What is meant by the expression “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever" in Heb. 13:8
It does not mean that Jesus always acts in the same way or is always doing the same work; nor does it mean that He is always of the same nature, for He was first a spirit being, the Archangel. “In a beginning [so the Greek] was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was a god [a mighty one]” (John 1:1: see Diaglott). He was “the firstborn of every creature” (Col. 1:15), “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14). In due time He was made flesh (John 1:14; Gal. 4:4), i.e., a human being, then died and was raised to the Divine nature and given a name above every name (Phil. 2:6-10; Heb. 1:3, 4). But He has been and is the same person in all three natures.
Therefore the “yesterday” of Heb. 13:8 does not refer to past eternity. We understand that it refers to the Jewish Age, which is Biblically spoken of as a day (Isa. 65:2; Rom. 10:21), while eternity is never called a day a yesterday is a day before a present day. But a day has a beginning; so has a yesterday; so the yesterday here cannot mean duration without a beginning, i.e., eternity. The days of Heb. 13:8 are evidently ages, as is proved by the Greek expression here for “forever,” which is rendered literally “for the ages.” Therefore, the word “today” in this verse apparently refers to the Gospel Age, also called a day (Acts 13:33; Rom. 8:36; 2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:13, 15). And this is followed, not by the word tomorrow, for this would imply only one Age (the Millennial Age) for Jesus’ future existence. He will live forever—”for the ages,” a term expressive of eternity.
It does not mean that Jesus always acts in the same way or is always doing the same work; nor does it mean that He is always of the same nature, for He was first a spirit being, the Archangel. “In a beginning [so the Greek] was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was a god [a mighty one]” (John 1:1: see Diaglott). He was “the firstborn of every creature” (Col. 1:15), “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14). In due time He was made flesh (John 1:14; Gal. 4:4), i.e., a human being, then died and was raised to the Divine nature and given a name above every name (Phil. 2:6-10; Heb. 1:3, 4). But He has been and is the same person in all three natures.
Therefore the “yesterday” of Heb. 13:8 does not refer to past eternity. We understand that it refers to the Jewish Age, which is Biblically spoken of as a day (Isa. 65:2; Rom. 10:21), while eternity is never called a day a yesterday is a day before a present day. But a day has a beginning; so has a yesterday; so the yesterday here cannot mean duration without a beginning, i.e., eternity. The days of Heb. 13:8 are evidently ages, as is proved by the Greek expression here for “forever,” which is rendered literally “for the ages.” Therefore, the word “today” in this verse apparently refers to the Gospel Age, also called a day (Acts 13:33; Rom. 8:36; 2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:13, 15). And this is followed, not by the word tomorrow, for this would imply only one Age (the Millennial Age) for Jesus’ future existence. He will live forever—”for the ages,” a term expressive of eternity.
