In the former installments of this series we have briefly prepared ourselves for the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews. As noted in the preceding article, chapters 1 and 2 deal with Christ as the God-man. Chapter 1 gives an exposition of His deity, whereas chapter 2 presents the human side of His nature.

Someone has correctly said that the statement, "God spoke," is the greatest utterance ever made. The fact that the Almighty has spoken to man shows that He is intensely interested in him and his well being throughout both time and eternity.

God spoke unto the fathers--the patriarchs and the Jewish fathers-- through the prophets, using various methods and speaking more at length through certain ones than He did through others. For instance, He gave the fullest message through Moses; through Isaiah He delivered the most glorious predictions to be found in the Old Testament; but through such a prophet as Obadiah He gave only one short chapter.

But "at the end of these days" He had spoken unto us, Christians, in the Son. The phrase "at the end of these days" in the original Greek is the translation of the Old Testament Hebrew expression rendered "in the latter days." This Old Testament term is acknowledged by the best authorities to carry a messianic import. From a study of Jacob's prophecy in Genesis 49:10 viewed in the light of the entire prediction, we see that messianic times began with the first coming and will continue so long as the earth stands. This phrase must not be confounded with the New Testament expression, "the last days," which refers to the closing days of the Christian Dispensation.

According to verse 3 Christ is the "effulgence of his [God's] glory, and the very image of his substance." The word rendered "effulgence" is an astronomical term and signifies that Christ is of the same divine nature and essence as God the Father. This truth is graphically set forth by the fact that the rays coming from the sun are of the same essential character as that body itself. Christ, therefore, spoken of in such an astronomical way, was the sunbeam of God's glory sent to lighten man's path in the earth. The accompanying thought that "He is the very image of His substance" is an additional affirmation of this same truth. The word in the original is brought over into English and appears as our term, "character." In the light of these statements we see that the Lord Jesus Christ was of the same divine nature and essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John in chapter 1 and verse 1 of the gospel made the same affirmation: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The New Testament writers generally lay emphasis upon the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was God manifest in the flesh. He was therefore the God-man.

According to verse 2 Christ has been appointed heir of all things because it was He "through whom also he [God] made the worlds." This note is sounded in many passages of Scripture. The word rendered "worlds" primarily means ages. Here, however, as in 11:3, it is used in a secondary sense, referring to the material universe. Nevertheless, the general idea of the ages during which the physical universe is in existence is quite prominent in the statement.

Christ is, according to verse 3, upholding all things by His powerful word. The term, upholding, may be properly rendered "bearing" or "carrying" all things by His powerful word. There is a goal toward which He is directing and carrying all things. The time which Paul has specifically in mind appears to be referred to in Ephesians 1:10: "unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth," etc.

When Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for man's redemption, He returned to glory and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High--in fulfillment of the prediction found in Psalm 110:1-2. According to oriental customs no monarch, seated on his throne, would invite anyone other than a fellow sovereign to sit at his right hand. God used this current language, with which the people were familiar, to convey the thought that the man Jesus of Nazareth was His equal.

In verses 5 to 14 Paul piled up argument after argument from quotations taken from the Old Testament to prove the divine nature of King Messiah.

It is most important, whenever one finds a quotation in the New Testament taken from the Old, to study the context from which it is taken in order to see the exact thought of the original writer. By so doing one will get the full force of the passage. He should then study this citation in the light of its New Testament application. If the thing to which it is applied fills out the picture as found in the original passage in the Old Testament, we may be certain that it is the fulfillment of the prophecy. On the other hand, if the facts of the New Testament connection do not complete the Old Testament forecast, we may be certain that the thing to which it refers in the New Testament is but a partial, limited, and incomplete fulfillment of the original utterance and that it awaits its ultimate fulfillment.

In verse 5 appears a quotation from the second Psalm, which passage is a forecast of a forthcoming international, atheistic, anti-Semitic anti-Christian convention. This prediction will be completely fulfilled by the Antichrist and his cohorts in the middle of the seventieth week of Daniel. In verses 7, 8, and 9 is a quotation taken from a speech made by the Father to the Son relative to His reign upon the earth. In that portion quoted by Paul reference is made to the incarnation. Jesus of Nazareth in entering the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth was the exact fulfillment of this passage. Being God's Son, He naturally falls heir to the Father's estate. At the second coming He will ask for that which is coming to Him. Immediately world dominion will be turned over to Him and He will reign from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

In verse 6 is a prediction of the second coming of Christ and the worship that will be ascribed to Him at that time. Psalm 97 is the passage which is here quoted. The Revised Version makes it quite evident that Paul was talking of the second coming, for it renders the original statement thus: "And when he again bringeth in the first born into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." In the light of this Revised Version rendering, it is evident that verse 5, as stated above, refers to the first coming of the Messiah whereas verse 6 deals with His return. When He came the first time, only a small band of angels announced to the shepherds His birth; but, when He returns, all the angels will join in a great halleluiah chorus, praising God and ascribing glory to the Lord Jesus.

In contrast to what God has said relative to the Son, Paul quotes from Psalm 104, language spoken by God to the angels: "Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire." The angels therefore are indeed inferior to the Son in every respect--they are simply ministers assuming various forms in order to accomplish the work of God.

Once again Paul shows the deity of the Lord Jesus by quoting from Psalm 45, in which passage the Messiah is addressed as God whose throne shall stand forever and whose sceptre is the symbol of righteousness and justice.

Continuing his line of argument, the Apostle quoted once more from the Book of Psalms, Psalm 102, in which passage the material universe, created by the Son, and its transitory nature are thrown over against the eternal existence of the Son.

He concludes his argument by asking the question: "But of which of the angels hath he said at any time, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?" This rhetorical question demands a negative answer. To no one has God spoken this language except to the Son.

The Apostle concludes his discussion of this point by showing us that the angels are simply ministering spirits whom God uses to serve those who shall inherit salvation. On account of the abuse to which the doctrine of the ministration of angels has been put by certain groups, we often have refrained from acknowledging the service which they render to the people of God. Let us be thankful to the Lord for all His gifts and the assistance which He renders to us along life's path.