navigator, differ most widely. His anchor is thrown forth at an uncertainty: it may break; it may find no anchorage, the cable may give way, the ship may drive, and one anchor after another be lost, and the vessel, after all, founder. Not so with him, whose hope and anchor of the soul is the Lord Jesus: “He is a rock; his work is perfect.” His salvation is founded in the everlasting counsel, purpose, will, and good pleasure of God our Father; it is secured in the perfect obedience, righteousness, blood-shedding, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ: and the soul who rests on this anchor of hope alone for redemption, hath been brought savingly acquainted with the Father’s love and the Son’s grace, through the blessed teaching, power, and application of God the Holy Ghost. My soul! Is this thine anchor? Hast thou this glorious security entered within the veil for thee; unseen, indeed, but not unknown; undeserved, but not unenjoyed? Oh! what unspeakable mercies are unceasingly arising out of this divine, this rapturous hope, to support my weather-beaten soul! Surely, precious Jesus! I may well look up to thee, in the opening and close of every day, and every month, as the anchor of my soul, both sure and steadfast; for thou hast been to me, and thou wilt still be, until I get into I the haven of everlasting rest, what thou hast been to all thy redeemed: “a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” (Isaiah 25:4.)

Warren Wiersbe - Stability. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (Heb. 6:19). Material anchors go down to the depths, but our spiritual anchor goes heavenward where Jesus now is and keeps us from drifting away from our Christian profession (Heb. 2:1). Material anchors hold the ship still, but our anchor enables us to move ahead in the Christian life (Heb. 6:1) and not to “sink” in life’s storms.
As we wait before the Lord and meditate and pray, the Spirit and the Word increase our hope. Take time to read Romans 15:4, 13—and rejoice in hope!

The hope of the righteous will be gladness,
But the expectation of the wicked will perish.

Proverbs 10:28

Greg Laurie - AN ANCHOR OF HOPE

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil. (Hebrews 6:19)

I grow very impatient waiting for fruit to ripen, especially bananas. I can’t stand a mushy banana. I like them when they are not quite green but barely yellow. Sometimes in my impatience, I will eat a green banana. Then I will have a stomachache for an hour because I couldn’t wait for it to ripen.
God is doing a work in us, waiting for the fruit to ripen. As Romans 5:5 tells us, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” As we come through tribulations, not only do we ripen spiritually, but we also develop hope.
What hope does this world have? Is it in some politician that is supposed to come and solve all our problems? Is it in the White House? Is it in government programs? I hope not. Even the best-intentioned leaders cannot resolve the basic conflicts inside us. God offers us a hope that is far greater. A hope that is an anchor of our soul, according to Hebrews 6:19.
I love that old hymn, “The Solid Rock,” which says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Those are good words. Our hope is not in this changing world. We have free access to God, and that is where we need to anchor ourselves. That is where we draw our strength in times of trouble.

This “hope” is not a wish, like a lottery ticket, but an expectation, like a paycheck. As such, this better hope is an anchor for our souls (6:19).

Horatius Bonar - THE DIVINE ANCHOR AND THE SOUL’S ANCHORAGE

‘Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.’—HEB. 6:19.

THE ‘hope,’ or ‘thing hoped for,’ is the promised glory, the inheritance of the saints in light. Of this hope God has given us the ‘full assurance;’ and this full assurance we are to hold fast unto the end; that is, until the things hoped for become the things possessed. This ‘hope’ is to us what Canaan was to Abraham; only it is heavenly. God has assured us of it by word and oath, ‘two immutable things;’ and thus we have strong consolation (or cheer), having fled out of all false hopes, to take refuge in this, which is true, divine, and infallible; a hope presented and secured (as Canaan to Israel) to all who will trust God for it. Let us see, then, what this ‘hope’ is, and what it does for us.
I. It is an anchor.—The apostle assumes that something is needed to hold us fast. That which holds us, and that to which it is fastened, must be firm. Anchor and anchorage-ground must be immoveable. The need of an anchor reminds us of an unstable element on which the vessel floats; it reminds us of winds and waves and tides; it reminds us of that stormy night in which Paul’s sailors cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for day. This hope is all we need to keep us stedfast; it is both anchor and anchor-ground, for both thoughts may be here combined; the things hoped for, and God’s true testimony concerning them, on which our hoping rests.
II. It is the soul’s anchor.—It is not merely the Church’s anchor, or the saint’s anchor, but specially the anchor of the soul,—that by which the soul is just now kept safe and immoveable. For it is our inner man that is tossed by the warring winds of this present evil world. Satan, the prince of the power of the air, lets loose these upon it. Darkness, doubting, unbelief; infidelity, superstition, pantheism, with errors of every kind; tribulation, danger, reproach, opposition, inducing fear, and doubt, and weariness, and depression,—all these beat upon the human spirit, labouring to set it adrift or wreck it utterly. What, in such a case, can stay it? Not innate strength, nor human appliances, nor the wisdom of this world; not science, nor reason, nor creeds, nor churches. These are all impotent before such storms as Satan often raises within. Nothing can keep our vessel from drifting or wrecking but a divinely-provided anchor; and God has given us that in the glory set before us, and in His sure testimony regarding that glory. For the truth of that testimony we have His word and His oath; making us doubly sure; putting us beyond the possibility of uncertainty. We are made to feel that whatever the present may be, the future is calm and blessed.
III. It is a sure anchor.—It is safe, firmly fixed; it will not drag. The ground on which it is fixed is firm; of that it has strong hold; and everything connected with its fixture tends to increase the security. What are the winds of earth or hell to an anchor thus fastened!
IV. It is a stedfast anchor.—It is strong in itself, as well as firmly fixed. No fear of its giving way or breaking. It will stand every strain. God’s testimony cannot give way; and no attack of man upon it, or on the Bible which contains it, can affect it.
V. It entereth into that within the veil.—The vessel is outside, upon the stormy sea; the cable is also outside; but the anchor itself is within. It is attached to the interior, the innermost part of the sanctuary, where all is calm and sure. And the vessel, whose cable is attached to that anchor, will ere long enter full sail into that blessed haven. Its being fixed within is not merely our assurance of its immoveableness, but our pledge that we shall ere long enter where it is fixed.
Thus, then, the soul is the vessel; this life is the stormy sea; the cable is faith, our belief of God’s testimony; the anchor is the testimony of God; the anchor-ground is that which is within the veil, the glory to be revealed.
It is, then, on truth we rest; divine truth, confirmed by the oath of God; truth concerning things to come. That truth is immoveable. Nothing can shake it. The vessel and the cable are still outside, exposed to wind and wave; that is to say, we are still in this evil world, and our faith is assailed on every side. But the truth, the testimony, the inheritance are beyond the reach of change. Let us recur to this in all our doubts: we know these things are true; we know the gospel is true; we know the report is true; we know that the glory is true. All these things are true; on the truth of them our faith rests.
The anchorage-ground was formed by Him who made heaven and earth. The anchor has been forged upon no earthly anvil. The cable is the creation of an almighty hand. We know the certainty of these things. They are absolutely sure. Heaven and earth may pass; they cannot.
Yet the cry arises on every side of us, What is truth? Where is it to be found? and is there such a thing as absolute certainty? Few seem content with the old answers which have satisfied the Church of God in other days; and each must have something new. One fool says there is no Bible; another, there is no judgment; another, there is no Christ; another, there is no God. Men’s hearts are shaken, and the thoughts of many wander hither and thither without a resting-place. Nevertheless the foundation of the Lord standeth sure; and all the questionings raised by modern progress, and culture, and science, and sentimentalism will avail nothing. God has answered them long ago in His Book; and if men will not take these old answers, there are no others. Will God write a new Bible for the scoffers of the last days,—for our men of thought and criticism? ‘He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision.’
Let us then be at rest; calm, untroubled, without carefulness; keeping our eye on that point where our anchor is,—looking towards the veil. This will steady us, elevate us, comfort us. We cannot see within it; but we can see up to it. Let our faith, then, be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Smooth Sailing All Knotted Up NICOLE JOHNSON

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (Hebrews 6:19)

I’ve always thought knots were nuisances. It was hard for me to see a knot as a positive thing. Before a big test in school, I would get a knot in my stomach. If I wasn’t careful with a delicate necklace, the chain would get a knot in it, and that was a disaster. Even early on, while learning to tie my shoes, sometimes the careful bow I was trying to tie would end up in a knot that I couldn’t get undone, and I would have to ask for help.
I once read about the challenge of a knot devised by a king named Gordius that was cut by Alexander the Great. And to this day when we encounter a problem that it seems impossible to find a solution for, we call it a Gordian knot. Naturally I came to the conclusion that knots were not so swift.
Then I went sailing.
That’s when I discovered what the Boy Scouts have known all along: Knots are important. They aren’t just what happens when something goes wrong. They aren’t just the result of an unfortunate accident with a piece of string. When used with knowledge and skill, knots are one of the keys to smooth sailing because they provide security. This is the job of a good knot.
On a boat there are lots of ropes—but these ropes are called lines. Many lines have one function and purpose: to be tied to something secure. In order to be secure, each line must be tied to something fixed on the other end by a very strong knot. While bows are pretty, they are not strong enough for our deepest connections. Sailors would never use bows, as they come untied too easily. They are a great way to make something cute, but not such a good way to make it secure.
Before you tie a knot, you need to make sure that what you’re tying it to is strong enough to hold it secure. The strength of a good knot comes from the thing to which it is tied. You can tie the best knot in the world on the end of the mainsail line, but if it’s tied to a life jacket, it will not give you much hope. The life jacket is a good thing, but it is not strong enough to support the mainsail, and therefore the strong knot is rendered useless or seen as silly or a pain in the neck to try to untie.
Our lives have a lot of lines as well. It is easy for those lines to get knotted up about all sorts of things, with bad knots in the middle that keep us from sailing with ease. These obstacles come from tying ourselves to things to which we should not be tied: false obligations, guilt feelings, or our own fears. We can learn to untie those knots and retie them to the right things—the things that make us secure and set us free at the same time.
Hope runs along lines that are tied with strong knots to the right things: to an anchor or to the dock or to a cleat. These things bring hope because they are secure. We don’t have to worry; we can trust. But this means that the lines cannot be tied to another person. They cannot be tied to any of our possessions. They cannot be tied to our performance. No, when we try to tie the lines of our lives to those things, we end up in knots, feeling insecure. And the whole idea is to be sailing.
So the best knot we can tie is to Christ. That is the line that makes us secure and sets us free at the same time. He is the anchor and the cleat for the lines of our lives. This is the reason the Bible calls hope our spiritual lifeline. Because when the line of our lives is tied to something strong enough to support us, we have great hope. When we tie the mainsail of our lives to Christ, the line is made secure by the strong knot of his love, and it will not pull loose. He is holding it tight on the other end, and that gives us security. He directs our lives with the wind of his great love, and we get glorious hope freely and generously from him.

Oh, Captain, our Captain, show us how to tie the right knots. Show us how to untangle the mess we’ve made in the lines of our lives. Give us wisdom before we tie any knots, lest they be tied to things that will not hold. Make us secure and set us free by the strong knot of your love tied to the anchor of hope. Amen.

J J Knap - An Anchor of the Soul Hebrews 6:19

Amongst the benefits that Christ has obtained for us there are some that are already available here upon earth, but there are others that have been laid away for us in the future. The remission of sins, the renewal of the soul, the sanctification of the Spirit, behold some benefits that we can presently receive already, and of which we are made partakers by faith. However, the glorification that has been promised us, the snow-white garment, the palm leaves of triumph, the incorruptible inheritance that is kept in store for us in heaven, behold the benefits that await us in the future, and upon which we place our hands by the grace of hope.
That hope is called in the text of today “an anchor of the soul, that is both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil,” that is in the holy of holies, into which Jesus Christ has entered already as the Forerunner, while we remain here upon earth in the courts of the heavenly temple. Has it not been said graciously that the hope that clamps itself to the inalterable promises of God is an anchor of the soul? A small boat, that tosses upon the waves, becomes so easily a sport of the winds, and it is completely drawn from its course, if it at all can stand the storms and is not dashed to pieces upon the cliffs. The safety of it lies in the anchor that is thrown out; and if this anchor is but sure and stedfast; if this anchor is not slipping but finds a dependable ground, in which it fastens itself, then the winds may blow and the ship may toss,—it no longer bobs around aimlessly, but it is held in the invisible depth of the sea by a sure and stedfast ground.
This is an image of the ship of our soul. We bear hope as an anchor with us upon the sea of life, in which every thing is equally unsure, changing and swaying like the waves. Sometimes the waters of life are calm, but at other times they are restless, sometimes even tempestuous, and we would easily be swayed by every wind that blows, or drawn along by every stream of spirit that flows forth, if the anchor of the coming glory would not be our anchor that was cast out. Like the anchor at sea steadies itself in the invisible depth, so the anchor of our hope clenches itself in the invisible height. It is cast out in the innermost of the veil. Our hope attaches itself to the heavenly and invisible things. In this manner our small ship is held by the steady anchorage of the invisible world, in which the Forerunner has entered already. In this way we are safe,—eternity holds on to us. We have nothing to fear,—the unchangeable God shall not let us go. Our salvation is certain,—the Saviour keeps us: our hope is anchored in a ground that is both sure and steady and it shall never fail us.

Donald Cantrell: “Our Anchor of Hope”

Heb 6:19—Which [hope] we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

As Christians we have not been left to make it on our own, it is not up to our own selves to make it from day to day. The Lord has provided us with specific tools for our journey, these tools are the right tools, and they are the best tools. One of these tools is a thing called hope; specifically it is called an anchor of hope. The great thing about this anchor is the place where it is fastened, this anchor is fastened first of all to our very own soul, it is steadfast, it is secure, and you can count on it. The second place that this anchor is fastened is very odd, most anchors are located somewhere below the object that is being anchored, but this anchor is the only anchor that I know of that spans the universe, it is anchored within the veil, literally inside the throne room.
Dear friend you can rest easy in knowing that this anchor is secure, it is secured on our end by the Spirit of God, and it is secure on the heavenly end by the Son of God, now that my friend is secure. If my salvation depended upon myself I would be the most hopeless man in the world. If my salvation depended upon others to keep me saved I would be lost tomorrow, but thanks be to God that I am secure due to the blood of Jesus Christ. I can rest easy in trusting Jesus, I have a wonderful hope in knowing that I am safe, I am saved, I am stable. It is an awesome thing to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am saved, my hope is in the Lord, and my confidence is in the Lord. What price could we pay to obtain this great hope, what could we do to deserve this mighty hope?
Thank God for my hope, he is worthy of all praise, to him be the glory, he has supplied me with a tool that is so useful, so needful, my hope is so wonderful. We probably take our hope for granted, we don’t have to secure it, we don’t have to supply it, we don’t have to share it, and we just have to apply it. The hope of God is readily available, just use it, and just apply it!!!

1. The Provision of Our Hope—The Supply
2. The Intention of Our Hope—The Security
3. The Direction of Our Hope—The Saviour

The writer challenges us to lay hold of our hope, it is useless if we do not use it, it is not a spare tire for emergencies, and it is the most important tool that we can use. Dear friend grab hold of your faith, it is there do not neglect it; in the following place list some areas that you need to apply your hope in God:

The Anchor Holds - William Jones

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail.—Heb. 6:19.

I once stood upon an eminence above the sea, and saw a home-bound vessel driven by a fearful tempest toward the land. The waves, now lashed to fury, broke in foaming whirls upon a reef that ran along between me and the ship. The wind was rising to a perfect gale. The spray came spattering over me, and the bark was drawing closer and closer in upon the fatal breakers. I could see the sailors raise their hands to heaven for mercy. I could hear faint cries to God above the booming of the ocean.

In, in upon the rocks the great ship comes; hearts melt like wax, and prayers ascend from thousands on the shore for her salvation. But now the foaming brine rolls over her; she swings around alongside of the deadly breakers; one wave more will dash her right upon them. It comes—the mightiest of all; it strikes the ship, it dashes over her, it breaks away; and there, O, joy and gladness—she holds still, and firm, and steadfast. She stands to her position, and though wave after wave comes rolling on, and breaks with deadening weight against her sides, though the rocks are but a cable’s length from her, she rides all through the long, darkling night in perfect safety.

What holds her there? No saving power is visible. What prevents the wreck and ruin? Her massive anchor clinches fast into a rock.
Unseen, but mighty, it resists the impetus of the storm, and gives those tars of ocean to their homes again.

So, like that strong iron anchor is the Christian’s hope in Jesus. Though not observed by every eye, it still clings fast to the “Rock of Ages.” Wedged into that immovable foundation, it holds him firm and steady amidst the fluctuations and vicissitudes of this mortal life; holds him when amidst the surges of temptation, when amidst the sunken rocks of false philosophy, when buffeted by the sharp winds of adversity; holds him when the sea of God’s indignation overwhelms the wicked; holds him when he is brought alongside of, and hears the tremendous roar of the breakers of eternity; holds him until Jesus clasps him in his arms, and bears him to that golden shore, beyond the reach of ocean storm, or wreck, or death.

Vance Havner - Hebrews 6:19.
Not only is it true that "where there's life there's hope," but where there's hope there's life. The New Testament is filled with hope and it centers in Jesus Christ within us, the hope of glory. Having this hope, we purify ourselves and, when trouble comes, we sorrow not as those who have no hope. It is hope in that which is to come that carries us through that which is now. Our redemption draws nigh and God will perfect that which concerns us. This hope makes us not ashamed. If you have grounds for hope, you have grounds for living!

There is a natural hope and a spiritual hope. Of that natural hope, Benjamin Franklin said, "He that lives upon hope will die fasting." Of that natural hope, Omar Khayyam said, "It is like snow in the desert." An anonymous writer said that "hope is a quivering, nervous creature trying to be bright and cheerful but, alas, frequently sick abed with nervous prostration and heart failure." Of that biblical hope, Hebrews 6:19 says it is "an anchor for the soul."

J C Philpot - –Hebrews 6:19 - ANCHORS OF DIFFERENT SIZES

Anchors, you know, are made of different sizes. You may walk in the Queen's Dockyard, and there you may see anchors for a boat, and anchors for a three-decker. Yet all anchors are made in the same way, and are designed for the same purpose; and the little anchor that holds the boat is as useful and as much an anchor as that which holds the three-decker. So spiritually. There is hope in the heart of the spiritual babe. But the hope in the heart of a babe is but as the anchor of a boat; yet it holds that babe as firmly as the anchor holds the boat to which it is moored. But as the Lord increases hope, he increases the size of the anchor; and as the vessel and its anchor always bear a proportion to each other, so when he enlarges the size of the anchor he increases the size of the ship. No more, as he increases the size of the ship, he increases its burden, for these two are proportionate. Thus hope takes a more vigorous hold within the veil; it enters more deeply into the presence of God; it takes a firmer grasp of covenant engagements, electing love, the immutability of God's purposes, and the unchangeable nature of the great eternal I AM.

Have you not felt at times your hope sweetly enlarged, so that it almost attained to the "full assurance of hope?" Scarcely a cloud remained between you and God; and you believed you would ride triumphantly into the haven of bliss and peace; and having these blessed sensations in your heart, you could part with life itself at that moment to fall into the embrace of your God.

William MacDonald - “Hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Rom. 5:5)

Sometimes words in the Christian vocabulary have a different meaning than they have in ordinary usage. “Hope” is one of those words.

As far as the world is concerned, to hope often means to look forward to something unseen but with no certainty of fulfillment. A man in deep financial trouble may say, “I hope everything will turn out all right,” but he has no assurance that it will. His hope may be nothing but wishful thinking. The Christian hope also looks forward to something unseen, as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:24: “Hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” All hope deals in the realm of the future.

But what makes the Christian hope different is that it is based on the promise of the Word of God and is therefore absolutely certain. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb. 6:19 NIV). Hope is “faith laying hold of God’s Word and living in the present assurance of what God has promised or predicted” (Woodring). “Notice that I am using hope to mean ‘certainty.’ Hope in Scripture refers to future events that will happen come what may. Hope is not a delusion to buoy our spirits and keep us going forth blindly to an inevitable fate. It is the basis of all Christian living. It represents ultimate reality” (John White).

Because the believer’s hope is based on God’s promise, it can never lead to shame or disappointment (Rom. 5:5). “Hope without God’s promises is empty and futile, and often even presumptuous. But based on the promises of God, it rests upon His character and cannot lead to disappointment” (Woodring).

The Christian hope is spoken of as a good hope. Our Lord Jesus and God our Father have loved us and have given us “everlasting consolation and good hope through grace” (2 Th. 2:16).

It is called a blessed hope, referring particularly to the coming of Christ: “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13).

And it is called a living hope. “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3 NIV).

The Christian’s hope enables him to endure seemingly endless delays, tribulation, persecution, and even martyrdom. He knows that these experiences are only pinpricks compared to the coming glory.

HEBREWS 6:19

The president of Gordon College, R. Judson Carlberg, was driving along the ocean near his home in Massachusetts when he saw two stately 17th-century sailing ships. They were replicas, built for a movie being filmed nearby.

"The breeze was stiff," Carlberg reported, "straining the rigging and the crews. Yet each ship stayed the course and didn't capsize." He explained the secret of their stability "Beneath the waterline each had a deep, heavy keel—a part you don't see." The keel was essential for keeping the vessel steady in rough weather.

What holds us steady when fierce winds are blowing across life's sea? What keeps us from capsizing when we are under stress and tension? It's the stabilizing keel of faith in our sovereign God—the "anchor of the soul." —V C. G.

CHRIST WILL KEEP US STEADY IN THE STORMY SEA OF CHANGE.

Robert Neighbour - The Four Anchors
"Then fearing lest they should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day" (Acts 27:29).
W. Leon Tucker has a sermon upon this verse. We happened to run across it, as we were preparing this address. His sermon is beautiful. He has named it, "Anchored until Daybreak." We quickly ran our eye down his manuscript, desiring to see what anchors he would say we should cast from the storm-tossed boat. He mentioned four: The Word of God, the Deity of Christ, the Cross of Christ and the Coming of Christ. We believe if we had not run across his book, we would have mentioned the same; but since we saw the anchors of his choice, we feel that we can choose none better.
Let us get the picture before us. After being driven fourteen nights up and down in Adria, about midnight the sailors thought they drew near to some country. They sounded and found twenty fathoms; when they had gone a little further, they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms. Then, fearing lest they would have been driven against the rocks, they cast out four anchors and wished for day.
1. The first anchor is the Word of God. It will hold us securely during the storm. May we change the figure for a moment? This time, let us imagine a house built upon the sand, and another built upon the rocks. Let the sand represent the shifting beliefs of human philosophy; let the rock represent the impregnable Scriptures. Against these houses the storm descends, the winds blow, the floods come, the rains fall. The house built upon the sand falls, and great is the fall thereof. The house built upon the rock stands. It can not fall. So, our first, sure anchor is the God-breathed Word.
2. The Deity of Christ. This is an anchor that is certain to hold. The one who knows nothing but a human Saviour has no Saviour at all. Christ said, "If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." When Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God;" Jesus replied, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonas." He who knows Christ as Deity, has an anchor that will hold.
3. The Cross of Christ. This anchor is all-important. It is not the life of Jesus Christ the Son of God, which saves. It is the Blood of Jesus Christ. Apart from His Cross, there is no salvation.
4. The Coming of Christ. This is an anchor we can not afford to leave out. In Hebrews 6:19 we read: "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." When the storms are dashing wild, the blessed hope is a sure anchor.

"Though the angry surges roll
On my tempest-driven soul,
I am peaceful, for I know,
Wildly though the winds may blow,
I've an anchor safe and sure,
That can evermore endure.
And it holds, my anchor holds:
Blow your wildest, then, O gale,
On my bark so small and frail:
By His grace I shall prevail,
For it holds, my anchor holds."

James Smith - THE SURE AND STEADFAST ANCHOR.

"Which hope we have as an Anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entered into that within the veil, even Jesus" (Heb. 6:19, 20).

Life apart from Jesus Christ is full of uncertainties, because it is outside the plan and purpose of God. Only the Christian can say "We have a hope both sure and steadfast."

I. What this Anchor is. It is Jesus Himself, who is entered within the veil as our Hope. It may not be easy to define Love, Peace, or Hope, but we knew Him.

II. How this Anchor was formed. There are two elements in it, the divine and the human. Our Anchor is both God and Man. "Christ our Hope" as an Anchor. He was severely tested, being tried by God, man, and devils, and is abundantly able to bear any strain that may be put upon Him.

III. How this Anchor is to be had. All who have fled for refuge, by laying hold of Jesus as their hope, are made partakers of its saving power. A felt need in view of the coming storm is all the fitness needed. It is too late to seek the anchor when the ship has split on the rocks.

IV. How this Anchor is to be used. We are not to leave it behind to be called for when the danger appears (Acts 27:29); it must be with us continually. "Lo, I am with you alway." What a privilege to be in constant touch with Him who is almighty to keep! Every look of faith is a casting of the anchor within the veil (Col. 3:1).

V. How this Anchor holds. "It is sure and steadfast," taking hold of the unseen and eternal Jesus in the presence of God for us has made our standing sure, having entered by His own blood. As our representative He is rooted in God by an eternal covenant. His anchor holds in the day of adversity when all around gives way. It holds in the day of death, when the "cold dark billows roll." It holds in the day of judgment, "when the elements shall melt with fervent heat." Which hope we have as a present enjoyment. He that is without Christ is without hope. "Will your anchor hold?"

J C Philpot - "Where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus." Hebrews 6:20

How blessedly did the Lord comfort his sorrowing disciples when he said to them, "In my Father's house are many mansions--if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." He has gone to take possession beforehand of his and their everlasting home; for he is ascended to his Father and their Father, to his God and their God. He has, as it were, filled heaven with new beauty, new happiness, new glory. In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. His glorious Person as Immanuel has become the object of heaven's praise and adoration. The elect angels adore him as God-man; and the spirits of just men made perfect worship him in company with the angelic host. What a view had holy John of heaven's glorious worship, when he saw the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall down before the Lamb; when he heard their new song and the voice of many angels round about the throne, and all saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain--to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).

Heaven itself is waiting for the completion of the great mystery of godliness, when the whole Church shall be assembled around the throne; when the marriage supper of the Lamb shall come; when the headstone shall be brought forth by the hands of the spiritual Zerubbabel, with shoutings of Grace, grace unto it. Earth itself is groaning under the weight of sin and sorrow; and the souls of those under the altar who were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held, are crying with a loud voice, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" No, the very signs of the times themselves are all proclaiming as with one voice that it cannot be long before the Lord will come a second time without sin unto salvation.

Spurgeon, C. H.
Morning and evening
Ephesians 1:11

When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal head of the covenant of grace, he has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of his obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in him, and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will. See, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, “Whither the Forerunner is for us entered.” Heb. 6:20. Does he stand in the presence of God?—“He appears in the presence of God for us.” Heb. 9:24. Consider this, believer. You have no right to heaven in yourself: your right lies in Christ. If you are pardoned, it is through his blood; if you are justified, it is through his righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because he is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in him. Thus Jesus is magnified—for all is in him and by him; thus the inheritance is made certain to us—for it is obtained in him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter, because it is Jesus our Beloved “in whom” we have obtained all. Where is the man who shall estimate our divine portion? Weigh the riches of Christ in scales, and his treasure in balances, and then think to count the treasures which belong to the saints. Reach the bottom of Christ’s sea of joy, and then hope to understand the bliss which God hath prepared for them that love him. Overleap the boundaries of Christ’s possessions, and then dream of a limit to the fair inheritance of the elect. “All things are yours, for ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.”

Titles of Christ in Hebrews

1. SON. “His son.” Hebrews 1:2.
2. CAPTAIN. “Captain of their salvation.” Hebrews 2:10.
3. APOSTLE. “Consider the apostle.” Hebrews 3:1.
4. HIGH PRIEST. “A great high priest.” Hebrews 4:14.
5. FORERUNNER. “The forerunner is for us entered.” Hebrews 6:20.
6. MEDIATOR. “The mediator of the new testament.” Hebrews 9:15.
7. 7 AUTHOR. “The author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2.
8. SHEPHERD. “The great shepherd of the sheep.” Hebrews 13:20.

Warren Wiersbe - Jesus reigns today! Since his ascension to heaven, Jesus is enthroned as our Priest-King “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 6:20; see Gen. 14:18–24). The name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.” Nowhere in Scripture do we find the offices of king and priest united except in Jesus. He reigns from a throne of grace to which we have access (Heb. 4:14–16) and he has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). As our High Priest, he feels our pains and knows our needs, and as our King, he is able to give to us and do for us all that is best.

.....Did you know that Jesus has gone before us to heaven where he is preparing a home for each of his children? Jesus the forerunner has gone behind the veil for us (Heb. 6:20). The forerunner goes before to open the way for others to follow. On the annual Day of Atonement, the Jewish high priest went through the veil into the holy of holies to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, but nobody followed him. The next time Satan tells you that you will never make it to heaven, remind him that Jesus is already there. Tell him Jesus is the forerunner and his people will follow him. What is Jesus doing in heaven? As our Great High Priest, he is interceding for us at the throne of grace, where through him we can receive all the grace we need day after day. According to John 14:1–4, Christ is preparing a home in heaven for each believer, and we shall one day meet the Lord in the air and go with him to heaven.

Steve McVey - Christ, Our Anchor—HEBREWS 6:19 The Grace Walk Devotional - Page 33

Some years ago, my wife, Melanie, and I were on a sailing trip alone. We reached a small island where we wanted to spend the night. Normally we would pick up a mooring ball, where we would tie off our boat to secure it for the night. These mooring balls are set in concrete and are securely anchored at the bottom of the ocean. When a boat is tied off to one of them, nothing can move it.

It was late enough in the day that we couldn’t find a mooring ball because too many other boats had arrived ahead of us. Because of the hour I was hesitant to set sail to another place to spend the night, so we decided to set anchor where we were. In the few years we had been sailing, we hadn’t gained confidence that we were able to successfully set the anchor so it would hold firmly through the night. We had been taught how to do it when we had taken sailing certification classes, but we were still unsure.

My fears caused me to imagine what would happen if the anchor pulled loose during the middle of the night. We could drift and bump into other boats around us. I wasn’t worried so much about doing damage to our or another boat—rather, I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know what I was doing (which wasn’t totally without truth). Another possibility was that we might drift from where we were to the water’s edge and find ourselves on the nearby reef. Or I imagined we could even wake up the next morning with the boat adrift out in the middle of the channel.

We set the anchor. Then I sat in one spot on deck, lining up a point on the boat with an object on land to make sure we weren’t drifting. Everything appeared to be okay, but I still wasn’t easy about it. We took our dinghy ashore to have dinner, but throughout the whole meal I kept watching to make sure our boat was still in the same place.

That night when we went below to sleep, I jerked awake almost every time I felt any movement that seemed unusual. I even got up and went up on deck four or five times during the night and checked the anchor to make sure it was still secure. It was a long night with only brief moments of sleep.
When the sun came up the next day, I checked the anchor again. It hadn’t moved at all. Everything had been fine. My fears and apprehension had been unfounded.

I thought about that experience later and began to see how much that experience reflected my attitude in life at times. There we were in a beautiful island setting, but I didn’t really enjoy it that evening or night. I can’t even remember what I ate at the restaurant where we had dinner. I don’t remember the sunset that evening. I didn’t enjoy the gentle sway of the boat in the water rocking me to sleep, which I normally would. I was too worried, too focused on what might happen if the anchor didn’t hold.

Hebrews 6:19 assures us that our hope in Christ is an “anchor of the soul.” Despite that promise, there have been times in my life when I couldn’t fully enjoy being where God had put me at the time because of fears—fears of drifting out of His will, fears about dangers I thought I could see on the horizon, fears about looking like I didn’t know what I was doing. Fear robs us of the joy of the journey known as “life.” It causes us to believe that our safety is up to us, not God. It makes us act like we are the ones who have to make sure everything turns out well.

Are you going through anything in your life right now that causes you to be afraid about what might happen? We all do at times, but the key to successfully dealing with those times in life isn’t to hope that they don’t happen or that our situation will lead to a good outcome. The key is in learning to let it go and to entrust ourselves and life’s circumstances to the One who has it all under control.

“Greatest of These, The” -- J Ellis

“GREATEST OF THESE, THE” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Faith is first (Hebrews 11:6; Galatians 2:2–6).
Hope is great (1 Timothy 1:1: Ephesians 2:12).
Love is greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The foundation of Peter’s eight-story building (2 Peter 1:5–7) is faith in Christ; the top-stone is love for Christ.

Faith brings us to God (Romans 5:1).
Hope anchors us in God (Hebrews 6:19).
Love makes us like God (1 John 4:16).

Faith is a shield (Ephesians 6:16).
Hope is a helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Love is the girdle which binds the graces and gifts; the uniting bond of completeness (Colossians 3:14).

Love is the greatest thing in the world. The gift of tongue, the gift of prophecy, and all other gifts shall cease; but love abideth forever. Luther calls it the shortest and longest divinity; shortest in words, but longest in use and practice.
The Love of Christ is not an absorbing, but a radiating love.
The more we love Him, the more we shall love others. Not passive, but outflowing, outpouring of the real, glowing, personal love of His mighty and tender heart.
It is the love that passeth knowledge.

David Jeremiah - STEADFAST AND SURE Discovering God: 365 Daily Devotions - Page 92

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. HEBREWS 6:19

Priscilla Owens was a schoolteacher in Baltimore, Maryland, and a faithful church worker. As time allowed she also composed Christian hymns. We know her as the author of the song “Will Your Anchor Hold?” (Listen to We have an anchor that keeps the soul,) The chorus says, “We have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll.” Owens also wrote the popular hymn that says, “We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!”

Jesus Himself is the only hope for the future of the world, for the future of the nation of Israel, and for those who comprise the final generations of history. He’s also our only hope today. The Bible says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Here’s the great thing. When we hear the joyful sound of Jesus calling to us, we discover we have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll.

Don’t fear the billows today; rejoice in the blessings.

At other times hope is misplaced or abandoned. As Paul was being transported as a prisoner across the Mediterranean Sea, the ship sailed into a fierce storm. Because the seamen had no anchor for their souls, they abandoned hope (Acts 27:20). It was only the faithful Apostle Paul who could give hope to hopeless men, because he trusted the Lord (Acts 27:25).

A third close relative of faith is hope. It is seen in the triplet of faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13; 1 Thes. 1:3). Another confirmation of the close ties between faith and hope is found in the above-mentioned faith chapter, Hebrews 11. Both Noah and Abraham placed their hope in God, though they had no visible basis for belief (11:10, 27). A parallel passage is Romans 4:18. *

According to Norman Cousins, “Hope is independent of the apparatus of logic.” However, hope must have a sure, safe anchor, or it is folly. Though John Bunyan (1628-88) had suffered imprisonment and persecution for his faith and ministry, he clung to his hope in Christ. Despite all his suffering he could say: “Hope is never ill, when faith is well.”

Drop Anchor - Warren Wiersbe Be Confident (Hebrews): Live by Faith, Not by Sight - Page 84

Read Hebrews 6

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.Hebrews 6:19–20

The anchor was a popular symbol in the early church. The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote: “One must not tie a ship to a single anchor, nor life to a single hope.” Christians have but one anchor—Jesus Christ our hope (Col. 1:5; 1 Tim. 1:1; Heb. 6:19).

However, this spiritual anchor is different from material anchors on ships. For one thing, we are anchored upward—to heaven—not downward. We are anchored, not to stand still, but to move ahead! Our anchor is “firm”—it cannot break—and “secure”—it cannot slip. No earthly anchor can give that kind of security!

The writer then clinches the argument: This Savior is our “forerunner.” The Old Testament high priest was not a forerunner because nobody could follow him into the Holy of Holies. But Jesus Christ has gone ahead to heaven so that one day we may follow!

Something to Ponder

In what ways is Jesus your anchor? What are some areas of your life that aren’t anchored as securely as you wish they were?

David Jeremiah - UNWILLING HOPE Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God

HEBREWS 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

Scripture teaches us that hope is necessary because the will is often uncooperative. We all know we should possess hope. We know that as Christians, we should be filled with hope. But how many of us have found ourselves praying the prayer of Paul in Romans 7:19: “Lord, I know what I should do, but I don’t do it. I know what I shouldn’t do, and here I am doing it again” [my paraphrase].
Hebrews 6:18 is very interesting. It says, “That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”
Many of us have experienced difficult times and we know our hope ought to be in the Lord. But sometimes our will is uncooperative, and we just have to forget everything and hang on to God, flee to Him for our refuge.

The Anchors that Failed 1 Thessalonians 3:8; Hebrews 6:19

Louis-Antoine de Bougainville was born in Paris on 12 November 1729. He fought in the Seven Years War against England, started the first settlement on the Falkland Islands, led a voyage around the world in the 1760s, and fought in the American War of Independence.
Bougainville began his round the world voyage in November 1766. He had two ships, the Etoile and the Boudeuse with 330 onboard, which made the 28 month expedition.
It was during his voyage around the world, that in April 1768, he became the first European to visit Tahiti and he claimed it for France.
On April 12, 1768, strong winds began to blow while his two ships were at anchor. The ships were buffeted so strongly that cables and hawsers gave way. Both ships’ anchors failed and were lost and the ships narrowly missed grounding on the surrounding coral.
Unlike earthly anchors, Jesus Christ is an anchor which holds firmly against any storm in life. He will never fail.

William Gurnall was a famous Puritan writer, whose most outstanding book was a large volume dealing with the saint’s spiritual armor. When Gumall turned to the Second Coming, he was full of hope and urgency, for he said: “Christ hath told us He will come, but not when, that we might never put off our clothes.”

The Anchor of the Soul - Burris Butler

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.—Hebrews 6:19, 20.

Introduction

A. Three figures refer to the Christian hope:
1. “Who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” Slayer laying hold of horns of altar.
2. “Within the veil.” Forerunner.
3. An anchor of the soul.
B. We are dealing with the third figure: Hope as an anchor.

I. Christian Hope Defined.

A. What it is not.
1. Mere amelioration of society. “Salvation of the race.”
2. Hope of a higher stage of evolution.
3. Memory and influence.
B. What it is.
1. Salvation from sin and its consequence.
2. Personal eternal life.
3. Bodily resurrection.
4. Heaven.

II. The Basis of Christian Hope.

A. God’s promise and oath to Abraham.
B. The character and promises of Christ.
C. Christ’s glorious resurrection.
D. The “unseen” but not the unreal and unhistorical.

III. The Anchor of the Soul.

A. Without this anchor:
1. Under waves of opposition—someone goes down in weakness.
2. Before jeers and mocking—someone else seeks refuge in the world.
3. Before hammering of evolutionary intellectualism—others are driven into infidelity.
4. Through neglect—others drift out and are lost in the calm of indifference.
5. Under the greatest blow of all, death of loved ones, waves of grief drive the soul on rocks of despair.
B. With this anchor:
1. Opposition cannot harm. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
2. Jeers and scorn cannot alarm. The Comforter abides.
3. Social ambitions cannot charm. We have the society of saints and angels and the promise of eternity with God.
4. Wealth and fame do not sway. We seek “treasures in heaven,” and the “Well done” of our heavenly Father.
5. Theological fads do not discourage. “The Word of our God standeth sure.”
6. Death of loved ones does not destroy. Joy at hope of eternal reunion will overcome our grief.
7. Indifference becomes our greatest danger, but our anchor holds us fast.

Conclusion

Will you drift with the tide or drop anchor within the haven of rest and cling fast to the rock of ages?

Abraham left behind his citizenship papers and a settled existence in Ur to trust God and travel to Canaan on the strength of nothing but God’s command. Abraham and the others didn’t have the Bible’s teaching on heaven that we have, but they knew the God of heaven. And that’s where they anchored their hope (Heb. 6:19).

Arnot - HEB. 6:19. Hope … an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

On the margin of the ocean that surrounds and laves our island home, an object of absorbing interest may often be observed,—a ship riding at anchor near a lee shore in an angry sea. She has drifted, ere she was aware, too near a rockbound coast; the wind is blowing direct on shore; there is not room to tack; whether she should point her prow north or south, she will strike a projecting headland ere she can escape from the bay. One resource remains,—to anchor where she is till the wind change. There she lies. Stand on this height and look down upon her through the drifting spray. I scarcely know in nature a more interesting or suggestive sight. The ship is dancing on the waves; she appears to be in their power and at their mercy. Wind and water combine to make her their sport. Destruction seems near; for if the vessel’s hull is dashed by these waves upon the rocks of the coast, it will be broken into a thousand pieces. But you have stood and looked on the scene awhile, and the ship still holds her own. Although at first sight she seemed the helpless plaything of the elements, they have not overcome—they have not gained upon her yet. She is no nearer destruction than when you first began to gaze in anticipation of her fate. The ship seems to have no power to resist the onset of wind and wave. She yields to every blast and every billow. This moment she is tossed aloft on the crest of a wave, and the next she sinks heavily into the hollow. Now her prow goes down beneath an advancing breaker, and she is lost to view in the spray; but anon she emerges, like a sea-fowl shaking the water from her wings and rejoicing in the tumult. As she quivered and nodded giddily at each assault, you thought, when first you arrived in sight, that every moment would prove her last; but now that you have watched the conflict long, it begins to assume in your mind another aspect, and promise another end. These motions of the ship now, instead of appearing the sickly movements of the dying, seem to indicate the calm, confident perseverance of conscious strength and expected victory. Let winds and waves do their worst, that ship will meet them fearless, will hold her head to the blast, and maintain her place in defiance of their power. What is the secret of that ship’s safety? No other ship is in sight to which she may cling; no pillar stands within reach to which she may be moored. The bond of her security is a line that is unseen. The ship is at anchor. The line on which she hangs does not depend on the waters, or anything that floats there; it goes through the waters, and fastens on a sure ground beyond them. The soul, considered as a passenger on the treacherous sea of Time, needs an anchor; and an anchor “sure and steadfast” is provided for the needy soul.

David Jeremiah - PROMISES AWEIGH? NEVER! Your Daily Journey with God: 365 Daily Devotions - Page 246
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil. HEBREWS 6:19

Most people are familiar with the fight song of the United States Naval Academy, “Anchors Aweigh.” Fewer are familiar with the meaning of aweigh. An anchor is “aweigh” when it has been lifted off the seabed and is suspended in midwater. The call “Anchors aweigh” is given to signal that the ship is free to move; it is no longer tethered to the seabed.

One phrase you will never hear —or should never hear —called out from a biblical pulpit is “Promises aweigh!” That would mean that our spiritual anchor —the hope we have in the person and promises of God through Jesus Christ —was changing position. The writer to the Hebrews says that our hope is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19). And what is our hope? It is twofold: the promise and oath of God Almighty (Hebrews 6:17). In other words, our hope is in God’s character and His Word. Because God is true, His Word is true and can never be broken —so said Jesus Christ in John 10:35.

Regardless of how circumstances move about you, you will never hear, “Promises aweigh!” God’s promises are “both sure and steadfast,” an anchor for your soul.

Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death. WILLIAM GURNALL

What We Possess in Hebrews - Charles Inglis

1. A DELIVERANCE. “Obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12.
2. A RELATIONSHIP. “To call them brethren.” Hebrews 2:11.
3. A HIGH PRIEST. “Such an high priest.” Hebrews 8:1.
4. ACCESS. “Liberty to enter in.” Hebrews 10:19.
5. A HOPE. “Which hope we have.” Hebrews 6:19
6. A CITY. “We seek one to come.” Hebrews 13:14

Christ is spoken of as THE SUN in the last chapter of the Old Testament.
Christ is spoken of as THE MORNING STAR in the last chapter of the New Testament.

James Smith - WE HAVE.” HEBREWS

The Jewish Christians were being taunted by their unconverted countrymen that through espousing the cause of Christ they had lost everything. The Apostle proves to them that they have only lost the shadow for the substance. The “We have’s” of the Apostle must have greatly impressed them. “We have”

1. A Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).
2. Such a High Priest (Hebrews 8:1).
3. A Strong Consolation (Hebrews 6:18).
4. A Cheering Hope (Hebrews 6:19).
5. Boldness (Hebrews 10:19).
6. A Better Substance (Hebrews 10:34).
7. An Altar—Christ (Hebrews 13:10).

TRUE HOPE HEBREWS 6:19 - Charles Stanely

So many people I know live under a terrible cloud of “I hope I’ve done enough to please God.” They hope they’ve read enough of the Bible and prayed enough. They hope God will forgive them. They hope they’ll be considered worthy of heaven.
Such concern isn’t true hope.
True hope lies in saying, “Thank You, God, for saving me! Thank You for loving me! Thank You for Jesus Christ and what He did for me on the cross! Thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit to guide me and comfort me!”

Charles Stanley - The Anchor of Hope Seeking His Face: A Daily Devotional - Page 23

SCRIPTURE READING: Hebrews 6:17–19
KEY VERSE: Hebrews 6:19

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.

The writer of Hebrews drew a clear, concise point in encouraging us in “laying hold of the hope set before us” (Heb. 6:18 NASB). He used an anchor as a word picture to emphasize his point: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil” (Heb. 6:19 NASB).
Most members of the early church understood how anchors were used to hold a ship firmly, not allowing it to drift far. However, even this analogy, when placed alongside the surety of God’s love, is limited and flawed.
Material anchors cannot hold us securely the way Jesus is committed to doing. When the storms arise, earthly anchors slip and drag along the bottom of the sea. But God is your eternal Anchor. He is your strong, immovable hope when the storms of life hit. You don’t have to worry about drifting off course as long as you are firmly anchored in Christ.
Will He ever let you go? No. Jesus loves you with an eternal love that is not bound by human desire, expectations, or possibilities. He is the true Anchor to your soul, One who is not earthbound, but One who extends to the very heart of God.
You don’t have to run for cover when the winds of doubt, low self-esteem, or discouragement blow. Nothing that touches your life is stronger than the power of the Cross.

Thank You, Father, for Your eternal love, which is not bound by human desires, expectations, or possibilities.

Spurgeon - SURE AND STEADFAST. Hebrews 6:19

Believers may be as poor as poverty but still wealthy. We do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things (Matt. 6:34). We throw ourselves on God’s providence. We believe that He who clothes the grass of the field will much more clothe us (Matt. 6:30). He who clothes the lilies and feeds the birds of the air (Matt. 6:26, 29) will not allow His children to go starving or barefoot.
Believers have little concern about their worldly estates. We fold our arms and sing as we float down the stream of providence. Whether we float by dark, dreary, and destructive mud banks or by estates fair and valleys pleasant, it does not change our position. We neither move nor struggle. Our only desire is to lie passively in God’s hand and know no will but His.
When the storm comes, we find Christ to be “a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest” (Is. 32:2). When the heat is hot, we find Christ to be “the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Is. 32:2). We put our anchor deep in the sea and we sleep. Hurricanes may blow, the masts may creak, the timbers may strain, and every nail may pull from its place, but still we sleep because Christ is at the helm. We have an anchor of the soul that is both sure and steadfast (Heb. 6:19).
The earth shakes, but we say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Ps. 46:1–2).

Though Shakespeare was making more of a poetic point than a spiritual one, he did emphasize a profound spiritual truth. It is more clearly stated in the familiar words of committal: “We therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.” For the Christian, the body is important. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit. His indwelling sanctifies it. However, our earthly bodies will someday give way to glorious resurrection bodies.

Adrian Rogers - see full sermon - click and go to page 60 for In Times Like These You Need an Anchor

Well, dear friend, back in Bible times, when a ship wanted to come into the harbor, it may not, because of the wind and the tide, be able to get into the harbor yet. But it would know one day that it would come into the harbor. And in those harbors, there were great rocks along the shore. And in those rocks, there were fastening places where an anchor might be placed. And what they would do in this time is this, that if the ship could not get into the harbor just yet, it would let down an anchor where it was, out there off the coast. And then it would take the main anchor and put it in a small boat. They would put a sailor in that boat. And with oars, he would take the main anchor, fastened by a line to the ship, and row into the harbor. He could go against the wind, and he could go over the shoals and, maybe, the sandbar. They didn’t have dredges like we have today, and so they had to wait for full tide. He could take that little boat and go into the harbor. And he would take the mighty anchor and go into the harbor and fasten it to one of those great, huge stones on the shore. The man who went into the harbor was called the forerunner. And he would take the anchor of that ship and he would just bring it into the harbor and, there, fasten it safe and secure to a great, mammoth rock that could not be moved. Now, when the tide was high and the time was ripe for the ship to come into the harbor, all they had to do was to begin to winch that chain, that cable, and slowly but surely that ship would be pulled right into the harbor.
Our hope is an anchor of the soul. (Hebrews 6:19) Now the Bible says, “Jesus is the forerunner.” (Hebrews 6:20) Jesus has taken the soul’s anchor, and He’s brought it right into the throne room of God behind the veil.
What is the veil? In the temple there was a veil, a great curtain, a huge curtain. That curtain went from floor to ceiling, from wall to wall, and only the high priest could go in there once a year with blood because behind the veil was the mercy seat. It was the throne of God where God’s Shekinah glory was. And only the high priest could go in there.
Now the writer of Hebrews says, “Jesus has taken the anchor of hope, and He’s gone right into the throne room of God. He has fastened the anchor of hope to the very throne of God, behind the veil.” (Hebrews 6:19–20) A man in yesteryear would let his anchor down. Friend, we let ours up. It’s right up there in the glory. Jesus, the forerunner, has already taken the anchor there! You talk about security! You see, we are anchored; we have an anchor of hope. There is no way—there is no way—that we can ever be lost or miss the harbor. That’s what he is saying. I can’t see that anchor rope, but my dear friend, even right now while I’m talking to you, I can feel the tug. And those of you who are saved, you know exactly what I’m talking about. We sing about this. Folks, have you ever thought about some of the songs that we sing?

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
—EDWARD MOTE

That’s what he’s talking about.
Friend, there are a lot of winds. The title of this message is “In Times Like These You Need an Anchor.” Friend, we are getting blown and battered from every side. And the tides of worldliness, and the winds of circumstance, and the storms of life are coming. But I want to say—you let the winds blow and let the sails be tattered, let the tackle go overboard, and let the old ship creak and moan, and let the swelling tide rise and fall—my anchor holds within the veil. That’s what he’s talking about. “We have a hope,” he says, “steadfast and sure.” Listen to it. Verse 19: “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Hebrews 6:19) Can you say it and mean it?

I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep o’er the wild, stormy deep,
In Jesus I’m safe evermore.
—HENRY L. GILMOUR

Conclusion You see, that’s the message here. There’s the tragedy of an aimless life: just drifting. There’s the victory of an abundant life: so great a salvation. There is the security of an anchored life: That’s what it means to know Jesus.
Now what do you have to do to miss Jesus? Burn down a church? Tear up a Bible? Blaspheme God? Spit on the cross? Do you know what you have to do to be lost? Nothing. Nothing! “How shall we escape if we”—what?—“neglect”—just neglect—“so great salvation.” (Hebrews 2:3)
On May 31, 1889, a tragedy struck in northern Pennsylvania, a little town. That little town, nestled in the valley of the Conemaugh Mountains, was beneath a dam of a lake that was built for some commercial reason and then abandoned and became sort of a fishermen’s paradise. That lake up there in the mountains held millions of tons of water. And it had an earthen dam. The Corps of Engineers went up and examined that lake above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and they said, “This dam is not safe.” They went back down to the people who lived in the valley and said, “You better get out of here. That dam is not safe!”
Do you know what the people did? Some of them scoffed. Others of them said, “Well, not today, I mean, it’s been there so long, and everything seems to be safe.” They just simply neglected to do anything. The last warning was fifteen days before the dam broke. Somebody came riding into the city at breakneck speed to say, “The dam has burst! Flee for your life!” It was too late then. A wall of water—125 feet high, traveling at the rate of fifty miles an hour—came through that valley. Conservative estimates say that 2,700 died. Others say, “No, it was more like 7,000 died,” and were swept out to meet God.
Now, what was necessary to drown in that flood? Did you have to go up there and dig holes in the dam? Did you have to curse the messengers who came and said that the dam was unsafe? All those people had to do to perish was to do nothing—to do nothing—to do nothing! That’s the reason Hebrews chapter 2, verse 3, asks this question: “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3) May I tell you, my friend, that even as I am speaking to you today, the raging waters of God’s wrath are furiously beating against the dam of His mercy. God brought you here today to be saved. God brought you here today and had Jim Whitmire and this choir to sing these songs about salvation. And God gave me this message today to show to you the tragedy of an aimless life, to show to you the victory of an abundant life, and the security of an anchored life. Hope is the anchor of the soul. That anchor is fixed to Jesus, the Rock of ages. Do you know Him? Are you saved? You can be. The God that saved Adrian Rogers, the God that saved John Bramlett, is the God who will save you today.

Our Daily Bread - The president of Gordon College, R. Judson Carlberg, was driving along the ocean near his home in Massachusetts when he saw two stately 17th-century sailing ships. They were replicas that were built for a movie being filmed nearby.

"The breeze was stiff," Carlberg reported, "straining the rigging and the crews. Yet each ship stayed the course and didn't capsize."

He explained the secret of their stability.

"Beneath the waterline each had a deep, heavy keel--a part you don't see."

The keel was essential for keeping the vessel steady in rough weather.

What is it that holds us steady when fierce winds are blowing across life's sea? What keeps us from capsizing when we are under stress and tension? What enables us to sail on, despite the strain? It's the stabilizing keel of faith in our sovereign God. It's our unseen relationship with Christ. As He commanded the wind and the waves on the Sea of Galilee, He also controls the storms and squalls of life that threaten to sink us or drive us off course. Our faith in Christ is an "anchor of the soul" (Heb. 6:19) that can keep us from ultimate shipwreck. Do you have that unseen keel of faith? --V C Grounds (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.
--Owens

Faith in Christ will keep us steady in the stormy sea of change.

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less by Edward Mote - See Wikipedia article for background

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
(The Solid Rock)

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In ev’ry high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Chorus
On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!
Alleluia! King eternal,
Thee the Lord of lords we own:
Alleluia! Born of Mary,
Earth thy footstool, heaven thy throne:
Thou within the veil hast entered,
Robed in flesh, our great High Priest:
Thou on earth both Priest and Victim
In the eucharistic feast.

Thou Art Coming, O My Savior
Thou art coming, we are waiting
With a hope that cannot fail;
Asking not the day or hour,
Resting on thy word of power,
Anchored safe within the veil.
Time appointed may be long,
But the vision must be sure;
Certainty shall make us strong,
Joyful patience can endure.

THE ANCHOR HOLDS

I have journeyed
Through the long, dark night
Out on the open sea

By faith alone
Sight unknown
And yet His eyes were watching me

The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn

I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm

I've had visions
I've had dreams
I've even held them in my hand

But I never knew
They would slip right through
Like they were only grains of sand

The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn

I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm

I have been young
But I am older now
And there has been beauty
That these eyes have seen

But it was in the night
Through the storms of my life
Oh, that's where God proved
His love to me

The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn

I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm

Will Your Anchor Hold

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

Refrain:
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand;
And the cables, passed from His heart to mine,
Can defy the blast, through strength divine.

It will firmly hold in the straits of fear,
When the breakers have told that the reef is near;
Though the tempest rage and the wild winds blow,
Not an angry wave shall our bark o’erflow.

It will surely hold in the floods of death,
When the waters cold chill our latest breath;
On the rising tide it can never fail,
While our hopes abide within the veil.

When our eyes behold, through the gathering night,
The city of gold, our harbor bright,
We shall anchor fast by the heavenly shore,
With the storms all past forevermore.

Thou Art My Hiding Place, O Lord!

1Thou art my hiding place, O Lord!
In thee I put my trust;
Encouraged by thy holy word,
A feeble child of dust:
I have no argument beside,
I urge no other plea;
And ’tis enough my Saviour died,
My Saviour died for me!

When storms of fierce temptation beat,
And furious foes assail,
My refuge is the mercy seat,
My hope within the veil:
From strife of tongues, and bitter words,
My spirit flies to thee;
Joy to my heart the thought affords,
My Saviour died for me!

To Thy Temple I Repair
1 To Thy temple I repair
Lord, I love to worship there,
When within the veil I meet
Christ before the mercy seat.

“We have an anchor that keeps the soul,
Stedfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.”

Hebrews 6:20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: opou prodromo s huper hemon eiselthen (3SAAI) Iesous, kata ten taxin Melchisedek archiereus genomenos (AMPMSN) eis ton aiona.

Amplified: Where Jesus has entered in for us [in advance], a Forerunner having become a High Priest forever after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek. [Ps. 110:4.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: where Jesus has already entered as a forerunner for us, when he became a High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (Westminster Press)

KJV: Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

NLT: Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: where Jesus has already entered on our behalf, having become, as we have seen, "High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek". (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: where a forerunner on behalf of us entered, Jesus, having become a High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.

Young's Literal: whither a forerunner for us did enter—Jesus, after the order of Melchisedek chief priest having become—to the age.

PARAPHRASES:

Jesus has already gone in ahead of us, blazing the trail, and He now serves forever as our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Where Jesus entered before us as a forerunner, He has become our eternal High Priest, appointed in the line of Melchizedek.

Into that inner sanctuary Jesus has gone ahead on our behalf, having taken His place as High Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus has gone behind the veil ahead of us, preparing the way, and He remains there forever as our High Priest like Melchizedek of old.

Christ entered heaven’s Most Holy Place before us, acting as our forerunner, and He stands eternally as High Priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.

Our anchor holds within the very presence of God, where Jesus has already gone as our representative and now serves forever as High Priest in Melchizedek’s order.

Jesus has gone before us into God’s presence, making the way open, and He holds that place for us forever as our faithful High Priest.

Ahead of us Jesus has entered the very throne room of God; as our forerunner, He guarantees our welcome, for He is the eternal Priest of Melchizedek’s line.

Christ has pioneered the way into heaven itself on our behalf, and there He ministers for us forever as the High Priest appointed in Melchizedek’s order.

A forerunner - Heb 2:10, Heb 4:14 John 14:2,3
For (huper)us - Heb 1:3; 4:14; 8:1; 9:12,24; 12:2; Ro 8:34; Eph 1:3,20-23; 1Pe 3:22; 1Jn 2:12
High priest - Heb 3:1 5:6,10 7:1-21
Hebrews 6 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Related Passages:

Hebrews 2:10+ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the Author (Pioneer) of their salvation through sufferings.

Hebrews 4:14-16+ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

JESUS OUR FORERUNNER
WITHIN THE VEIL

Where (hopou) means strictly where and more significantly indicates an abiding there. It refers back to Heb 6:19 and thus signifies within the veil.

Jesus (Iesous) has entered (eiserchomai) as a forerunner (prodromos) would remind the Jewish reader that the Jehoshua of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament and that it was the God of Israel Who died on the Cross as an atonement for their sin. That He is a forerunner (prodromos) sets Him apart from the Levitical high priests who entered alone as the people waited outside. The Old Testament high priest could represent and intercede for the people within the Holy of Holies, but he could not take the people in. Jesus, however, has gone before to open up the way for His people to follow Him which makes Him is far different and much better than the Old Testament high priests. Jesus has shown us the way, has gone on ahead, and is the Surety or Guarantor (Hebrews 7:22+) of our own entrance later. In point of fact, our anchor of hope with its two chains of God's promise and oath has laid hold of Jesus within the veil. It will hold fast. All we need to do is to be true to him as he is to us. Let us hold fast the confession of our faith firm until the end (Hebrews 3:6+; Hebrews 4:14+).

Jesus (Iesous) has entered (eiserchomai) as a forerunner (prodromos) for (huper) us, having become a high priest (archiereus) forever (eis ton aion) according to the order (taxis) of Melchizedek - Jesus (Iesous) has entered (eiserchomai) alludes to the OT high priest entering the Most Holy Place (Lev 16), but now Jesus enters not an earthly sanctuary, but heaven itself (Heb 9:24). Entered (eiserchomai) is in the aorist tense reflecting Christ's completed past action of entering the Heavenly holy of holies. For (huper) us speaks of substitution, signifying Jesus entered heaven on our behalf.

Jesus (Iesous) as the perfect God-Man scouted out the way for us… He alone is the Way (John 14:6) back into the wonderful fellowship Adam enjoyed in the Garden before He fell. Adam's way to the Tree of Life was blocked by cherubim with flaming swords (Ge 3:24). The cherubim were also woven into the veil guarding the approach to the presence of God in the Holy of Holies (Ex 26:31) until our Great High Priest scouted out the Way for us (see note on the "new and living way" in Heb 10:20+). Now in Christ we have an incredible (certain) HOPE… This is a sure & steadfast anchoring hope for our souls and should provide strong encouragement to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hope Heb 6:12). Glory!

Spurgeon - the forerunner for us This title of Forerunner is peculiar to the passage before us. The fact that Christ is the Forerunner of his people may be found, in other words, in the Scriptures, and again and again in this Epistle. But it is only here that we have the exact expression that Jesus Christ within the veil has gone to be the Forerunner of His people. The word used here means a person running before: an outrunner, a herald, a guide, one who precedes. Such terms would correctly interpret the Greek word used here. So it means, first, one who goes before to proclaim, or to declare. A battle has been fought, and the victory won.

Jon Courson presents an interesting picture of a "forerunner"…It’s the big high-school game. Between the goalposts, the cheerleaders have stretched a paper banner that says something clever like, “Win!” And what happens? The forerunner—the first guy out on the field—breaks through the banner, and the rest of the team follows behind him. Jesus is our Forerunner. He’s the first one through the veil. And the whole team—you and I—get to come charging in behind Him. (Jon Courson's Application Commentary)

Jesus as our Forerunner recalls the earlier picture of Jesus as our "Pioneer" (Hebrews 2:10+) the Amplified Version translating it as follows… For it was an act worthy [of God] and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest] through suffering (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

The anchor of the believer’s soul, his hope of eternal life in
his High Priest, the Messiah, is fastened securely to a Rock
within the veil of the Holy of Holies in heaven.

Kenneth Wuest - The anchor of the believer’s soul, his hope of eternal life in his High Priest, the Messiah, is fastened securely to a Rock within the veil of the Holy of Holies in heaven. That Rock is Messiah, Whom the writer now speaks of as the forerunner. Here an entirely new idea is introduced, foreign to the ideas of the Levitical economy. The Aaronic high priest did not enter into the Holy of Holies as a forerunner, but only as the people’s representative. He entered a place where the one in whose behalf he ministered, could not follow him. He entered the Holy of Holies in the stead of the believer, not as one cutting a pioneer path for him. The writer in Hebrews 10:19, 20, when exhorting the unsaved professing Jew to place his faith in the Messiah as High Priest, urges him to enter the Holy of Holies personally, a thing which the First Testament believer could only do in his high priest. The Authorized Version misses the point entirely, when it places the definite article before the word “forerunner,” as if the idea of a high priest being a forerunner were perfectly familiar to the Jewish recipient of this letter. Again, the name Iesous, in the English translation, Jesus, reminds the reader of the fact that the Jehoshua of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament, that it was the God of Israel who died on the Cross as an atonement for sin. (Hebrews Commentary)

Anchor to the throne of God,
and then shorten the rope!

Having become a high priest (archiereus) forever (eis ton aion) according to the order (taxis) of Melchizedek - Become (ginomai) means cause to be ("gen"-erate), to come into existence, to be formed. Christ the Eternal One had to "come into existence" as High Priest in the sense that this office had to be inaugurated by His suffering human life and His sinless death. The aorist tense speaks of a past completed action, accomplished once and forever at Calvary.

The writer quotes from Psalm 110 "The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, "Thou art a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." (Ps 110:4) (Comment: Like Melchizedek, Christ combines the offices of priest and king. Note that Ps 110:4 is quoted three times -- Heb 6:20+; Heb 7:17+, Heb 7:21+ - and expounded upon in Hebrews 7 which demonstrates the eternal priesthood of Christ)

Spurgeon - a high priest forever The most solemn warnings against apostasy, and the declaration that total apostasy would be fatal, are not inconsistent with the great truth of the safety of all true saints. Safe they are, for the covenant promise and oath guarantee their security, their hope is placed where it cannot fail, and in their name Jesus has gone to take possession of heaven. Has He gone as a forerunner of those who may after all perish on the road? God forbid. Where our Head is, there must the members be before long.

Wuest comments that "this High Priest is not in the line of Aaron, but in that of Melchisedec. He is an eternal High Priest. His priesthood had no beginning nor will it have an ending. This High Priest is the Rock of Salvation into which the anchor of the believer’s soul is fastened, which anchor is his faith in the atonement his High Priest has offered. The high priest in Israel arrayed in his gorgeous robes, would enter the sanctuary, wearing on his shoulders twelve onyx stones upon which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and upon his breastplate, twelve onyx stones with the names of the tribes of Israel upon them. Thus he would carry upon the shoulders of his strength and upon the heart of his love, the saved of Israel into the presence of God. Just so, this heavenly High Priest after the order of Melchisedek, carries upon the shoulders of His omnipotence, and upon the heart of His infinite love, those who place their faith in Him, into the presence of God. Thus does the writer encourage the unsaved reader to put his faith in the New Testament Sacrifice, the Messiah, rather than go back to the First Testament sacrifices which were set aside by God at the Cross. (Hebrews Commentary online)

Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, so now the writer addresses the question that would enter his Jewish reader's mind "How could He be the Forerunner into the Holy of Holies if He was not of the tribe and lineage of Levi?" His answer is you are correct that Jesus not of the tribe of Levi but He is of the order of Melchizedek, a great priest and king mentioned in Genesis 14:1. He had begun to write about Melchizedek in Hebrews 5 (Hebrews 5:10 - note) but his readers lacked sufficient maturity to comprehend what he was going to say, and thus he digressed in Hebrews 6. Hebrews 7 picks up his explanation of the priesthood of Melchizedek as it relates to Jesus.

The UBS Handbook has an interesting note on forever writing that…Forever is emphasized in the Greek by a change of order in the words quoted from Psalm 110:4. However, the climax of Heb 6:15-20, a single sentence in Greek, is reached in the word Jesus. Few modern translations bring this out as well as KJV “whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus….” The adverb forever may be emphasized as “and he will never cease to be a high priest.” (The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook)

Melchizedek is literally "king of righteousness" one of the most mysterious figures in the Bible, who reigned as king of Salem (which means peace), or king of Jerusalem and is presented as being a prototype of Jesus Christ, Who is the King of righteousness and peace. Melchizedek combined in himself both kingly and priestly offices.

Grant Osborne - The picture presented here is incredible. Christ as high priest enters the holy of holies, and for the first time in history, the new covenant followers enter alongside him and face an absolutely certain future. The writer is now able to go back to Heb 5:10 and reintroduce the subject of the next several chapters (7–10), the high priestly ministry of Christ “in the order of Melchizedek.” (See Hebrews Verse by Verse - Page lv)

Believer's Study Bible writes that…

The priesthood of Melchizedek serves as a type of the priesthood of Christ in at least three aspects:

(1) in the person of Melchizedek, as is also the case with Christ, the offices of king and priest are combined (cf. Ge 14:18; Heb 7:1);

(2) Melchizedek represents a man ordained by God as a priest in his own right, irrespective of genealogical credentials (cf. Heb 7:3), and the priesthood of Christ is similar in that He is of the tribe of Judah rather than the priestly tribe of Levi;

(3) the priesthood of Melchizedek both began and ended in himself, i.e., there is no evidence of any priestly lineage in Melchizedek's family either prior to or subsequent to Melchizedek, and the same, of course, is true regarding the priesthood of Christ. Christ is indeed a High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Heb 6:20). (Believer's Study Bible)

KJV Bible Commentary makes the point that "The warning passage ends where it began, speaking of Jesus as a priest according to the priesthood of Melchizedek. It is the author’s hope that his readers would no longer be sluggish in hearing (see note Hebrews 5:11) but would be ready to grapple with this new and difficult doctrine. (KJV Bible Commentary)

Robertson - There he functions as our great high priest, better than Aaron for he is “after the order of Melchizedek,” the point that now calls for elucidation (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Ray Stedman - The author of Hebrews pictures our faith entering the sanctuary in heaven where Jesus sits upon the throne. There it lays hold of his mercy and grace so fully that we are held fast, as though by a great anchor, against thebeating waves of trouble and doubt. Held steady in the midst of trying circumstances, we grow in the certainty of our hope of glory. With these encouraging words of hope, he introduces the grand theme of his epistle: the new priesthood which operates on the basis of a new covenant and makes possible a fruitful life of faith in a faithless and hostile world. (The Anchor of the Soul)

Richard Phillips - Can unforeseen circumstances break the line to this great anchor? Can the work of men, the temptations of the devil, or the hostility of the world sever a cord forged and emplaced by God himself? Can your sin break the line to this great anchor? The answer to all of these is No. God is greater than them all, and his oath shall overrule every opposition. Believers are saved and we are safe because of God’s oath-bound promise, secured and made fast by the finished work of Jesus Christ.What encouragement we have as we follow Christ as pilgrims in this barren world! Is this hope yours? Have you trusted Jesus Christ for your salvation? If not, then what is your hope? How will it hold up on the solemn day of God’s judgment? If you have trusted in Christ, then yours is a hope nothing can break, a hope that encourages you indeed, an anchor for your soul in the storms of this life. As the hymn puts it,

Who trusts in God, a strong abode
in heaven and earth possesses;
who looks in love to Christ above,
no fear his heart oppresses.
In you alone, dear Lord, we own
sweet hope and consolation:
our shield from foes, our balm for woes,
our great and sure salvation.

Forerunner (4274) (prodromos from protrécho = run ahead or before) describes one who goes on ahead to prepare the way. Prodromos was used in Greek to describe one who was sent before to take observations or act as spy or a light-armed soldier soldier sent out ahead of a main force so as to gather information about the enemy’s position, strength, or movements. The prodromos was a scout who was sent out to explore an area and obtain information (much like our modern word "pioneer"). In Paul's day prodromos was the word used to describe the smaller boats that were sent into the harbor by larger ships that were unable to enter due to stormy conditions. These smaller boats or prodomoi carried the anchor through the breakers inside the harbor and dropped it there, securing the larger ship.

A forerunner is defined as one that precedes or is sent as an advance messenger, thus presupposing that others will follow. In this section of Hebrews 6:16-20 the writer dramatically pictures Jesus as not only the believer’s Anchor but as the Runner Boat that has taken our anchor into port and secured it there, in the safety of the "harbor of heaven". Thus every believer can now have complete assurance that his or her "vessel" is going to arrive successfully into the "home port'. Believers in fact now possess such a hope in the presence of God and as stated in Hebrews 4:16 (see note) should come boldly before God's glorious throne of mercy and grace. This is why we may have strong encouragement.

Prodromos is found only here in N.T.

William Barclay - Prodromos, used to describe Jesus, is usually translated “forerunner” and would have had a picturesque meaning for the people of Jesus’ day. The harbor of Alexandria was very difficult to approach. When the great corn ships came into it, a little pilot boat was sent out to guide them in. It went before them, and they followed it as it led them along the channel to safe waters. That pilot boat was called the prodromos. In the Roman army the prodomoi were the reconnaissance troops. They went ahead of the main body of the army to blaze the trail and ensure that it was safe for the rest of the troops to follow. These two things illustrate what Jesus is saying about himself in this passage. He goes first, to make it safe for those who follow. He blazed the way to heaven and to God that we might follow in his steps. (Hebrews Commentary) (Comment: the prodromos was the smaller boats sent into the harbor by larger ships unable to enter due to the buffeting of the weather. The smaller boats carried the anchor through the breakers inside the harbor and dropped it there, securing the larger ship).

Marvin Vincent adds that prodromos " expresses an entirely new idea, lying completely outside of the Levitical system. The Levitical high priest did not enter the sanctuary as a forerunner, but only as the people’s representative. He entered a place into which none might follow him; in the people’s stead, and not as their pioneer. The peculiarity of the new (COVENANT) economy is that Christ as High Priest goes nowhere where His people cannot follow Him. He introduces man into full fellowship with God. The A.V. entirely misses this point by rendering “the forerunner,” as if the idea of a high priest being a forerunner were perfectly familiar. (Word Studies in the NT)

Louis Talbot - The Greek harbors were often cut off from the sea by sandbars, over which the larger ships dared not pass till the full tide came in. Therefore, a lighter vessel, a “forerunner,” took the anchor and dropped it in the harbor. From that moment the ship was safe from the storm, although it had to wait for the tide, before it could enter the harbor.… The entrance of the small vessel into the harbor, the forerunner carrying the ship’s anchor, was the pledge that the ship would safely enter the harbor when the tide was full. And because Christ, our “forerunner,” has entered heaven itself, having torn asunder everything that separates the redeemed sinner from the very presence of God, He Himself is the Pledge that we, too, shall one day enter the harbor of our souls and the very presence of God.

For (on behalf of, for sake of) (5228) huper can mean "on behalf of" and thus pictures the substitutionary aspect of Christ's sacrifice (Ro 5:6 2Co 5:15, 21 Ga 3:13 Phlm 13 Gal 1:4, 1Co 15:3; Ga 2:20). He did not become a sinner on the Cross, but our sin bearer (Jn 1:29, 1Cor 5:7, 1Pe 2:24, Isa 53:4-6) (What is the doctrine of substitution?) We all (Ro 5:12; Ro 3:10 see note Ro 5:12; 3:10) owed a debt we could not pay (Ro 3:23 - note). He paid a debt on our behalf which He did not owe! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved wretches like us!

Wuest explains the word "huper" - The preposition for is huper, a word that speaks of substitution, which was its usual meaning in the secular world of the first century. The professional letter writer acting in behalf of and instead of the illiterate, would put that fact at the close of a document which he wrote, using this word; for instance, “Heraikleios Horou; I wrote on behalf of him who does not know letters.” This is the usual formula which makes the contents legal. Two instances in the New Testament where huper in its substitutionary usage is as plain as in the secular documents are: John 11:50, where Caiaphas uses it to speak of a political substitution, not a theological, although John finds that too; and 2Cor 5:14, 15 in the words if one died for all, that is, instead of and in behalf of. Thus Paul brings over against the Judaizers’ bloodless religion, the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement which teaches that the Lord Jesus took our place with relation to our sins and gave Himself as the Sacrifice that would perfectly satisfy the just demands of God’s holy law which the human race has violated. (Wuest Word Studies - used by permission)

For us (5228) (huper) indicates that an activity or event is in some entity’s interest = for, in behalf of, for the sake of someone or something. Huper thus speaks of Christ's substitutionary atonement.

Huper is thus a preposition conveying "amazing grace" as the following representative uses gloriously explain…

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for (huper) the ungodly. (Ro 5:6+) (For who? Amazing grace!)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for (huper) us. (Ro 5:8+) (When? Amazing grace!)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (huper) , that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:20+) (Did what? Amazing grace!)

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me, and delivered Himself up for (huper) me. (Gal 2:20+)

(Christ) died for (huper) us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:10)

(Christ) gave Himself for (huper) us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:14+)

For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for (huper - on our behalf) us (Heb 9:24+)

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for (huper) you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 1 Cor 11:24

High priest (749) (archiereus from archí– denoting rank or degree + hiereús = priest) was the principal member among the chief priests. The irony is that the high priest Caiaphas was residing over the Sanhedrin during trial of Jesus, the trial which would lead to His death and pave the way for His eternal High Priesthood!

ARCHIEREUS IN HEBREWS - Heb. 2:17; Heb. 3:1; Heb. 4:14; Heb. 4:15; Heb. 5:1; Heb. 5:5; Heb. 5:10; Heb. 6:20; Heb. 7:26; Heb. 7:27; Heb. 7:28; Heb. 8:1; Heb. 8:3; Heb. 9:7; Heb. 9:11; Heb. 9:25; Heb. 13:11

Forever (165) (aion) is actually the phrase "unto the ages" (eis ton aiona).

AION IN HEBREWS - Heb. 1:2; Heb. 1:8; Heb. 5:6; Heb. 6:5; Heb. 6:20; Heb. 7:17; Heb. 7:21; Heb. 7:24; Heb. 7:28; Heb. 9:26; Heb. 11:3; Heb. 13:8; Heb. 13:21;

Order (5010) (taxis from tásso = arrange in order) describes a setting in order, hence an arrangement, a disposition. It was used to describe troops. It spoke of an order or rank in a state or in society.

TAXIS - 8V - Lk. 1:8; 1 Co. 14:40; Col. 2:5; Heb. 5:6; Heb. 5:10; Heb. 6:20; Heb. 7:11; Heb. 7:17

Christ—Our Precursor - Selwyn Hughes - Everyday with Jesus

Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner.—HEBREWS 6:20

Out of all the aspects of truth that surround the fact of our Lord's ascension, one of the greatest is surely this—Christ is our Precursor. A precursor is really a forerunner—an advance runner—and that is precisely the term which our text for today applies to the climactic ministry of our ascended Lord.
The NIV translates the word prodromos (forerunner) thus: "who went before us." That translation, in my opinion, is not nearly as appealing as that found in other versions, where the word "forerunner" is actually used. "Forerunner" brings to mind a picture of our Lord as a celestial outrider "bringing many sons to glory" (Heb 2:10) and reminds us of a petition in the great high priestly prayer: "Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory" (Jn 17:24).
Henry Longfellow, in his Golden Legend, put it like this:

When Christ ascended
Triumphantly, from start to star,
He left the gates of heaven ajar!

Much as I like Longfellow, I have to disagree. Our Lord left the gates of heaven not just "ajar" but wide open. One of the creeds expresses it more effectively: "When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." Whatever the future holds for us, we who are Christ's can be sure of this: our Lord has ascended into heaven. And so, too, shall we.
Prayer

O Father, I see that not only was there an ascension in the life of Your Son, but there is to be one in mine too. According to Your Word, I am to be "caught up in the clouds" and to be with You forever. Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

Further Study
Jn 17:1-26; 1:12; Gl 4:7; 1Co 15:39-44
What does being sons make us?
What do we enter into through death?

C H Spurgeon - The Forerunner

Is He your Forerunner? Then run after him. There can be no forerunner, as I have said before, unless somebody follows. Jesus is our Forerunner, so let us be his after-runners. “Ah!” says one, “but he is so different from us.” The beauty of it is that he is not different from us, for he was a man like ourselves. “Therefore, since the children share in blood and flesh, he also in like manner shared in these same things” (Heb 2:14) Though in Him was no sin, yet in all other respects He was just such as we are. And it cost Him as much to run as it will cost us to run; indeed, more, for His race was more arduous than ours is. “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood as you struggle against sin” (Heb 12:4); therefore “consider the one who endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary in your souls and give up” (Heb 12:3). Your road may be full of crosses, but they are not such crosses as the one He carried. You have suffered bereavements; yes, and “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). You have to endure poverty; and He had nowhere to lay His head. You are often despised, and He is still “despised and rejected by men” (Isa 53:3). You are slandered; but as they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, what wonder is it that they speak ill of those who are the members of His household?
Jesus Christ ran the very race that you have to run, and He ran it perfectly. That same power that wrought in Him to run until he entered within the veil, and so passed the goal, will help you to run till you reach the same spot. If He is your Forerunner, and He has run the race, it is essential that you should run it too, and should also win the prize. Courage; nothing is too hard for our poor manhood to accomplish through the power of the ever-blessed Spirit. As Christ has conquered, so can we. Sin’s assaults can be repelled, for Christ repelled them. The Holy Ghost can lift up “poor human nature”—as we call it—into something nobler and better, transforming it into the likeness of the human nature of the Christ of God, till in that human nature purity and holiness even to perfection shall dwell.

Follow the mighty Runner who has gone before you within the veil, and the best way to follow Him is to put your feet into His footprints. It may seem as if you might get to the goal either this way or that, but the best Christian is he who does not wish for any other path than that which his Master trod. I would like—oh, that I might realize it!—to “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Rev 14:4); not to say, “This is not essential, and that might be dispensed with,” but, like the Master Himself, to say, “In this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt 3:15).

Good writing, I think, depends very much upon the little letters. If you want to read a man’s letter easily at the first glance, he must write legibly, and mind his Ps and Qs, and all the other letters of the alphabet, especially those that are nearly alike, such as c and e, or i and l. O Christian, there may be very little difference, to the eye of man, between this letter and that of the believer’s alphabet, but you will do best if you follow your Master exactly in all points! No hurt comes of doing that, but great hurt comes of even the least laxity. Follow closely your great Forerunner. Follow at His heels, as a dog follows his master. Just as Christ ran, so may the Holy Ghost help you to run with endurance the race set before you, “looking unto Jesus” (Heb 12:2).

THE GOD OF HOPE - WE ALL need to abound in Hope. Hope is the artist of the soul.

Faith fills us with joy and peace, which brim over in Hope. When Faith brings from God's Word the Materials of anticipation and expectation, Hope transfers the fair colours to her palette, and with a few deft dashes of her brush delineates the soul's immortal and unfading hope. Faith thus excites Hope to do her fairest work, until presently the wails of our soul become radiant with frescoes. Our faith rests on God's Word, and hope rests on faith, and such hope cannot be ashamed. It is the anchor of the soul, which enters that which is within the veil, and links us to the shores of eternity (Hebrews 6:18, 19).

Faith rests on the promises of God. She does not calculate on feeling, is indifferent to emotion, but with both hands clings to some word of promise, and looking into God's face, says; "Thou canst not be unfaithful." When God has promised aught to thee, it is as certain as if thou hadst it in hand. Faith not only takes the Word of God, and rests her weight on it, but often when hard-pressed goes beyond the Bible back to God Himself, and argues that God is faithful and cannot deny Himself. Because God is God, He must ever act worthily of Himself.

It was thus that Moses argued, when he was with Him in the Holy Mount into do thus, would not be worthy of Thyself! (Nu 14:13-20). We may be assailed with a hundred questions of doubt in the day, but must no more notice them than a barking cur. A business man once said that when he is convinced of the rightness of a certain course, he is sometimes assailed by doubts which arise like the cloud-mist of the valley, or the marsh gas from the swamp; but when thus tempted, he turns to the promises of God, often reading three or four chapters of the Old Testament. This brings him in touch with the eternal world, filling him with joy and peace and abounding hope in believing, through the power of the Holy Ghost. They shall not be ashamed that hope in Him!

PRAYER - Make me, O Lord, to know the Hope of Thy calling, the riches of the glory of Thine inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of Thy power towards them that believe. Above all, grant me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Thyself AMEN. (F B Meyer. Our Daily Walk)

ILLUSTRATIONS:

Harbor Forerunner / Pilot Boat In the ancient world, large ships could not enter harbors directly. A small boat (prodromos) would go ahead, carrying the anchor into the harbor and fixing it securely on land. Once secured, the ship outside was safe, held fast until it could follow. Application: Christ has carried our anchor (hope) into heaven’s harbor. We are tethered to Him until we arrive safely.

Mountain Guide / Rope Leader In mountain climbing, the lead climber scales the cliff first, securing the rope at the top. The rest of the climbers, tied to that rope, follow safely. Application: Jesus, as our Forerunner, ascended first, securing the “line” into God’s presence so we can follow without fear of falling.

Mountain climbers know that the lead climber goes up first. He scales the dangerous cliff, hammers in the pitons, and secures the rope at the top. The others, roped to him, climb safely because of his work. Without the forerunner, the rest could never make the ascent. Application: Jesus is our rope leader. He ascended into heaven and secured our line in the throne room of God. Because He has gone before, we can climb after Him without fear of falling. Our eternal destiny does not depend on our grip, but on His secure fastening above.

Olympic Runner / Trailblazer The Greek term prodromos can mean scout, runner, trailblazer. Think of an athlete breaking through the tape first, clearing the way for others to follow. Application: Jesus “ran ahead,” crossing the finish line into heaven, guaranteeing that His people will finish the race as well.

The Greek word prodromos can also mean runner ahead, pioneer, trailblazer. Picture the Olympic games: the runner bursts ahead of the field, breaks the tape, and clears the path to victory. The forerunner proves the race can be won and sets the pace for all who follow.

👉 Application: Jesus ran the ultimate race of obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection. He crossed the finish line into heaven itself. Because He has already won, our race is not in doubt—we run in His footsteps, certain of reaching the same destination.

Military Scout In Greek usage, prodromoi were advance troops or scouts sent ahead of the army to secure ground. They ensured safety and prepared the way for the main force. Application: Jesus entered God’s presence first, securing the territory for His people. Our victory is certain because He already occupies the ground.

In Greek military usage, the prodromoi were the advance guard or scouts who went ahead of the main army. They surveyed the ground, secured safe passage, and sometimes even took strategic positions so the army could follow without fear.

👉 Application: Jesus is our advance scout. He entered heaven first, secured the ground, and now guarantees that all who belong to Him will follow. Heaven is not enemy territory anymore—it has already been claimed by our Forerunner.

High Priest Going Behind the Veil Under the Old Covenant, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies alone and briefly once a year. Jesus entered permanently as our eternal High Priest, not with animal blood but with His own. Application: He did not enter for Himself but “for us”—we are represented and guaranteed acceptance before the Father.

Under the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement. He entered “behind the veil” with blood for the sins of the people. He went in alone, and the people could not follow.

👉 Application: Hebrews 6:20 contrasts this with Jesus. He has entered not with animal blood, but with His own blood, not temporarily but forever, and not for Himself but “for us.” He is both our High Priest and our Forerunner, guaranteeing that one day we will join Him in the very presence of God.

Such A Hope - Two women. One a former co-worker I had known for 20 years. The other, the wife of a former student from my days as a school teacher. Both dedicated moms of two young children. Both missionaries. Both incredibly in love with Jesus Christ.

Then suddenly, within the space of a month—both were dead. The first, Sharon Fasick, died in a car accident, attracting little attention though deeply affecting family and friends. The second, Roni Bowers, died with her daughter Charity when their plane was shot down over the jungles of Peru—a situation that thrust her story into the international spotlight.

Their deaths filled many people with inexpressible sorrow. But there was something else—hope. Both women's husbands had the confident expectation that they would see their wives again in heaven. What happened after they died demonstrates that the Christian faith works. Both men, Jeff Fasick and Jim Bowers, have spoken about the peace God has given them. They have testified that this kind of hope has allowed them to continue on in the midst of the unspeakable pain.

Paul said that our present sufferings "are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed" (Romans 8:18). Such a hope comes only from Christ. —Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul." —Spafford

The hope of heaven is God's solution for sorrow

I Am the Bible
I am the Bible, God's wonderful library, I am always, and above all, the truth.
To the weary pilgrim, I am a strong staff.
To the one who sits in darkness, I am glorious light.
To those who stumble beneath heavy burdens, I am sweet rest.
To him who has lost his way, I am a safeguard.
To those who are sick in sin, I am healing strength and forgiveness.
To the discouraged, I am a glad message of hope.
To those who are distressed and tossed about by the storms of life, I am an anchor, sure and steadfast.
To those who search for salvation, I reveal the Savior of the world.

The Son Will Shine Again - A newsboy, thinly clad and drenched by the soaking rain, stood shivering in a doorway one cold day in November. To get a little warmth, he would hold one bare foot against his leg for a moment and then the other. Every few minutes he would cry out, "Morning paper! Morning paper!" A man who was well protected by his coat and umbrella stopped to buy the early edition. Noting the boy's discomfort, he said, "This kind of weather is pretty hard on you, isn't it?" Looking up with a smile, the youngster replied, "I don't mind too much, Mister. The sun will shine again."

Chilling winds of adversity and gray skies of a sinful environment easily discourage us. But we can count on better days because we know God is working in our lives. This hope is called an "anchor of the soul," and the Bible says that it abides (1Cor 13:13) and does not disappoint (Ro 5:5). It promises righteousness (Gal 5:5), eternal life (Titus 1:2), and the return of Jesus (Titus 2:13). It is a "living hope," founded on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (1Pet 1:3).

When circumstances get out of control and pressures threaten to overwhelm us, we know that Jesus died for us, is working in us, and will never leave us. We can hold fast to God's promises and patiently endure. The "anchor of hope" will hold us firm. —D. J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

It is always darkest just before dawn.

A Fortified House- According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, some people in the US are building houses stronger than ever before.

Hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes have caused billions of dollars in property damage in states across the nation. So, at the urging of businesses, government, and hard-pressed insurance companies, some builders are constructing fortress-like homes with windows that can withstand 130 mile-per-hour winds, roof nails so strong they can only be cut off, and framing material that can weather the tremendous forces faced by a supersonic jet. In Bolingbrook, Illinois, a community damaged by a tornado in the 1990s, a company is constructing such a “fortified” house in hopes that the idea will catch on.

We who know the Lord Jesus realize that when it comes to building our spiritual foundation, it must be strong and secure. In today’s Scripture, Christ made it clear what that foundation must be when He referred to “these sayings of Mine” (Mt 7:24), which included His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7).

When we receive by faith Christ’s words and His work on our behalf, our spiritual lives are “founded on the Rock,” Christ Jesus. —David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

I do not stand on shifting sand
And fear the storm that rages;
But calm and sure, I stand secure
Upon the Rock of Ages. —Anon.

To survive the storms of life, be anchored to the Rock of Ages

C H Spurgeon - “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.”—Hebrews 6:20. See full sermon The Forerunner

THE Jewish high priest went within the veil once a year, and represented the people there, but he was never their forerunner, for no one followed him into the most holy place. His entrance within the veil did not admit another human being; and when he came forth, the veil again concealed even from him for another year, and from all others at all times, the secret glories of the most holy place, so that neither Aaron, nor any other high priest of his line, could ever be called a forerunner within the veil. This is one of the many instances in which our Lord Jesus Christ, as the great Anti-type, far excels all the types. They do, as it were, represent the hem of his garment, but the glorious majesty and fulness of his high-priestly office, they are not able to set forth.

Moreover, this title of Forerunner is peculiar to the passage before us. The fact that Christ is the Forerunner of his people may be found, in other words, in the Scriptures, and again and again in this Epistle; but it is only here that we have the exact expression that Jesus Christ within the veil has gone to be the Forerunner of his people.

Now, what is peculiar and unique usually excites curiosity and attention; and if it be something peculiar and unique with regard to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is himself peculiar and unique, we should look at it as closely as we can, and bend our whole minds and hearts to the consideration of it.

Our Melchizedek - Don Fortner

In Genesis 14 we see Melchizedek coming to Abram. This man, Melchizedek, was the king of Salem and “the priest of the most high God”. This Melchizedek is, at least typically, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest (Hebrews 6:20).

Let us, this day, meditate upon this blessed, glorious, soul-cheering fact. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our great High Priest. He is the sinner’s Advocate in heaven (1 John 2:1, 2).

Arise, my soul, arise!
Shake off thy guilty fears!
The bleeding sacrifice
In thy behalf appears!

John Bennett - Hebrews 6:20 FORERUNNER

A forerunner! This is a new concept! The writer has introduced the truth of the Great High Priest, who has entered the presence of God on behalf of His people. Under law, God’s people understood that the high priest moved into the presence of God as their representative and that they would never be afforded that privilege. The veil excluded all but the high priest.

This passage will introduce us to our blessings ‘within the veil’. Firstly, we learn that our hope is within the veil.

Verse 18 depicts an Israelite fleeing to a city of refuge, a picture of Christ, and reminds us that when we came to Christ, we ‘fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us’. This hope, the assurance that we are bound for glory, is described as a ‘strong consolation’, or encouragement, promised us by God. We are further reminded that it is ‘impossible for God to lie’. This hope then, is an ‘anchor of the soul’. The storms of life may rage. Doubt, fear and failure may disturb our calm. But our hope of heaven, a strong encouragement, is an anchor of the soul, secured, not on the seabed, but ‘within the veil’. A ship withstands the wildest storm if safely anchored. Hope’s anchor is firmly secured within the veil, in Christ Himself and faith makes this good in our experience.

Secondly, we see that our Forerunner is within the veil.

He who is in God’s presence is there as Forerunner ‘for us’. His title is, ‘Jesus’, His lowly name. He has taken humanity into heaven, for us! Because He’s there, we shall be too! A forerunner ran before dignitaries or royalty to prepare the way and announce their arrival. As forerunner, John the Baptist prepared the way for, and announced the arrival of, the Saviour. The role of forerunner was that of a servant acting on the part of his master. Our Forerunner has reversed that role. He is the Master acting on behalf of His servants. Listen to His words, ‘I go to prepare a place for you … I will come again, and receive you unto myself.’, John 14:2–3. Is our life somewhat storm tossed just now? Make use of hope’s anchor within the veil. Our Forerunner has announced our arrival and He will ‘come again’, and receive us to Himself. Perhaps today!

WHAT JESUS DOES

ILLUSTRATION: For too long, we’ve called unbelievers to “invite Jesus into your life.” Jesus doesn’t want to be in your life. Your life’s a wreck. Jesus calls you into his life. And his life isn’t boring or purposeless or static. It’s wild and exhilarating and unpredictable.

1. JESUS IS THE SINPURGER—TO CLEAR

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.—Hebrews 1:3

2. JESUS IS THE VICTOR—TO DELIVER

And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.—Hebrews 2:15

3. JESUS IS THE APOSTLE—TO SPEAK

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.—Hebrews 3:1

4. JESUS IS THE HIGH PRIEST—TO ASSIST

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.—Hebrews 4:14

5. JESUS THE FORERUNNER—TO REPRESENT

Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.—Hebrews 6:20

6. JESUS THE COMING ONE—TO WELCOME

For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.—Hebrews 10:37

Safe on the Rock By Dr. Robert M. Norris

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 6:19–20

INTRODUCTION: To weak and weary Christian people who were struggling with doubt and uncertainty, the author of the Hebrew letter pens these words to bring certainty to the uncertain, encouragement to the dispirited, and hope to the hopeless.

1. The Gospel Guarantees Us to Heaven (vv. 19–20). Jesus is described as “an anchor of the soul” in verse 19, who has entered into heaven as our High Priest. If your trust is in Christ, your future is anchored to Him.
2. The Gospel Encourages Us to Live with Heaven in Sight (v. 19). The idea that Jesus has guaranteed heaven to those who trust and follow Him is described as our “hope.” We must always live with this truth in mind, even if unseen for now (cf. Heb. 11:1).
3. The Gospel Reminds Us of Our Hope of Heaven (vv. 19–20). The hope described in verse 19 is secured because of verse 20, the person of Christ has become our Mediator and High Priest!

CONCLUSION: Secure your eternal destination as you fix your eyes upon Christ, and set your heart upon Him and His promises and rest in the provision that He has made for His own.

PURPOSEFUL SUFFERING - John MacArthur Truth for Today: A Daily Touch of God's Grace - Page 127

The forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever. HEBREWS 6:20

Christ’s purpose in gathering up our sins on the cross and enduring the darkness of death was to open the way to God. The apostle Peter said that Christ died “that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). God demonstrated that truth symbolically by ripping the Temple veil from top to bottom, opening the Holy of Holies to immediate access by all worshipers (Matt. 27:51). As priests, all believers now may come into the presence of God (1 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 4:16).
The Greek verb translated as “He might bring” (1 Pet. 3:18) states the purpose of Jesus’ actions. The verb was often used when someone was being introduced. The noun form of the word refers to the one making the introduction. In Jesus’ day, officials in the ancient courts controlled the access to the king. Once convinced of a person’s right of access, the official would introduce that person into the king’s presence. And that’s exactly the function Jesus performs for us now. As He said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He came to lead us into the Father’s presence.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE - At the southern tip of Africa, a cape jutting out into the ocean once caused sailors great anxiety. Many who attempted to sail around it were lost in the swirling seas. Because adverse weather conditions so often prevailed there, the region was named the Cape of Storms. A Portuguese captain determined to find a safe route through those treacherous waters so his countrymen could reach Cathay and the riches of the East Indies in safety. He succeeded, and the area was renamed the Cape of Good Hope.

We all face a great storm called death. But our Lord has already traveled through it safely and has provided a way for us to do the same. By His crucifixion and resurrection, Christ abolished eternal death for every believer and has permanently established our fellowship with Him in heaven. Although this "last enemy," physical death, can touch us temporarily, its brief control over our earthly body will end at the resurrection. The sting of death has been removed!

Now all who know Christ as Savior can face life's final voyage with confidence. Even though the sea may be rough, we will experience no terror as we pass through the "cape of good hope" and into heaven's harbor. The Master Helmsman Himself has assured our safe passage. Henry G. Bosch (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Think of just crossing a river,
Stepping out safe on that shore,
Sadness and suffering over,
Dwelling with Christ evermore! Anon

Christ has charted a safe course through the dark waters of death.

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Hebrews 6:19-20 Commentary

CONSIDER JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST Click chart to enlarge Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission Swindoll's Chart, Interesting Pictorial Chart of Hebrews, Another Chart

See ESV Study Bible "Introduction to Hebrews" (See also MacArthur's Introduction to Hebrews)

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CONSIDER JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
Click chart to enlarge
Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission
Swindoll's Chart, Interesting Pictorial Chart of Hebrews, Another Chart

See ESV Study Bible "Introduction to Hebrews"
(See also MacArthur's Introduction to Hebrews)