ONLINE BIBLE STUDY
The Book of Hebrews – Part 4
December 6, 2007
Hebrews 1: 4-14 KJV Modified
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son, this day have I begotten You? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he brought in the first begotten into the world, he said, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7 And of the angels he said, Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, You, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Your hands:
11 They shall perish; but You remain; and they all shall wax old as does a garment;
12 And as a vesture shall You fold them up, and they shall be changed: but You are the same, and Your years shall not fail.
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
In our last lesson, we saw that Jesus Christ is superior to all the prophets (we shall consider Moses as a separate study) including the Old Testament prophets as great as they were. He is also far superior to the so-called last days prophets (remember the last days began with the First Advent of Jesus – Verse 2) such as Muhammad, who established Islam; Joseph Smith, who established Mormonism; Charles Russell who founded the Jehovah Witnesses (some debate Russell as having founded the JV’s); Charles Fillmore who started the Unity Movement, and Sun Myung Moon, who claims to be the incarnate Jesus Christ, is also a last days false prophet. There are also several others who claim to be God’s prophet, some in professing Christendom. Jesus warned in Matthew 24: 5, 11, 23-24 that many claiming to be a prophet of God with some new and greater revelation would characterize the last days. The earth is full of such charlatans and we are warned not to have anything to do with them.
The next category; Jesus is superior to is the angels. The Bible tells us about Gabriel and Michael, two great angels of God, and in addition, the Seraphim and Cherubim, but none is the equal of Jesus. When the Godhead was creating the world, the book of Job tells us the angels of God were observing the event and in chorus they began to shout and sing the praises of God – I suppose they were impressed by what they saw – who wouldn’t?
Job 38:4-7 KJV Modified
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have hast understanding.
5 Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
We also know that Jesus is the creator God from the book of Colossians:
Colossians 1:13-17 KJV Modified
13 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
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:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
This fact alone establishes proof of Christ’s superiority over the angels for He created them. The angels are the creative act of God, but Jesus has no beginning and no ending for He was before there was ever a beginning. This is a great mystery and I admit that I cannot explain it. It must be accepted by faith for God Himself said in the very first verse of Scripture that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth – meaning that God was before there was ever a creation. Jesus Christ, as God, is one-third of the Godhead; the other two being the Father and the Spirit, but all our equal as God.
Some religions do not accept this truth such as the JV’s and the Mormons who reject the Trinity. They believe Jesus is a creative son of God like Adam and the angels, that is, He was not in the beginning with God as John declares in his gospel:
John 1:1-3 KJV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The purpose of teaching that Jesus was a created son of God is to discredit the gospel accounts of His virgin birth and efficacious atonement for man’s sin and glorious resurrection. That way they establish credence for their theology and many buy into it even though it is a lie. We are witnessing in our day an aggressive attack upon the biblical and historical accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Jesus Seminar theologians who have written their false Fifth Gospel as well as many programs on TV and the internet malign the Lord’s deity.
As proof this Hebrews Bible study was prompted by the Holy Spirit, consider that today, Mitt Romney, a confessed devout Mormon, and a candidate for President, gave a speech at the H.W. George Bush Center at Texas A&M University in which he stated that he believed Jesus was the Son of God and the savoir of the world. His statement is correct biblically, but is that what Mormons believe? This study is “timely” given current events!
Mormonism began in 1823 when a so-called latter day prophet named, Joseph Smith, was allegedly visited by the angel Moroni (notice the similarity to “Moron”) who gave him a revelation for the Mormon religion inscribed on two golden plates even though no one has ever seen them, not even the Mormons. If Jesus Christ is superior to the angels, then He is superior to an angel named Moroni. The apostle Paul addressed this very situation in his letter to the Galatians (Is it not amazing how the Word of God addresses every false religion?):
Galatians 1:6-8 KJV
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul placed “a curse” upon an angel or any man that preached another gospel other than the one in the Bible – that Jesus Christ alone is God and man who died upon the cross; shed His blood; was buried and rose again from the dead. This is the gospel, not that taught by Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion, even they call their Church – “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” God Himself placed a curse upon Joseph Smith and his religion – Mormonism. I will address Mitt Romney’s speech in a forth-coming article.
Now let’s examine the biblical text in the Hebrew passage for today’s lesson, which repudiates all false religions based on some extra-biblical angelic revelation. Muhammad claimed that the angel Gabriel visited him several times and gave him the revelation for the Islamic religion. Muhammad, like Joseph Smith, was cursed by God and so is the Islamic religion and I am not afraid to say so! For any Muslim who stubbles across my website, I declare to you that your prophet Muhammad, your book the Qu’ran, and your religion is under the curse of the true God – the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a false damning religion that will send your soul to hell unless you come out of it. I implore you to study the Bible and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ who died for your sins upon the cross so you could be forgiven and placed in right standing with the true God. Your religion and your god, Allah, is a false god, and no god in heaven or on earth is superior to Jesus Christ! He alone is Lord and God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Muhammad will one day bow his knee to Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. The so-called 12th Imam is also a false prophet and a figment of Muhammad’s imagination!
Verse 4 says that Jesus is made (not a reference to a so-called creation but by decree of the Father) much better than the angels as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they:
Acts 4:12 KJV
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Philippians 2:10-11 KJV
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What is the inheritance He has obtained?
Isaiah 53:5-12 KJV
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Ephesians 1:18 KJV
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
The inheritance that Ephesians and Hebrews mentions is “US” – the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus inherited us by His death upon the cross and resurrection. We are the seed of Isaiah 53 that Jesus shall see. In like manner, we also inherit Jesus by adoption into the family of God of which He is the head. No angel has this inheritance, only redeemed mankind.
Verse 5 – At any time, where is it said that any angel is begotten of the Father and declared the Son of God? There is none – not Gabriel and not Michael, the archangel! The Father in heaven has only one Son, Jesus Christ the Lord and the Son has only one Father, the Father God. In the gospels, Jesus said that no one had ever seen the Father except the son, for Jesus said the Father is Spirit, not human flesh. The human God is the Lord Jesus, but the eternal Father shall always remain Spirit. We shall one day see Him because when we receive our glorified bodies, we shall be like Jesus. Therefore, the relationship that Jesus enjoys with the Father, we one day will also enjoy. What a blessing that will be!
Verse 6 – When Jesus was brought into the world at His incarnation, the Father in heaven said, “Let the angels worship My only begotten Son.” That should settle it as to whether or not God has any other Son than Jesus. The Bible says in the Psalms that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for a brief time, in order that He might obtain man’s redemption through the sacrifice of Himself as man. The angels bow and worship the Lord Jesus for they are all subordinate to Him.
The Freemasons believe that Jesus was not the real Son of God, but Lucifer is. They believe Lucifer is the true light that will enlighten the world with his superior knowledge, thus a religion was born called Luciferianism. It is a cult and a false religion! When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it is recorded in Luke’s gospel that a multitude of heavenly hosts were praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.” The angels are in awe of Jesus, not superior to Him.
Verse 7-8 – While the angels are “spirits” and the “messengers of God,” the Son of God is the King of heaven and earth whose throne and rule are forever; even the throne of righteousness.
Verse 13-14 – What angel has God the Father ever asked to sit beside Him on His throne – none but the Lord Jesus! The angels are sent as ministering spirits to those of us who inherit eternal salvation (Yes, God has assigned angels to us to help protect us from demonic spirits; however, the Holy Spirit is the one who guides us and makes intercession for us, not angels), but only Jesus will sit on His throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Father God has given Jesus the Son, His own throne to rule on when He returns in glory at His Second Advent.
In summary, no one is superior to Jesus, not even the holy angels. They were created by God as the angelic order just as the human race was created in its order; but rising above all creation is one solitary figure without equal – THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
Do you know Him as your personal Lord and Savior? If not simply bow your head and in your heart of hearts ask Him in faith to forgive your sin and to save your soul. He will surely do that if you mean it.
God bless.