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 to describe the works of Christ. Thus, the angelic beings can no longer be equated with the Lord Jesus, they too must worship Him and acknowledge His superiority. As there were rebellious angels, led by the deceiver, the Satan, it is possible that the text in Deuteronomy was being aimed specifically at them! 

Notice that verse 6 of Hebrews ch 1 also talks about Jesus being brought into the world as God’s firstborn. In Colossians 1: Paul uses these words in describing Jesus, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”In other words, Christ came first, He was present when all other things were made, He was part of the creation process and has been involved in the affairs of the earth from before time began. Angels are not mentioned in this context. He is therefore superior to them in every way and they, like us, must worship Him. Wow! It’s complex, isn’t it?

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