Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Every book in the New Testament has words that are unique to that book. These words reveal a unique agenda for each book. This word translated "sundry" is one of those words for the book of Hebrews. Think of a five and ten store which has a thousand different items. In the same way God has spoken in many ways, at many times, for many different purposes. That is the first key concept laid out in Hebrews. Divers manners is a second word unique to the book of Hebrews. We often want to have the most persuasive argument, the best weapon, the "silver bullet". But often an overwhelming attack is when you have a thousand different items coming in a thousand different ways. God is omniscient, He is omnipotent, He is going to display His full arsenal in putting Satan to an open shame. That full arsenal is every single believer. Think of the plagues in Egypt, God used frogs, dust, flies, etc. Tiny little creatures all became a part of His army against Pharaoh.
2 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;
When we think of being made heir to a great wealth we think of the bank account, the investment portfolio and the mansion. But God, the creator of all things, this includes flies, lice, frogs, etc. Jesus is heir of all things. Every single thing has its place and function. Now I appreciate that when I get saved by these things I would never have thought would bring me salvation. But the real lesson for me is that each one of us has a function and it is needed and if God speaks to you to share what you have then you need to obey. Jesus Christ is the commander in Chief and your function can play a role in this victorious campaign.
3 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:
Now if the Lord speaks to you it will certainly be terrifying. You will realize that by speaking you open yourself up to attack. So you need to have faith that Jesus is upholding all things by the word of His power. Jesus knows about the attack and if you have faith in Him you will see His glory and majesty.
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
The angels are powerful, they have all kinds of abilities that far surpass ours. However, what they don't have is the ability to transform sinners into saints and to make an army out of those saints that can defeat the fallen angels despite them being mightier than we are without Jesus. With Jesus we can defeat them, without Him we can't. In this way your success brings glory to Jesus Christ, the captain of the host.
5 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 is the thing, we have fathers that can raise us up, train us, and teach us.
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Why do all the angels of God worship Him? Because He was able to take the weaker team, man, and make them champions over the stronger team Satan and the fallen angels. The key component is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who dwells in us.
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
The angels are spirits. That is a very important function. God's ministers are a flame of fire. Again, very important in starting a fire.
8 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.
But Jesus Christ is a king who sits on a throne. He can rule over all and thus everything in His hands becomes so much more powerful and effective. Fire can be chaotic and destructive, or it can be focused and used specifically to accomplish something constructive. Sin and rebellion are confusion, chaos, and death. But Jesus' sceptre is righteousness. In His hands all is right, all is life, all is organized and constructive. Satan is a slanderer, he says that people are useless, and good for nothing. This is proof that he is not omniscient, because he does not understand that each one of us was fearfully and wonderfully made. When you hear the enemies slander it should make you smile, knowing that this is why he will surely lose, because he does not understand that each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made, but God and Jesus do know this. This is why Jesus Christ is the "hope of glory". Jesus within us can be manifested and reveal this truth. This revelation puts Satan to an open shame and glorifies Jesus Christ.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
This slander from Satan reveals something about his heart, he hates righteousness and loves iniquity. To be slandered by Satan is like getting a good housekeeping seal of approval. In the world Satan promotes those who, like him, hate righteousness and love iniquity. The world operates under the principle of "mutual assured destruction" (MAD). They don't want anyone in a position that can bring down the house of cards without them bringing themselves down in the process.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Jesus understands this. He lays a foundation of righteousness, there is no "MAD" process. In the world you pull the pin and it sets off a process of them all killing each other. Think of the movie "Goodfellas". They rob an airline and take a whole lot of money and the next thing you know everyone involved in that robbery ends up dead because one guy got paranoid that someone might talk.
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Now think of the seven year tribulation as the time when this self destruct process goes off and they all perish. This is why Jesus told us to pray that we would be found worthy to escape. The rapture is our escape from when the world self destructs due to the hatred of righteousness and the love of iniquity.
12 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.
Who gets changed? Satan and the fallen angels get changed, they are no longer ruling, instead Jesus Christ and the believers will rule and reign.
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Satan becomes a footstool for the Lord's feet. When you see Jesus sitting on the throne you see Satan and the fallen angels under His feet. It is a lesson to us that righteousness is a firm foundation and unrighteousness is not.
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Every single one is a ministering spirit sent forth to minister to the believers. Think about boxing. You don't start boxing as an infant, you need a nanny to protect you, but after a certain age you can begin learning to box as golden gloves. These matches are only three rounds and you wear protective gear. You have a coach, you have a trainer, you have corner men, you have a referee. There are a lot of people overseeing these fights to keep you protected. But little by little you can go through that training all the way to the Olympics. After that you can turn pro. At that point you still have ministering spirits helping you, but your opponent is also helping you. He is trying to defeat you and that forces you to put even more focus on learning this skill. Satan's attacks on us help to train us. But God has complete control over them so that there is no attack that is too great for us but in every attack He has given us a way of escape.
