EPISODE 242 HEBREWS CHAPTER 1

Welcome to Share the Word. Today's podcast begins chapter one of the book of Hebrews. Margie, as always, lays the groundwork in an informative and colorful way. Now, I love hearing about angels, but Margie goes well beyond as she shows how Jesus is God's ultimate revelation, superior to the prophets and the angels. Let's get started. Thank you, Pastor Tony.

Scotsman John G. Paton was a missionary in the South Pacific islands in the 19th century. He and his wife experienced a period when their mission was frequently under attack by the indigenous peoples, barbaric cannibals. One night, when they were surrounded, Paton prayed for deliverance. Shortly thereafter, their attackers left. One year later, the chief of the tribe converted to Christianity.

When Paton asked him why they had retreated that night, the chief explained that they had seen hundreds of big men in shining clothes with swords in their hand standing guard around the hut. The Patons realized that God had dispatched His angels to protect them. Today, our new book will be talking a lot more about angels. What is the new book? Well, I'll introduce it by way of a joke. A newly married wife teasingly informed her husband that, according to the Bible, making coffee is his job in the marriage.

The husband skeptically asked her to prove it, so she showed him the book of Hebrews. The big idea of Hebrews: Jesus is the best. Better than all the rest. I asked AI for a definition of good or better or better or best, and this was the response. In English, better is the comparative form of good. It's used to compare two items.

While best is the superlative form, used to compare one to all others, indicating the highest quality overall. Well, that's what the author of Hebrews is preaching, that Jesus is the highest quality overall. He is the best. Since we are beginning a new book, let's peek at the history of Hebrews. It was most likely written before 70 A.D. Now, we make this assumption because the author made several references to the temple in Jerusalem.

History tells us the Jewish temple was completely destroyed between 70 and 73 A.D., so it had to be written before then. Hebrews is named after the recipients of this letter, the first century Jewish believers. To this day, the author is unknown. This book is filled with exhortations and encouragements for the early Hebrew church to carry on despite the hardships. Remember, as soon as a Jew accepted Jesus as their Messiah, they were frequently put out of the synagogue, community, family, and business. So relationally, religiously, socially, financially, culturally, they were ostracized and rejected.

Adding to the angst, from a historical perspective, we know the Roman government also persecuted them. It must have been a hard, scary, lonely, and anxious time for those new Jewish believers, maybe even tempting to revert back to what was comfortable, known, accepted, and understood, to that which was considered good. But was it the best? This author would say no. The old way is not the best. The new way, with Jesus, is the best.

Jesus is better than the old covenant. He's the fulfillment of the old covenant. He is the new covenant. In verse one, the author tells us that Jesus is better than the prophets. He is the perfect prophet. The prophets gave God's message, but Jesus is the message.

The prophets spoke God's word, but Jesus is the Word. Jesus is better than the patriarchs. He is before Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. Jesus is better than the religious leaders. He is the perfect and forever high priest. Jesus is better than the sacrificial system.

He is the unblemished Lamb of God. He is the perfect sacrifice. Jesus is better than the tabernacle or the temple. His people are the temple. They are the living church. Jesus is better than anything.

He is the best. As the author of Hebrews did, we will cover each of those truths separately as the big ideas of each chapter. But for now. It's back to the big idea found in chapter one, that Jesus is better than the angels. Verses 3 and 4 read, After Jesus had provided purification for sin, and here it comes, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, and he became much superior to the angels. Though the Old Testament has many references to the angelic interactions and encounters, clearly some wrong doctrine took root in the early church regarding the importance and the roles of angels that needed to be addressed and corrected.

There seem to be two distinct heresies being perpetuated. Angelic beings had either become elevated or devalued to the new Jewish Christians. So, just like the author of Hebrews did, we will attempt to define the truth about these supernatural beings. John Calvin said, Angels are the administrators of the divine towards us. They regard our safety, undertake our defense, direct our ways, and assure that no evil befall us. Angels are mentioned 14 times in the book of Hebrews, 12 times in chapters 1 and 2.

The writer quoted repeatedly from the Old Testament to prove Jesus's superiority to angels. For example, when the author rhetorically referenced Psalm 2, For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son'? But about the Son God says, 'Your throne will last forever, and I have set you above your companions,' meaning the angels. Why? Because Jesus is better than the angels. He is the Son of God, a title never given to an angel.

Again, the writer quoted the psalmist saying, God makes the angels His servants, adding, And when God brings His firstborn into the world, all God's angels will worship Him. Angels were created to serve and to worship Jesus, God's Son. Again, ironically quoting the Psalms, the author said, To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'? Again, the answer is none, because Jesus is the King who reigns forever. Angels are subjects in His kingdom. The author clearly and forcefully repeated the theme, Don't be deceived.

Don't settle for less than the best. Now, sadly, some of these distortions and false teachings remain today, that angels are somehow equal with Jesus. Some even teach that Lucifer and Jesus were equal angelic beings, which is heresy. To be clear, Jesus and Lucifer have never been equals. Jesus is co-Creator with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Lucifer is a creation, not a creator.

Because of the confusion that prevails even today, I will quickly elaborate on additional doctrine of angels called angelology. Angel means messenger in the Greek, and is mentioned in the New Testament more than the words sin or agape love. Some sources estimate that there could be close to 2,000 verses in the Bible referring to angels. So, let's review some specifics regarding angels, beginning with their nature. Again, angels are created beings. They are not spirits of the dead or ghosts.

They are a unique order of created beings. They are supernatural beings who are greater than man but lesser than God. Because angels are spiritual beings, they are typically invisible. However, angels can appear in human form. In this very book, the author cautioned the reader, saying that people have occasionally shown hospitality towards angels without even knowing it. In other words, we can be in their very presence but not recognize them as angelic beings.

An example of this was featured in Billy Graham's book called Angels. It told of a doctor who encountered an angel in the form of a child. As the story goes, the doctor had been pursued by the child, who explained that her mother was very sick. The doctor was so impressed with this young girl that he complimented her intelligence and persistence to the mother, who looked at him quite strangely and replied that her daughter had died a month ago. And with that, the mother motioned towards the closet. And there, the doctor found the clothes that the angel had been wearing, disguised as the girl.

Angels are individuals who possess intellect, emotion, and will. They demonstrate their personalities through communication with one another, human beings, and God. Angels have great, but not unlimited, power. They also have extensive wisdom, but not complete wisdom. Only the Godhead has complete power and wisdom, and they are not God. They are servants of God.

Apparently, unlike humans, angels do not die. Also, angels do not marry. Many speculate that angels are only of the male gender or genderless. Angels are numerous. We're not given an exact number, but several places in the Bible state that there are myriads, thousands upon thousands, and ten thousands upon ten thousands. Angels have distinct functions.

Some angels act as divine messengers, communicating on God's behalf. The angel Gabriel is considered to be the main angelic messenger. He announced the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. An angel spoke to Joseph twice in dreams. Angels brought the glad tidings to the shepherds about Jesus' birth. Angels proclaimed Jesus' resurrection and predicted his return.

Evidently, some angels are tasked with accompanying believers to heaven at the time of their death. Some angels are ministering spirits sent to serve and guide and protect believers. For example, Peter's angelic jailbreak in the Book of Acts. Even now, many people have had supernatural encounters with divine angelic forces. One such case was recounted by R. C.

Sproul involving an incident that took place in his hometown of Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania. An underground coal mine caved in, trapping two men for more than two weeks. Their names were Philon and Throne. He jokes about remembering those names as it sounded like one fell in and the other was thrown in. When they were rescued, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the miners were in fine condition, as they had experienced the miracle of being ministered to by an angel. We also know that angels ministered to Jesus after his wilderness temptation and strengthened him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Angels are able to go into God's immediate presence. Some angels are designed to eternally worship and praise the Triune God as a part of the heavenly court. Two such angelic beings are cherubim and seraphim. Cherubim are not sad, innocent-looking, defenseless little children, but fierce, winged creatures tending to the Lord faithfully and forever. They stand guard over the holiness of God. They're described as beings with four faces: an ox, a lion, an eagle, and a man, representing strength and royal power, loftiness, and humanity.

In the book of Isaiah, we get a picture of the other type of terrifying angel, the seraphim. They proclaim praise to God as part of a heavenly choir, constantly singing the repeated phrase, Holy, holy, holy, celebrating God's transcendental majesty and perfection. These angels are associated with light, passion, and purity. The Hebrew word seraphim means to burn with fire, or destruction by fire. They are sinless creatures used as agents of purification. These frightening angels have six wings: two for covering their eyes, protecting them from God's glory, which is so dazzling it's blinding; two for hovering; and two for concealing their feet as a sign of humility, acknowledging their status and presence before God.

Angels will participate in executing God's final judgment. They will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Some angels are warriors, fighting the Lord's adversaries, the fallen angels, who are actively opposing God's will, tempting believers, or attempting to corrupt mankind in general. Speaking of fallen angels, that theological study is called demonology. C. S.

Lewis wrote, There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall regarding devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe but have an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. As in ancient times, some contemporary cults and cultures overemphasize the importance and the power of fallen angels. They seem rather obsessed with wickedness and the diabolical impulses in the unseen realm, while others take the opposite extreme, denying any and all presence of a supernatural realm or evil. Randolph Bultmann fell into that camp.

He was a German Lutheran pastor who argued 20th century modern Christianity should be based on science, not a three-tier supernatural universe made up of heaven, earth, and hell. Unfortunately, that type of blasphemy still infiltrates some Christian circles today. So let's quickly cover some highlights of demonology. Lucifer is the primary demonic leader. Again, he is not divine. He is not omnipresent, not omniscient, and not omnipotent.

He is a created being under God's authority. Lucifer means the son of morning, the morning star, or the light bearer. Apparently, he was the most beautiful angel ever created. Lucifer is also called Satan, the devil, the great dragon, the ancient serpent, Beelzebub. The accuser, the tempter, the deceiver, the prince of this world, a liar and the father of lies. Each of those titles describe an aspect of his unholy character.

The apostle Paul warned us that Satan is metamorphic. He can disguise himself as an angel of light, which is much more sinister and deceptive than showing up in a red outfit with a pointy tail, horns, and a pitchfork. By the way, that caricature was created by believers in the Middle Ages, designed to mock Lucifer and his pride. We know from Scripture it was his pride which caused his expulsion from heaven, and with him, a third of the angelic beings. As a result of his rebellion, Satan became the enemy of the Godhead and of all humanity. Again, despite being powerful, demons are still under God's authority.

Their rule and influence are temporary. Their ultimate end is assured. Jesus defeated the devil through his death and resurrection. Evil will be finished at the last judgment. So those who follow Jesus have nothing to fear. Jesus is better.

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was a World War One hero and a decorated pilot. He, along with seven crew members, survived after their B-17 plane went down in the Pacific Ocean. The men were stranded on a life raft for days, fighting hunger, thirst, sunstroke, and shark attacks. They were hundreds of miles from land, and no one knew their location. Together they prayed and asked the Lord for help. Suddenly, a seagull appeared and landed on Rickenbacker's head.

He recognized this as, I quote, a providential intervention. After catching the bird, the men used the entrails for bait to catch more fish, which allowed them to survive until their inevitable rescue. Later, when interviewed, Rickenbacker said he regarded the event as a miracle of angelic care orchestrated by his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the one who is better than angels, the one who is better than anything. This is Share the Word. I'm Margie, and may God surround you with His angels as you seek His face. Margie, once again, awesome as always.

Well, we hope you enjoyed this podcast with Margie Biasotto and found it informative and insightful. This podcast marks 242 episodes, which means if you're just joining us, you have 241 episodes to catch up with. It's all free. It's free for you to listen, download, and to share. So go to sharetheword.org and check out all we have to offer. From all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.