Hebrews 1

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

September 2, 2020

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

This is the last in our series of messages on the five Christology chapters in the New Testament: John, Chapter 1; Ephesians, Chapter 1; Philippians, Chapter 2; Colossians, Chapter 1; and now Hebrews, Chapter 1. Those five chapters, perhaps more than any other, speak of the centrality, supremacy, preeminence, and sovereignty of God.

In my previous message last week, I shared some things about the last of the last days. Among other things, I shared that the history of God's chosen people repeats itself, sometimes three or more times. That is because human nature never changes. Before continuing in this message from Hebrews, Chapter 1, I want to mention one additional truth concerning the question that a brother asked during that message last week. If I remember correctly, he asked if the Antichrist is a man or a spirit. The short answer is that antichrist is a spirit, but an evil spirit that looks to enter a human body. Let us see what Scripture has to say about this.

The Apostle John said, in 1 John 2:18, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."

1 John 2:22, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."

The word "denieth" means to reject or renounce. 

John 4:3, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 

John 1:7, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."

All angels are spirits, not human beings. We read about Lucifer, a chief angel, who rebelled against God and became Satan. That is recorded in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. He also persuaded one-third of the angels to be part of his kingdom. Their purpose is to deceive, to lie, to kill, after which they look for another human body to enter. Scripture also speaks of the purpose of those angels that have remained faithful to the Lord. We will see that later in Hebrews, Chapter 1.

Ephesians 2:1-3, "And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

The word "world" is "cosmos." We shared last time that Satan has his own kingdom and his own power within his kingdom. It is known as the "cosmos" or worldly system. It is also known as Babylon.

The phrase "prince of the power of the air" refers to the ruler, or number 1 angel of the worldly system, namely Satan, who has authority or jurisdiction over the dark spiritual realm. It has nothing to do with the physical air that we breathe.

Matthew 16:23, "But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

Obviously, Peter was not Satan. Jesus was speaking, not to Peter, but to a spirit named Satan, who, at that point in time, had blinded the understanding of Peter.

Luke 22:3, "Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve."

Judas speaks prophetically of the false religion. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only verse in the Bible that explicitly says that Satan himself entered into a human being. However, that event will be repeated two last times. As we mentioned last week, Babylon consists of three parts ... economic, political, and religious. Soon, the world economy will collapse and our dollars will be almost worthless. That will result in riots, lawlessness, and anarchy. That will set the stage for the New World Order, or the beast that rises up out of the sea (Revelation 13:1-10). That first beast, which is the political ruler, will bring order, apparent peace and will rule for 3 and 1/2 years. He will also be worshipped and cause men to worship Satan, the dragon.

Then the second beast, the religious ruler, shall rise from the earth to deceive them that dwell on the earth (Revelation 13:11-18). That beast will be the summation of Antichrist who will try to cause all men to worship the first beast. Although Scripture does not explicitly say so, I believe that Satan will enter, temporarily, into both of the two beasts, which will be men.

Now if you have your Bible, please turn to Hebrews, Chapter 1. In this Chapter we read about the antithesis of the antichrist, namely Christ Himself ... the antithesis of the beasts in Revelation 13.

First, a little background ... Although the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews does not identify himself, for at least 1,200 years, from 400 to 1600 A.D., there was little doubt that this letter was written by Paul. The academic theologians and literary critics weighed in to suggest other possible authors, such as Barnabas or Apollos. However, the best proof that Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews is 2 Peter 3:15, 

"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;" 

So if the Epistle to the Hebrews is not the letter than Peter referenced, where is it? Of course, the letter was written through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so to argue about the human being who penned the letter is a waste of time.

No New Testament book gives us such a glorious picture of Jesus Christ in all the splendor of His manhood and in all the majesty of His deity. There is no other book in the New Testament which is more worth the effort to understand. Although today we will look at only Chapter 1 of Hebrews, I encourage you to read the complete epistle. The major theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as both the revealer and the mediator of the grace of God. Perhaps the key thought to this whole letter is that Jesus is the one Person who gives access to reality and access to God. The letter was originally addressed to the Diaspora, the Jewish converts living geographically outside of the land of Israel and who were being tempted to revert to Judaism or at least to incorporate much of the Mosaic Law into the true gospel. Jesus said that the Law was fulfilled by Himself (Matthew 5:17-18 and Luke 24:27). The author of Hebrews makes clear, in 22 verses in Hebrews, Chapters 7 and 8, that the Old Covenant has been fulfilled and made superior by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

The Epistle to the Hebrews was also intended to prepare the Diaspora for the impending disaster of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. In like manner, this epistle is intended to prepare us for the impending judgment of God which must come soon.

Hebrews could also be called "the book of better things" because the two Greek words for "better" and "superior" occur 15 times in the letter. This letter to the Hebrews (and to us) clearly sets forth the superiority of new revelation through the Son of God; the superiority of Christ compared to leaders of the Old Covenant; the superiority of Christ to the angels; His superiority to Moses; His superiority to the Aaronic priesthood; the superiority of the Son's faithfulness; the superiority of the Son's work; the superiority of the Christian faith; the superiority of the Father's way; and the superiority of the Christian life in the Church as well as practical guidelines for Christian living. I heartily recommend that every professing Christian prayerfully and carefully read the Epistle to the Hebrews over and over again until the truth therein becomes flesh within.

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2a Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son,

All Old Testament writers are here viewed as prophets in that their testimony was preparation for the coming of Christ. Many years ago I heard with my natural ears, a rather mature Spirit-filled minister of God say, or at least strongly imply, that prophets are no longer relevant or needful because now Jesus has spoken to us. I said nothing but I strongly disagreed both then and now. Of course, some Christian churches believe that neither apostles nor prophets exist anymore. But Ephesians 4:11-13 says, 

"And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

Those verses state that the five-fold ministries exist until we all come unto a perfect man. Are all Christians perfect? If there are no longer any apostles or prophets, then there are no longer any evangelists, pastors, or teachers.

So what does the comparison between Verse 1 and Verse 2 mean? Another translation of Verse 1 is, 

"It was in many parts and in many ways that God spoke to our fathers in [or by] the prophets in time past." 

Under the Old Covenant, God used His prophets to speak His truth in fragments, as needed, but it was never out-of-date or irrelevant. As it was under the Old Covenant so it still is under the New Covenant. His prophets today still speak His truth in fragments ... in parts. The author of Hebrews in no way was trying to belittle the prophets; his purpose was to establish the supremacy, the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, in

1 Corinthians 13:9-10, "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away."   

Of course, there are many more false prophets today than true prophets. That has always been true. Just think of Elijah and the 400 prophets of Baal to get a comparison.

Note in Verse 1 that God spake in the past by the prophets to the fathers, but now He speaks to all believers by (or through) the Son. The problem with His chosen people has never been a lack of God speaking; the problem has always been a lack of hearing and obeying on our part.

2b 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;

From Verse 2b and Verse 3, we see seven great descriptive statements about the Son of God.

(1) The Father appointed the Son to be heir of all things.

Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together."

The incarnate Son, having performed the work of redemption, was gloriously exalted to the position of the firstborn heir of God; i.e., He received the inheritance of all things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. In Scripture, almost every time we read of suffering for His Name, glory follows closely behind. 

(2) "By Whom also He made the worlds."

John 1:3, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."

Colossians 1:16, "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:"

(3) "the brightness of His glory."

The brilliance of the natural sun is inseparable from the sun itself. In like manner the radiance of the Son of God is inseparable from Deity, for He Himself is God.

John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

(4) "express image of His Person"

Jesus is not merely an image or reflection of God. Because the Son Himself is God, He is the absolutely authentic representation of God's being.

John 14:9, "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

(5) "upholding all things"

This does not speak of the natural realm; it does not speak of a natural heavyweight-lifter. The Son dynamically holds together all that He created.

Colossians 1:17, "And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist."

"Consist" means to "sit together."

(6) "purged our sins"

Through His redeeming death on the cross of Calvary.

Romans 14:9, "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living."

"Revived" means "lived again."

(7) "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high"

Being seated at God's right hand in the spiritual Holy of Holies indicates that the work of redemption is complete and that Christ is actively ruling with the Father as Lord over all.

Mark 16:19, "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."

Returning now to Verse 4 of Hebrews, Chapter 1. Verses 4-14 of Hebrews, Chapter 1 establish the superiority of Christ as compared to the angels.

4 Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

To Jews, a name stood for the full character of a person in all he was and did. To most Jews, angels were exalted beings, especially because they were involved in giving the law at Mt. Sinai, and to the Jews the law was God's supreme revelation. This explains why the comparison of angels and the superiority of Jesus is mentioned first.

Hebrews 2:2, "For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;"

That angels were active in giving the law is indicated by a number of different verses, such as Psalm 68:17, Galatians 3:19, Deuteronomy 33:2, and Acts 7:38 and 53, 

Acts 7:38, "This is He, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:"

Acts 7:53, "Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it." 

In Verses 5 through 14, Christ's superiority to the angels is likewise documented by seven Old Testament quotations, showing that He is God's Son, that He is worshiped by angels, and that although He is God, He is distinguished from the Father.

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?

"Thou are My Son, this day have I begotten Thee"
This verse (from Psalm 2:7) is quoted in Acts 13:33 as fulfilled in Christ's resurrection.

"I will be to Him a Father and He shall be to me a Son"
The Jews acknowledged 2 Samuel 7:14, of which this passage is a quotation. Jesus is neither an angel nor an archangel; He is God's Son.

6 And again, when He bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.

"firstbegotten"
Just as the firstborn son had certain privileges and rights in the natural world, so also Christ has certain rights in relation to all creation ... priority, preeminence, and sovereignty.

Psalm 89:27, "Also I will make Him My firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth."

"let all the angels of God worship Him"
This phrase clearly establishes the superiority of Christ over the angels.

7 And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.

Psalm 104:4 speaks of a storm, wind, and thunder as agents of God's purposes. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) reflects the developing doctrine of angels during the 400-year period between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

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.

This verse intimates the deity of the Messianic and Davidic King, further demonstrating the Son's superiority over angels. This is quoted from Psalm 45:6-7.

9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.

All Christians are called to identify with the Lord Jesus Christ in every respect. Therefore, we too should love righteousness and hate iniquity. A true prophet of the Lord and a long-time personal friend of mine wrote the following (and much more) about the love-hate paradox of Jesus. I quote ...

"Jesus apprehended and called me in the 1930s. I have never found, nor does it exist in Him, the capacity to hate another human being. Without question, "God is Love." He has revealed His quality of love completely in His Son Jesus. He so loved corruptible mankind that He gave His only Begotten Son to redeem us.

I cannot find any hate in Jesus who asked forgiveness for His murderers while the nails were still pinning Him to the Cross. If our goal is to love mankind any less than this, we are liars, have never known Him, and the truth is not in us. God is love and He, by nature, must love absolutely. Although true, this is sometimes hard to handle. It does not jade or eliminate the necessity for jurisprudence and the verdicts of criminal justice.

This creates the ultimate oxymoron, Jesus, full of grace and tender mercies, has a love-hate relationship with Mankind. In that He is omnipotent and loves absolutely, then His 'hatred' has to be absolute.

It is required that to know Him as 'love' necessitates that I know 'what it is' that He loathes. This love-hate relationship is a refining testing tool for Christians.

I am not generalizing but there is a great deal of frustration and sickness in the Church because of loving the wrong things while subtly tolerating a few of the right ways of the Lord.

There is absolutely no redemption for whatever it is that He hates (Revelation 21:8). He hates cowardice, unbelief, abominations, murder, sexual immorality, sorcery, idolatry and lies.

Inescapable, without gradation, all these are objects of the Lord's absolute hatred.

Every other unnamed thing on His hate-list is physically and spiritually involved with Lucifer, the one who generated evil.

Although our Father works all things according to the counsel of His own will, it does not minimize the vital exercise of 'our will' in determining our own destiny. Nor does it give credence to the spurious doctrine of universal reconciliation.

In Revelation 2:6 Jesus said, "I hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans." He admonishes Ephesus to repent for leaving their first love while commending them for hating what He hates. The church at Ephesus was short on love. Perhaps their disdain for the deeds developed into hatred for the people involved in the hated deeds.

Revelation 2:15. He corrects and calls Pergamos to repentance for not hating the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. The blood of martyrdom, doctrine of Balaam, eating things sacrificed to idols, and sexual immorality all consummate in the Nicolaitans. The church at Pergamos fell short on 'hate.' Living in a locale of such concentrated evil, it was called 'Satan's throne.' They were commended for many things but their non-offensive tolerance diminished their hatred for the things that God hates.

A paradox: Through His love He cleaned up people, like you and me, who were once on His hate list; Now we love everything He loves and despise everything He loathes.

I say all this to emphasize, if any man's message is based on people bashing, hate mongering or Church-splitting, it would not in any degree be from Jesus who loves absolutely. We should all have a passion to know, in every detail, exactly just 'what it is' that Jesus vehemently detests.

The object of His hatred is so important that after His ascension He sent a special messenger to dictate a message taking up 22 chapters in the Bible. The letter to the Church in Revelation ends at 22:21 not chapter four. All this to describe just exactly 'what it is' that He loves or hates. Jesus defines, describes and titles one of the most despicable things on His list; Giving it the infamous title, 'Great Harlot.' Jesus demonstrated that He loves harlots but hates harlotry. He entered the temple one day and was questioned by the chief priests and elders about the source of His authority. He chided them with, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you." Matthew 21:31.

Why did He write all this to the Church? Because He, not only being Lord, was born into a race whose history is marked by idolatrous, spiritual harlotry. They killed their own prophets for admonishing them. Unbelievably, their offspring whitewashed the tombs of their historical prophets, while religiously killing their own.

Many in Christendom are currently deeply enmeshed in religious harlotry. Why do we have to be reminded to the point of insult? Because our generation has lost its spiritual senses and reasoning faculties to the point it cannot tell the difference between what the Lord loves and what He hates." (end quote)

Returning to Hebrews, Chapter 1 and Verse 10.

10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands:

As in Verse 8, this is a passage addressed to the Lord as applied to the Son.

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.

These verses are quoted from Psalm 102:26.

13 But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool?

"sit on My right hand"
This is a quotation from Psalm 110, Verses 1 and 5. It occurs at least five times in the Book of Hebrews.

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Christ reigns; angels minister to Christians, who are sent to serve.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!