Hebrews Chapter One, Virtue And Vice

 

Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? [14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

 

Hebrews’ author continues to explore the Old Testament as he contrasts the nature and position of angels with that of the Son. It is painfully clear at this point that the race of angels with their respective titles (powers, principalities, thrones, etc.)  are not qualitatively the same as the Son. To continue impressing this point, the writer quotes Psalm 110:1. The whole of this Psalm (entitled “The Psalm of the King-Priest in my NKJV) details God foreswearing to Christ about His eternal priesthood, and how the Son would sit at the right hand of the Father until His (the Son’s) enemies were made His footstool. Verse 2 exclaims, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies!”

Continuing, we read of the people’s willingness to join to the Christ in the day of His power, which can only be a reference to the Day of the Lord. Here in Psalm 110 we find an obscure reference to the enigmatic Melchizedek, priest of God Most High from Genesis chapter 14. More will be mentioned of this personage later in Hebrews, so we won’t speak of him now. If this high priest really has no beginning of days or end of life then it appears he was a theophany. Specifically, of the Son of God, since they are at least in one instance likened to each other. Otherwise, though a real man that met with Abram after the slaughter of the kings, was also symbolically used of Christ.

 

Finally, the Psalm’s last verses decree a veritable slaughter of the Lord’s enemies when the rod of Christ’s strength is sent out of Zion (Jerusalem). Compare Psalm 110:5-7 with Joel chapter 3. “Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” Assemble and come all you nations…let the nations be wakened, and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations,” Joel 3:9-12. It is the King’s prerogative to punish the rebels in His kingdom. When the battle of Megiddo begins it will be the confederation of armies beneath Antichrist as Jesus descends bodily from Heaven to defend His brethren, the Jews. Megiddo is a reference to what Revelation calls Armageddon. Although the term has been blown wildly out of proportion to mean the end of the world, it really only pictures a final geographical battle between these opposing forces in a certain valley outside Jerusalem. What follows is the thousand-year reign of Christ. Verse 7 indicates a spell of rest and recovery as the King, having dispatched His enemies, leads His people into the Promised Land.

 

Verse 14 conducts us back to the purpose of the angelic order. They are ministers. Moreover, they are ministers sent forth for the sake of the saved. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent off.” The correlation between the description of angelic ministry and apostolic ministry is an interesting one. The apostles were men chosen by Christ and “sent forth” to proclaim the gospel foremost above other duties, Acts 6:2, 4. Mind you in the early days of the Christian church the apostles also ministered in the purity of the body of Christ, to the detriment of transgressors. Acts 5:1-11 details the instance of Ananias and Sapphira, a husband and wife who determined to deceive Peter and were subsequently put to death for their actions. Why? To the end that, “great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things,” Acts 5:11.

 

Later in Hebrews we read that chastening is something all true believers partake in, Hebrews 12:7. If we do not receive chastening from God then we are not genuine believers, because every child He accepts He chastens, Hebrews 12:8. Twice Paul had to caution the disciples of Corinth concerning the Lord’s chastening. The first time was in the instance of the Lord’s Supper, when he writes, “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep,” 1 Corinthians 11:30. To console the Christian under such chastening, Paul further contributes: “But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world,” 1 Corinthians 11:32.

 

We already have confirmation from Hebrews that chastening denotes us as one of the saints. Even if we are chastened unto death, God is concerned about the doctrinal and moral purity of His body, the church, as was the case with Ananias and Sapphira. Many in Corinth “slept,” a euphemism for death sometimes employed in Scripture, see Acts 7:60 for an example. A holy God judged them for conduct unbefitting His children. As was the case in the Old Testament under Moses, anyone who sinned and was convicted by the testimony of two or more witnesses was stoned to death, although this practice did not seem to be heavily utilized after Joshua’s day. As in the New Testament church, God chastened supernaturally unto death to demonstrate the gravity of being one of His children. We were not free to pursue the lusts of the flesh or to further rebel against God and resist His Holy Spirit.

 

Even to the end of the apostles’ ministry we find an elderly John engaging Diotrephes about the ministry of the saints. Wanting to lord over the flock, Diotrephes challenged John’s authority as an apostle (3 John 9) in much the same way Paul had to defend his apostolic calling to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 10:10, 11, 11:13-15, 13:10. The matter comes to a head when Paul writes, “lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they had practiced,” 2 Corinthians 12:21. The Corinthians enjoyed a practice of sin. One practices something when they want to become good at it. It was their aim to become comfortable and happy in their sinful lifestyle. Paul cautioned them that he did not want to grieve when he visited them because undoubtedly more would “sleep” if the situation had not improved upon his arrival.