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Hebrews 1:8

Hebrews 1:8 Jesus carries the sceptre of justice Do you remember the words of the Angel Gabriel when he visited Mary and foretold the birth of her child, Jesus? These are Gabriel’s words, “ He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give Him the throne of Hs father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:32-33. Gabriel was a high-ranking messenger angel, but he did not seem to be in doubt about the status of the child that was to be born to Mary. The quotation here in Hebrews comes direct from Psalm 45:6, and is attributed to the sons of Korah, these men were Levites who served the Lord at His temple and were particularly responsible for the music and singing etc. They predicted that nations would fall at the feet of the Lord God and that His throne would be eternal and He would rule the world with a sceptre of justice. The Jews ascribed these endorsements to the Lord God, but the writer of thi...
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Hebrews 1:7

Hebrews 1:7 Who or what are angels? Let’s just familiarise ourselves with the meaning of the word “angel.” In Greek this was  angelos , which means “messenger” or “agent.” So, in Psalm 104:4 where we first read,  “He makes winds His messengers and flames of fire His servants”  we are probably reading about the work of angelic beings. In fact, wherever there is tangible interaction between heaven and earth that is dictated by God, angels are the agents who carry out His business and who act for Him.  This has quite an impact when we consider events on the Day of Pentecost, when the disciples had gathered in an upper room and  heard the sound like the blowing of a violent wind. Then they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of th em.” Acts 2:2-3. It seems that angels were called upon to prepare the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, that they formed something like a corridor of welcome so that the Spirit could enter the...
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Hebrews 1:6

Hebrews 1:6 Jesus is superior to angels Once again we have an Old Testament quotation, this time from Deuteronomy.  However, it’s true meaning is not clear in the NIV translation. Apparently, in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint (the earliest Greek version of the Old Testament, available before Christ came), Deuteronomy  32:43 is translated as follows:  - “Rejoice you nations, with His people, and let all the angels worship Him, for He will avenge the blood of His servants; He will take vengeance on His enemies and make atonement for His land and people.”  The reference to angels does not appear in some other versions of this text but it was clearly in the mind of the author of Hebrews who must have used a Greek version of the Scriptures. Perhaps because this would have been familiar to most of his readers? What is also evident is that the Jews believed the verse from Deuteronomy referred to Yahweh, or to God Himself, and yet we now see it being used ...
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Hebrews 1:5

Hebrews 1:5 You are my Son We are about to read seven different Old Testament quotes that reveal that Christ is superior to the angelic beings. These quotations had existed for centuries but were not fully understood until they were fulfilled by the Lord Jesus. The first quote comes from Psalm 2:7 and is repeated in Acts 13:33 where Paul preached in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, a city in modern Turkey. His sermon encompassed large chunks of Jewish history, and he explained how Christ was crucified and then raised from the dead by God. When this happened, God was saying to all creation, this is not just another king who is subject to me and who is loyal to me,  “You are my Son and I have become Your Father . ”    This conversation took place when Jesus returned to heaven at His ascension. He had been “born again” just as we have been, and He assumed a whole new status and relationship with God His Father. He became “the  firstborn  from the dead.” The whole o...
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Hebrews 1:4

Hebrews 1:4 He is greater than the angels One of the themes of this extraordinary letter is the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all other created beings, including the angels. He also far exceeds what the Old Testament writers perceived and what had previously been revealed to Israel.  Historically, the Jews had regarded angels as the most exalted beings under God, they associated angelic beings with many events in their history including the giving of the Law at Mt Sinai. Now we are being told that Christ was superior to the angels and that He has a superior name to theirs. The writer does not seem to be inferring that “Jesus” or “Yeshua” or “Christ” is that name, rather that because He is declared to be “the Son,” He has a title and connections that exalt our Lord far above all angelic creations. However, we read in Philippians 2:9 that He has been  “given a name that is above every name and at that name every knee should bow.”   The suggestion is that His rank and ...
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Hebrews 1:3c

Hebrews 1:3c He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven This verse is so brimming with truth and content that we have to break it down, for it starts to lay the foundations for the rest of the Book of Hebrews. There is one more startling statement here which is almost impossible for us to completely comprehend. Firstly, we are reminded of Christ’s mission and purpose when He came to planet earth, it was to provide a way for mankind to be purified of their sins. The one, single, driving motive for His visit was not to heal the sick, or to feed the hungry or to tackle demonic powers, it was to be the once-for-all sacrifice for sinners. He came to rescue us from our wickedness and to wash us clean through His blood. Paul puts it like this, “ Jesus Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”  Titus 2:14. Later chapters in the Book of Hebrews will explore this theme in much m...
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Hebrews 1:3b

Hebrews 1:3b Jesus is the exact representation of God have no arguments with the doctrine of the Trinity, even though it does not appear in the Bible. What does slightly worry me is that many Christians rank the three persons, so that God the Father is top, Jesus Christ is next, albeit slightly diminished, and then, at the bottom,  comes the Holy Spirit! That may not be deliberate or necessarily the position taken by all, it is certainly not what is taught here in Hebrews. Jesus did, of course, hint at deference to His Father when He said things like “ I must be about my Father’s business.”  We unwittingly read this in a human context and assume that He was behaving like any good, obedient Son. He was! But the relationship is far more complex than the paternal one that we humans understand. The man who walked the earth as a humble healer and teacher from Nazareth was and is, fully and wholly God!  Every quality and attribute that we assign to God the Father is e...
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