Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 1
interpretation - meaning - commentary - explanation
Hebrews 1.1-14 "[1] God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, [2] 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; [3] 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; [4] Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. [5] 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? [6] And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
[7] And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. [8] 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. [9] Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. [10] And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: [11] They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; [12] 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. [13] But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? [14] Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
God repeatedly admonished people through the prophets, and instead of listening, they killed them. So God sent His Son of God Jesus Christ to earth, who was also killed. In verse 2 we read that Jesus participated in the construction of the universe, and even through Him it was created. By the way, it is worth mentioning that there is not a single word here about the big bang theory.
Verses 3 and 4 show the Lord, who by His spotless life on earth cleansed us from sin, took sin upon Himself. None of the angels made atonement for sins, nor did any of them shed their blood for our sins. Only the Creator could have done that. We don't even know if the angels in Jesus' place could have persevered for so many years without sin. Those who fell certainly didn't, because they had already sinned and in heaven. The rest of the angels i.e. 2/3 stayed true, but if they had been tempted as much as the Lord, would they have persevered to the end?
Jesus could have aborted his mission of salvation at any time, he didn't, would an angel have done the same? We don't know the answer, and this, of course, does not diminish their role, but it shows that only Jesus could pass such a severe test, not sin, give his life for us and undergo agonies before his death. Let us rejoice that we have a Friend in heaven who will do everything to save us. We also have many friends (angels) who are there to help us, which should also please us.
In a sense, we are all God's children and were created by God, but Jesus occupies this unique position, as evidenced in verse 6, where all the angels worship the Son of God. Christ is the object of their worship. Giving God's glory to someone other than God is idolatry, this proves that Jesus is God on par with the Father. The words "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee" refer to the resurrection of Jesus. For confirmation, we can cite Acts 13.33-34 "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption"
God confirms that Jesus is God
God addresses the Son with the words "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" and "therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil". Since the Creator Himself says to the Son that He is God, all the more reason why we should not question this.
Verse 10 indicates that Christ created the heavens and the earth. Now let's read the first sentence of Scripture "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." - Genesis. The answer is obvious, the Son of God is also God. Only God can last forever. Angels have immortality, but as we know it can be taken away from them, as will happen after the 1000 years of darkness that will prevail on earth. God has announced that at the final judgment He will remove evil, rebellious angels and the ungodly forever.
None of the angels are on a par with Christ. The right hand of God signifies the highest place, the footstool of enemies indicates the unimaginable power to rule over all enemies. Only God has the power to influence such an overwhelming number of people and angels.
Verse 14 describes angels as our friends who help us in life, this is another argument for the existence of guardian angels, not necessarily assigned in a ratio of 1 to 1. Do all people receive help or only those who are to be saved? It is received by all, but not everyone wants to take advantage of it. God repeatedly speaks to us, but when we do not want Him and consciously reject Him, He leaves us unprotected. We get what we want, which is the absence of God's protection, which means angels. We are then left exposed to our own forces, which do not stand the slightest chance against Satan. The very fact that we don't want God to come first in our lives shows that Satan strongly influences our minds.
