Hebrews 2:1

Hebrews 2:1 says, Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.  The writer, and there is some debate whether it was Paul or another disciple, warns us to be diligent in our study of God's word.  It doesn't really matter who penned Hebrews, because as with all the Bible, God is the Author.  All scripture is given to help us better understand God.  Verse two adds, For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;  This would imply that the message of the angels is that every transgression and disobedience to God will be punished.  This would be a just recompense.  Verse three continues, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;  How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?  The answer is that we will not.  If the angel's word is steadfast, then all sin will earn punishment, but through faith in Christ we can escape this punishment.  This is the great salvation, that Christ died for our sins.  Verse four states, God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?  God Himself bears witness to salvation through Christ.  The early disciples were witnesses to the truth of the gospel, as are we as followers of Christ today.  Verse five adds, For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.  The angels will not be in charge of the world to come, but Christ will.  There is coming that day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  For some, those who do not accept Christ as Savior and Lord in this lifetime, it will be too late.  Verse six continues, But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?  Verse seven says, Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:  Then verse eight adds, Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.  This is a reference to Psalms 8:4-6.  Again, this points us to the need to know God's word if we are to be effective witnesses for Him.  When Christ came to earth, He was human in all aspects, a little lower than the angels.  Still, though it hasn't happened yet, everything is placed under subjection to Him.   We, as followers of Christ, should already and in all ways be under the subjection of His authority.

Hebrews 1:9

Hebrews 1:9 says, Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.  This is still speaking of Christ and His superiority over all of creation, both angels and people.  Jesus Christ did indeed love righteousness and hate iniquity in every action that He took.  As His followers, we are called to be the same, yet too often we still choose iniquity over righteousness.  Christ is the anointed Savior of mankind and the only way to salvation.  Verse ten adds, And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:  Christ, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth.  We hear today about new planets being discovered, but they are not new.  They are a part of the creation of Christ.  We cannot truly believe in God if we do not accept that He is the Creator of all things.  I have heard some say that they are Christian evolutionists, but I do not believe that we can be both.  The account of creation in Genesis does not say that God evolved man from some other form of life, but that He created man from the dust of the earth.  The woman was created from the rib of the man.  Verse eleven continues, They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;  In this life, people will grow old and perish, but Christ is eternal.  We as His followers will one day cease to grow old and perish, but not until Christ returns to claim His church. Verse twelve states, 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.  We shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, with an everlasting body, but Christ is already what He will always be.  Verse thirteen adds, But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?  Now, speaking of the angels again, we are told by this question that they are not equals of Christ, but are created beings just as people are.  Until the enemies of Christ are made His footstool He will be seated at the right hand of the heavenly Father.  I will never profess to totally understand the trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but I do know that we are told They are One.  Verse fourteen continues, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?  This verse tells us that the angels are ministering spirits, sent to minister to the needs of those who have accepted salvation through Christ.  This doesn't say that angels were once sent forth, but that they are sent forth..  It also does not say that angels are sent to fulfill our wants but are sent to help meet our needs. 

 Verse nine says, Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.  Christ is the only person to live without sin.  As I have said before, I believe that Christ could have chosen to sin, to seek His own way, but He was always obedient to His heavenly Father.  If Christ was unable to sin even if He had wanted to, then we would be held to a false standard.  Verse ten states, And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:  Once more this is speaking about the eternal nature of Christ.  He was there at the beginning of the world and He will be there at the end.  Christ's righteousness is an eternal righteousness.  Verse eleven states, They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;  Matthew Henry says this refers to the fact that all of creation is growing old, but not Christ.  We can either put our faith in the world which will perish or in Christ Who is eternal.  Verse twelve says, 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.  This is then a reference to the new heaven and earth that will be ushered in with Christ's return.  All things will be made new.  In verse thirteen we read, But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?  This continues to declare the superiority of Christ over the angels.  They will not sit on the right hand of God, and neither will we.  Verse fourteen asks, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?  The purpose of the angels is to obey the will of God and to minister to the followers of Christ, the heirs of salvation.  This does not say that they were sent forth, but that they are sent forth.  This would mean that angels are still at work today.

Hebrews 1:1

Hebrews 1:1 says, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  We have just seen in the book of Daniel some of the ways God spoke in the past to His prophets.  God spoke through dreams and signs, but He also spoke through events, such as the fiery furnace.  There could be little doubt that God was at work in such situations.  In those days, the priests and prophets were the  ones who spoke to the people for God and to God for the people.  Verse two says, 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;  There was a change that occurred with the coming of Christ.  This says in the last days God spoke to us through His Son.  No matter how long it is until Christ returns again, since He came into the world we have been living in the last days.  Though this may have been a reference to the time immediately around the life of Christ, it does not change the fact that we are in the last days.  God speaks to those in the world through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  We need no other signs to know God, and we have no other way to come to Him except through Christ.  Christ is both the heir of all things and the Creator of all things.  This simply speaks about the eternal nature and power of Christ.  He is both the Creator and Redeemer.  God speaks to us, not through signs and wonders, but through faith.  Even if signs and wonders do occur, without faith we will not recognize them, and through faith we will not need them.  Verse three states, 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;  Christ has already completed His act of redemption, once and for all time.  He died for those who put their faith in God and the coming Messiah who lived before He came, and for all those who put their faith in Him since.  Christ actually died as a Redeemer of all, but many will not accept His sacrifice, and they go away to everlasting punishment of their own choosing.  Christ now awaits for the time to be right for Him to return and claim those who are His.  Verse four declares, Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.  Christ is superior to the angels, because for all their power, angels, like people, are but created beings.  Christ is not a created being, but the eternal only begotten Son of God.  Verse five adds, 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?  This continues to explain the superiority of Christ over the angels that was brought up in verse four.  Here, the question is asked when did God say to any of the angels that they were His Son and that He had begotten them.  The answer is never.  Again, angels are but created beings, and are separate creations from people.  We will never go to heaven to be angels.  Verse six continues, And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.  When Christ, the first, and only, begotten, came into the world, the angels worshipped Him, because they recognized His superiority to them.  We must likewise recognize Christ's superiority to us, and simply obey and worship Him.  Verse seven states, And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.  I believe that by this question that God was stating that the angels know that they were created servants whose only real power comes from God.  This applies to people as well, and especially to those who are followers of Christ.  Verse eight adds, 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.  The angels know their place, and so does Christ.  As the only begotten Son of God, the scepter, or power, of righteousness is given to Him alone.  This is the scepter that separates the kingdom of God from the kingdom of this world.  Faith in Christ is the dividing line.  Those who do not put their faith in Christ as Savior and Lord will be forever cut off from His kingdom.  

Daniel Review Concluded

As we continue to look at lessons learned from Daniel, we next need to realize that there are those who claim to have the ability to foretell the future based on some ability other than understanding God's word.  They will often outnumber those who truly speak for God.  They will also usually want to say what will make them look the best to those in power.  As followers of Christ, we can never allow ourselves to be caught up in simply endorsing the actions of those in power, especially when what they are doing goes against God's teachings.  We may live a longer and more prosperous life by doing so, but ultimately, we will be held accountable for our actions.  Also, if we do find ourselves in positions of power, we must use those positions for God's glory and not our own.  Daniel never abused his position but worked to benefit the king that he was serving at that time, so that God would be glorified by his actions.  We are never to use our position in life, whether it be great or small, simply from a selfish point of view.  I personally believe that this applies to nations as well as to individuals.  If God has blessed a nation, it is so that those less fortunate may be helped for the glory of God.  God does not value one group of people over another.  A person's relationship to Christ is all that matters.  Also, we need to understand that kingdoms, some good and some terrible, come and go, but God's kingdom is forever.  As followers of Christ, we are already a part of that kingdom.  One day, and nobody knows when, Christ will return to claim those that are His.

Daniel Review Continued

Another lesson from the book of Daniel is that we may find ourselves in the fiery furnace because of our faith.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faithful to God, but God did not keep them out of the furnace.  If we begin to proclaim a gospel that states that God wants us happy, then there is no room for a fiery furnace experience.  God wants us faithful, and we already have a promise of all the riches of heaven, but even there they will not be what is important.  I don't believe that this means that every follower of Christ will always be delivered in this life from every situation in which their faith is tried by fire, but their deliverance to everlasting life is always assured.  Many of the early New Testament Christians died horrible deaths because of their faith, but they will live forever with Christ.  We also need to remember that we are New Testament Christians, and we may have our faith tested.  If we do not have a faith that will lead us into the fire for the sake of our faith, then we may be weighed in the balance and found wanting.  Next, we need to realize the importance of prayer in the daily life of a follower of Christ.  Daniel could have prayed quietly or behind closed doors for thirty days and have avoided the lions den, but he chose to pray out where people could see, even if it meant going into the lion's den.  It is not enough to silently worship God, even in the face of adversity.  As believers in God, all four could have died, but their everlasting fate was already secured because of their faith.  They were delivered for the glory of God.  As followers of Christ, our salvation is assured, so if we live through very dangerous situations that we are in because of our faith, it will always be for God's glory.  We also need to acknowledge that if God delivers us safely from these situations it is because we still have work to do for Him.

Daniel Review

I believe that there are several things that we can learn from the book of Daniel.  The first is that just because we are a follower of Christ doesn't mean that we are always going to be successful and in power in this world.  The Jews, during Daniel's time were in captivity, and remained so for his lifetime.  We also need to understand that just because we may be offered better things by those in power does not mean that we should accept them if it means turning away from God.  Just as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego choose to not eat the king's meat in order to remain faithful to God, we must never accept the things of this world if they cause us to turn away from our faith in Christ.  There may be those today who proclaim that if Jesus were alive today that He would travel and live in style, but the truth is He could have done that during His lifetime if He so chose to.  Jesus came as a suffering Servant, and we are called to be like Him if we are His followers.  We are called to go into the world, even if we encounter those that we feel are demon possessed.  Our call is to reach out to even the demon possessed with the word of God, and God is more powerful than any demon will ever be.  Next, just as Daniel was given the ability to interpret dreams and visions that were messages from God, we today are given the ability to understand God's message to us.  Not all dreams and visions are messages from God, but if they are, then God will make the meaning known to us.  Daniel never had nor claimed to have any mystical power to interpret these dreams and visions, but was always quick to give God the credit for the interpretation.  We must also always give God the credit for all our success in understanding His word.  The Holy Spirit works within us to help us understand.  I do not believe that we will ever understand all that God's word has to teach us in this lifetime, because God is so much more knowledgeable than we will ever be, but we must always continue to study His word.

Daniel 12:8

Daniel 12:8 says, And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?  The question so far had come from one of the angels, but now Daniel himself asked a question.  He did not understand what was being said.  If we find ourselves with questions about God's word, the best thing to do is go to the Source.  We may rely on other Christians or the writings of other Christians, but we need to look to God through the leadership of the Holy Spirit for the ultimate answer.  Verse nine adds, And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.  Daniel was not given a definite time frame for these things to happen, but was told to go his way.  Daniel was also told that the words were closed up and sealed until the time of the end, which I would interpret as the second coming of Christ.  I believe that we like Daniel must simply go our way until that time comes.  Our concern is to be living faithfully for Christ and spreading His gospel without concern about His return.  It is already an assured fact and will occur when God deems the time to be right.  It may be in our lifetime or not, but we are to live each day knowing that when the end comes we will be with God forever.  Verse ten continues, Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.  I believe that this is a reference to being purified by faith in Christ, which is the only way to be purified before God.  Those who understand this are wise, but those who wicked will not understand salvation by faith in Christ alone.  It is not that they cannot understand, but that they will not.  Verse eleven states, And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.  This seems to be a reference to the time of the rule of the antichrist immediately before the return of Christ.  It will be a terrible, but limited time.  Those who remain faithful to God may suffer terribly, but the suffering will be but temporary, whereas the deliverance will be everlasting.  Verse twelve adds, Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.  Those who remain faithful during this time will be blessed, not because of their suffering, but because of their faith.  Verse thirteen continues, But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.  Daniel was told to go his way and wait.  He would be dead long before these prophecies came to pass, but his resurrection was assured at the end of the days, the second coming of Christ.  We today need to go our way till the end, whether it be in our lifetime or years after our death.  Our victory, like that of Daniel, is assured either way.