A Study of Hebrews Chapter One

The book of Hebrews was originally written to Jews who had accepted Yahushua HaMashiach ~ Jesus Christ, as their Saviour.  They accepted His teachings and understood that they were living in the fullness of time because God had sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, so that they or anyone who believed in Him, might not perish, but have everlasting life, that they might receive the adoption of sons.

The book of Hebrews describes in detail how Jesus Christ not only fulfills the promise and the prophets, but is better than everything they had been taught because they had been taught farther over into mans Judaism that was originally taught or meant by Moses, who got the law from our Heavenly Father.

The law could not save them, it never could.  Those who have gone wayward from the law and added minute details into it that were not intended by God or Moses whom had taught them.  They thought that they had to keep the letter of the law, but had not been taught about the love of the law and the beauty of it.

What they needed was a cleansed heart one that was circumcised by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, Jeremiah had come along and prophesied that the law would be written on the heart of man because they had broken covenant with God repeatedly. It would be the Holy Spirit who would teach man and man would not need anyone to teach them anymore and that everyone would know who God was.

Jeremiah also prophesied that God would forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.  (Jeremiah 31:31-33)  Jeremiah prophesied this six hundred years before Yahushua even walked planet earth.  They had many markers to come, about their long awaited Messiah, but when He came, they had rejected Him.  Once Paul and the Apostles began to teach the Good News, many were converted.  Three thousand were converted in one day, on the day of the Feast of Harvest, which we call Pentecost. Nevertheless, for some reason, those who had converted now had to be reminded of their accepted faith, so that they would not go astray. Hence, this letter was written to them.

There were many hypocrites teaching that which was evil and calling it good, and good of that which was evil. Yahushua’s desire was to proclaim truth and it is still His desire. Who is like unto Him?  He reigns on high. He came from heaven to bring us back to the Father.

2nd Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Most of the Jews during the time when Yahushua taught rejected Him as their long awaited Messiah. The recipients of this letter (The Book of Hebrews) seem to have been those who did believe in Him and in His teachings. They were well versed in scripture and they professed their faith in Jesus Christ. But, it was either through doubt, persecution or false teaching that they may have been in danger of giving up their new found faith to return to their old ways of living to the letter of the law and not by that of the spirit.

The commandments, the rituals and the words of the prophets described God’s promises, and revealed the way to forgiveness and salvation.  But Christ came, shattering all barriers by conquering sin and freely providing eternal life, if only one believes in Him, trust in Him and seeks His kingdom and His righteousness in their own lives.

The message of this letter to the Hebrews and all who would call upon His name, is that through Yahushua, we will find a love that is like no other. He is supreme and the sufficient sacrifice one and for all. We do not need to go through the priests here on earth, because Yahushua is our high priest. We will read of this repeatedly in this letter. He is a better sanctuary than any other is because we can be hidden in Him, hidden under the shadow of the Almighty.

A merciful and faithful High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Called of God, an high priest after the order of Melchisedec, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; but Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; entereth into the holy place and high priest over the house of God.

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith

Hebrews 1:1-3 ¶ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; 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;

God used many ways to communicate to His chosen, through the prophets, through visionaries, dreams like that of Daniel, signs like that to the wise men, parables like the teachings of Yahushua and events like the flood, kings of the North and the like.  However, in the latter days, even though we have a complete book, it is Yahushua, by His spirit, the One who speaks to us today, through His still small voice and through His written word. He has been appointed as the heir of ‘all’ things.  In Him is life; and the life of Him is the light of men. Yahushua is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  now; Our High Priest, sitting at the right hand of the throne of the God of Israel.

What force upholds the universe?  The word of His power?  Just to name a few, God spoke to Israel through the Prophet Isaiah.   the Prophet Jeremiah and to Israel through the Prophet Ezekiel. Not once or twice, but many times, did God speak. “He spake and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). To men He spoke, and still speaks. For this we can never be sufficiently thankful. From Abraham to Malachi was a period of fifteen hundred years, and during that time God spake frequently: to some a few words, to others many. God revealed Himself to the prophets—sometimes directly, at others indirectly—through an angel (Genesis 19:1, etc.); sometimes audibly, at others in dreams and visions.  The word “prophet” signifies the mouthpiece of God:

Acts 3:19-21 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

By whom did God make the worlds? Christ—He is the brightness of God’s Glory and the exact image of God’s Person.

The glory of God explained by Ezekiel:  1:26 -28¶ And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Yahushua is the visible of the invisible God. Christ is altogether God and altogether man. He purified us from our sins and then sat down at the right hand of God Almighty. Christ was God manifested in the flesh, yet His throne is eternal. Christ is not ‘just’ a wind, or spirit, or a flame of fire. He is substantial. He is the Son of God Almighty and rules as the Son of God Almighty. None of this is true of any angel.   Not only is Yahushua the WORD, but also He shared a powerful word while He walked the earth and His word,  held everything together and still upholds all that exists.

Hebrews 1:4-14 ¶ Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

On what “day” was Christ begotten as the Son of God? That day was in three parts: when He was born of Mary (Luke 1:35); when He was baptized in water (Luke 3:22); when He rose from the dead.  (Romans 1:4)

Because Yahushua loves righteousness and hates wickedness, He was anointed Christ “with the oil of gladness. He created all things and laid the foundation of the earth and created the starry heavens that we can see. The earth and the heavens are deteriorating (growing old). The amount of energy available for man’s use is decreasing. Scientists claim that no new energy is being added to the physical universe. In other words, the universe is “running down.”  When Christ is through using the earth and the heavens He will discard them as “dirty laundry.”  Nevertheless, because He is eternal, He will always be fresh and bright. One day He will rule and reign over all that He created and will rule with the scepter, the rod of authority. He will rule in that of lawfulness, of uprightness, of justice and of equity.

Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Psalms 89:14  AND  Psalm 97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

Psalms 2:7-8 ¶ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

We need to be careful when we think of the right hand of the throne of God as a place.  It is not.  This is a reference to His exalted status and to His intimate involvement with God, interceding on behalf of those who trust Him.

Hebrews 7:25-27 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Yahushua has ‘become’  “made so much better than the angels” even though for a little while He was lower than the angels were. Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Isaiah 52:13 ¶ Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

The summation regarding the angels is that this author believes in angels and concludes that they are spirits who serve and are sent out to those whom God will deliver, those who believe in His Son. Needles to say if the angels worship the Son, then the Son, one must conclude is better than the angels are.

Seven verses from the Tanakh (Old Testament) are chosen by this writer to explain to us why the Son is superior to the angels.

Psalm 104:4  Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Psalm2:7 ¶ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Psalm 45:6-7 ¶ Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Psalm 89:26-27 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

Psalm 103:20-21 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.  Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

1st Chronicals 22:10 He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

 The “fullness of time” had come when God sent forth His Son.  Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

He has nothing now in reserve. He has no further revelation to make. Christ is the final representative of Deity. There will be no other like Him. The written Word is now complete.

In conclusion, note how Christ divides history: everything before pointed toward Him, everything since points back to Him; He is the Center of all God’s counsels. Even time among us here on earth, has been divided on account of Christ Yahushua.  Before Christ (BC) and after His death. (AC) No other man can make this claim.

How different are the two revelations, which God has made of His character. In ancient times God “spoke,” revealed Himself, according to what He is as light; and this, in keeping with the fact that it was “in the prophets”—those who made known His mind.