Shawn conducted a Bible teaching on Hebrews 1, focusing on the eternal reign of Jesus Christ and His superiority over angels. He emphasized the importance of prioritizing eternal matters over worldly pursuits and highlighted the role of heavenly angels in aiding believers in their salvation walk. Shawn also introduced thought-provoking questions about the possibility of all men eventually being saved, sparking further discussion for the next teaching session.

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Hebrews 1: Eternal Hell, Part 1 Bible Teaching Script

Now, before we read the Word together you may have noticed that we do not put the passages up on the wall that we are going to study.

We could – a lot of churches do. It’s convenient and easy for you to follow along.

But there is a method to our madness and it has little to do with making things easy on you. I want you to choose to pursue Him rather than lay back like Jaba the Hut to be fed.

Because some of you ask and wonder, let me see if I can explain our reason for letting you open the word yourselves (if you choose).

We KNOW – from scripture – that God said (spoke, uttered, conveyed) “Let there be light,” and then scripture says, “and it was so.”

From this we can say that God created all things by His Word.

Then we also know from the first verses of our study in John that, “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, (that all things were made Him (“the Word”) (and then in verse 14) that “the Word was made flesh.”

So first, by His Word God created all things – material and immaterial, then the Word (God) appeared in flesh as Man, (with me so far?) so now, sitting in our laps, held in our hands, God has given us His Word “made print.”

Nature reveals and speaks of Him.
Jesus reveals and speaks of Him.
And today, His printed Word reveals and speaks of Him.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT BOOK!

So in my opinion, it is good to absorb (His word in print) with as much wonder as our eyes behold the creations He made (by his word), and with as much savor as our mouths consume elements that represent the Word made flesh.

That is why we seek, hope, and want you to dive into the Word that you own.

If you do NOT have a Bible because you can’t afford one, tell us. We will get you one. You don’t have to have a Bible (and I can’t tell if you do or don’t without my glasses on) . . . but as a person who cares about your spiritual growth I can promise you that having one and marking it up will make a huge difference in your walk.

Alright, now, last week we read as the writer of Hebrews compared the creation and presence of Jesus (the Word becoming Flesh) with that of heavenly angels. Remember?

In verses 4-7 we learned that

He had obtained a better name than angels.
That He was a begotten Son (capital S) where angels are not.
He was a First Begotten Son (resurrected) where angels are not and never will be.
The angels worship Him not the other way around . . .

and we left off (in verse 7) reading where He made the angels spirits (like the wind) and his ministers a flame of fire.”

This brings us to verse 8 so let’s stand together and read from verse 8 to the end of chapter one where the writer continues on with a comparison between angels and Jesus Christ.

Ready?

Hebrews 1:8 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.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
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.
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Alright, back to verse 8 where the writer quotes from yet another Old Testament set if passages. In seven he noted that the angels were either wind and fire or moved like wind and fire (then eight says)

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.

Now, verses 8 and 9 are a quote from Psalm 45 verse 6 and 7. And those passages – (so say some scholars) are speaking of both Solomon and the promised Messiah. But I don’t think so.

In fact some suggest that the primary sense of these passages are referencing Solomon (with them being applied secondarily to the Messiah thereafter).
Again, I don’t think so.

Here’s why.

When we read Psalm 45 it is hard to apply any of it to Solomon at all.

His name is not mentioned. It has no peculiar applicability to him. In fact there are things that are counter to his person and reign when he was on earth.

The king there is described is a conqueror.
In the context of history this would mean
he girds a sword on his thigh, and is adept with the arrow and the people are subdued under him.

This was not true of Solomon. His was a reign of peace and tranquility and he is never distinguished for war like his father David.

On the whole, it seems clear to me, that this Psalm is designed to be a beautiful poetic description of the Messiah as king. AND WHAT A KING HE IS.

Sure, the imagery draws from the usual characteristics of an oriental prince.

But it is all imagery for the promised Messiah.

Now listen – angels may be made like or as wind and flame but the Son (who is God – “Thy throne, oh God” ) sits on the throne.

It’s like those fantasy films (like Lord of the Rings) where all the amazing and powerful creatures are called together for a meeting before the King –

There are enormous brute beasts with dripping fangs and hands like giant clawed catchers mits who but when they all stand before the throne, they come humbly, fearfully, submissively holding their helmets in their hands – like little children.

So are the angels before the throne of the Messiah.

“Thy throne, Oh God, is forever and ever.”

We know from 1st Corinthians 15 that the Messiah’s “mediatorial” work will conclude once all things are complete, but His reign over all things will be perpetual.

The church will end or change – there will be no need for it in heaven – but the reign and power and throne of our King will never end over us.

Sometimes groups like the Mormons mock Christians by asking, “We’ll, what are you going to do throughout eternity, sit on a cloud, play and harp and worship Jesus forever and ever?”

Listen – if that is what we do we will love it beyond measure. But I am of the opinion there is much more to come from the throne of our King.

What I do know from His word is His reign over us as King will not ever, ever, ever, ever … (beat) . . . ever end. But we would never want it too. Who or what could possibly reign over us with more love and perfection.

Certainly not ourselves! Right?

“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

The reference to the scepter is a Hebrew idiom at work. I doubt King Jesus will hold an actual scepter in His hand (but then again I’m sure . . . if He does I’m sure He’l use it to hit me over the head for making conjectures like this). Anyway . . .

But in any case I think it is imagery that strives to help us understand by what means He will reign –with straight, powerful righteousness (verse 9)

9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

The Man Christ, made so much better than the angels, has been obedient to the law of God because He loved righteousness, and hated iniquity.

(In the argument of whether these passages apply to Solomon I think we can see here they don’t).

Where the King James reads, “therefore God, even thy God,” the Greek does not hold this translation up.

It seems like the translators inserted some words which weakens the original intent.

From what I can tell the verse would be better translated as,

“O God, thy God hath anointed thee.”

In other words, speaking of Jesus it would better read:

“Thy throne, O God, is forever. Thou art just and holy, therefore, O God, thy God hath anointed thee.”

We know that anciently kings and priests were consecrated to their office by pouring oil on their heads.

The expression “to anoint,” literally means to consecrate someone to an office or to set them apart to some public work.

Of course Christ was anointed or set apart to do the salvivic work for all of mankind and to then reign eternally.

Verse nine says he was anointed with gladness above thy fellows. There is debate over what this last line means – “anointed with gladness above all thy fellows.”

Some say He was anointed above (or in a better way) over all his fellows that were involved in the work of God – prophets, apostles, angels, kings, priests.

Some suggest it is referring directly to those who were with Him in ministry – meaning the twelve.

Some believe, because the writer has been speaking of angels it refers to angels – with the term angel simply meaning messenger and therefore He was anointed above all heavenly messengers who come to earth from heaven.

And some say it refers to all man-kind, with Him being out brother or fellow in flesh.

I say, “yes, that’s right.” All of it.

So complete and ubiquitous is His work that every single solitary knee will bow, and every tongue will confess to God His deity.

If you haven’t noticed we have been presented with some profound imagery of our King.

He reigns. He reigned on high creating all things. He reigned on the right hand of the Father since ascending into heaven.

He reigns rights now and He will reign over all things forever and ever.

Every evil demagogue, every cult leader, every Godless humanist, every political leader, every artist, every criminal, every sinner and every saint will bow to Him and be in His control as (Listen) “as His salvation will be forever.”

Isaiah 51:6 says it well:

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”

This verse leads us right into the next point the writer makes, saying (in verse 10-12)

10 “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

The “and” here means, “and to add another instance of how you are superior to angels” or, “And again we know from yet another place in scripture that
“in the beginning thou has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands.”

In verse two of this chapter the writer has already admitted Him as the creator of all things. He does it again here to show in yet another way His superiority over angels.

To create all things obviously means He had to be before all things – from the beginning.

The writer is using this reference to prove something more about the Messiah.

Whatever creates all things will always be when all things are gone away.

The language the writer uses are idiomatic of the Hebrews so to say, “has laid the foundation” is to say did it all. And to say “the heavens are the work of thy hands” is to say you are the creator.”

This proves divinity. Only God creates all things from the beginning.

You know, we talk about all these concept and they can, at times, become to us rhetoric.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah He created all things, “we might feel some days in our flesh . . .” just because we hear it so often.

BUT . . . try and absorb this a little. There is not a single scientific formula or fact about nature, physics, mathematics, biology, literature, language, astronomy, mechanics, architecture, construction, artificial intelligence, emotions, intelligence, medicine, dentistry, animal husbandry, clothing and textiles, nuclear fusion, death, life that He is not completely aware of . . . and in control of!

Nothing. He can and will speak clearly and purely to any and all issue presented – eternally as the creator of all things.

But listen to the first line of verse 11

11 They shall perish; but thou remainest . . .

By His word everything was created, by His Word, from His throne, all things will perish . . . but He remains.

Wow.

Now the word perished best means changed. All things will change, or as the writer puts it, “they shall wax (or grow) old as a garment.

They are changing now. The sun is burning up its resources and at some point in the future will fade . . . into what, I don’t know.

Passages like this can really go a long way in helping those who know and love the Lord prioritize.

I’ve mentioned this before but over the period of my working in the secular world I was privy to a front row seat overlooking the priorities of Man. And there are some truly rewarding investments of time and talent.

For some it’s the arts that consumes them. For others its sport, or career, or politics. Within Mormonism it’s the church, marriage, the family, and money.

As a stockbroker I saw hundreds of people wring hands over trying to get the greatest return with the least amount of exposure to risk.

Some people do a balancing act – dabbling here, and there – being a success in as many fields as possible. My Dad is one of those.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:22

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Look – you’re in church, hearing the Word of God. You want the brass tacks of it all?

You will NOT regret one minute of your life spent with an “eye single” on Him and His ways. With an eye single to the eternal view and way of things.

You will never, ever regret sharing Jesus with the lost, helping and loving and forgiving those who are tough to love ad forgive.

You will not spend one moment of eternity fretting over the time and attention you spent on eternal matters.

But I can guarantee you right here and now that Picasso regrets the amount of time and focus he put on art, and that Hemingway put on literature, and that Carnegie put on amassing wealth.

Because all of those things – like all the castles we make in sand – will fade, wax old – and fall away.

It would be my guess that in the eternal realms of light before the throne of our King nobody will care about the Harry Potter Series, the creator of the Ironman films, that Bill Gates is present or absent, or how popular Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean was in the 1980’s and 90’s.

We have to live, and enhance our God-given skills, and pay our bills, but the more we are able to do all things with and eye single, the more we are in harmony with the eternal picture waiting us.

Speaking of all of his creations, verse 11 continues

; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
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.

2nd Peter 3:10 lets us know how all things will be changed, saying

2nd Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Wild huh? Melted and burned.

“But thou remainest!” the writer adds.

No death to the eternal King. No melting. No fire of any kind CAN destroy Him.

He remains – on the throne.

Hang with me now – all this knowledge can work to our good in our Christian walk and in pleasing God.

How?

KNOWING that He is our King.
That He created all things.
That He will destroy and change all things.
That it will happen.
But that we are His.

We can choose – right now – we can choose to be people who walk by faith.

Though the heavens and earth will suddenly disappear, though everything – including our work and bodies will gradually wear out there is one infinite Being who remains unaffected, and unchanged.

And (1) nothing can reach or disturb him.
And (2) all of these changes will take place under his direction and command.

This is the point – as His children and heirs we have absolutely NO REASON to be alarmed at the presentation of anything – He is in charge.

Revolutions may threaten or occur!
HE IS IN CHARGE.
Sin may overcome the world!
HE IS IN CHARGE.
The stars may fall, the sun may darken, Christians may be put to death, plagues may spread but HE IS IN CHARGE.

And LISTEN . . . He is perfectly mindful of you and me amidst it all.

I like the imagery of verse 11 and 12 in its description of EVERYTHING

. . . they all shall wax old (as a garment will); 12 And as a vesture (which is something that covers something else and is tossed around – like a toaster cover or something like that) “shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed:”

Folding up of material for the Hebrew was a sign or act of finality. The writer says Jesus will do this with the heavens and earth and all things. Folds them up and puts them away.

The imagery is consistent as the Old Testament pictures the heavens as a canvas or the expanse of a great curtain.

And before wrapping up the chapter, the writer adds in another reference to angels, asking:

13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, “Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

And then he articulates the some of the proper work God has given to some created heavenly angels, saying:

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Let me cover this last verse (14) before we jump into a giant vat of meaty conversation that I am going to serve up to you all on a platter before leaving.

Anyway, verse fourteen sort of completes the writers comparison of angels to the Messiah (although he will go back to the subject in chapter 2).

But he says of heavenly angels:

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

The point being is that even the most exalted angel appears to be employed in the comparatively humble office of a ministering spirit, appointed to aid the heirs of salvation.

A “ministering spirit” is a being that is employed to execute the will of God.

The proper meaning of the word here– leitourgika (whence our word liturgy) is, pertaining to public service, or the service of the people and is applied particularly to those who were engaged in the public service of the temple.

In human form these are those who render aid to others as helpers or servants. And here the writer is saying this is the lot of heavenly angels – to assist Christians.

The main point here is that the angels are employed in a much more humble capacity than the Son of God.

We learn from this that heavenly angels also AID in our salvation walk.

Did you notice how the passage is written?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Just as the race of animals and vegetables are in place to minister to the physical needs of humanity, the heavenly race of angels too have a servile purpose in their relation to humanity.

Therefore, just as we DO NOT worship animals or plant life or believe we are here to honor and worship them, neither do we have this allegiance or attraction to angels that were created to serve God by ministering to us.

Get it.

In this capacity, the angels have a very deep and abiding interest in man. Jesus Himself said (in Luke 15:10) that

“There is joy in heaven among the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

And regarding “little ones” that compose his church, Jesus said:

“In heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven,” (that’s in Matthew 18:10).

Peter tells us that heavenly angels feel a special interest in all that relates to the redemption of man, saying, relative to redemption:

“which things the angels desire to look into,” (1st Peter 1:12). As in line with this we now know why when Jesus was born that heavenly angels are represented as praising God over the fields of Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, and then showed their presence at almost every location where something was done for the benefit of our King.

They are there for our defense, to strengthen us in temptation, and to assist us in trial.

Finally, according to dying saints, Jesus intimated that when Lazarus died that he “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.” Luke 16:22

Wonderful created heavenly beings – wonderful beings created by a far more wonderful God/King Jesus.

Now, to wrap this up and wind you up, let’s go back to verse 13.

Here the writer produces yet ANOTHER proof that Jesus is superior to angels, asking the question,

“when has God ever said to an angel to sit on His right hand until he makes their enemies his footstool?”

Never.

This passage is taken from Psalm 90:1 which is a Psalm that is repeatedly quoted here in Hebrews and referring to the Messiah.

Interestingly enough, when Jesus was on earth He applied this passage to Himself (in Matthew 22:43,44).

Peter applied it to Him too (in Acts 2:34,35).

Notice something here though. The passage says that Christ will sit at the right hand of the Father UNTIL . . . He makes all His enemies his footstool.

“Until I reduce them entirely to a state of total subjection.”

A footstool is what we put under our feet when we sit on a chair and so the phrase here pictures that His enemies are entirely subdued.

Entirely . . . subdued.

Every knee bowed. Every tongue confessed.

I am going to lead you into some amazing imagery now – one I challenge all of you to prayerfully consider and studiously pursue. I’m not set on this at all, but there are things in my life leading me to wonder.

In first Corinthians 15 Paul touches on the topic of all things being subjected a bit more and this is what he says beginning at verse 23

23 “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. (LISTEN)
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

I do not want to terrify you at this point and completely unearth any shred of confidence you might have in my ability to teach, but these passages introduce something that we must consider.

Again, I am telling you that I am considering this because of these passages and much, much more.

We know hell is a reality. We know people go there and we know it is described paradoxically as a place of flame (even eternal flame) and torment but also a place of darkness.

We also know from scripture 1st Timothy 2:4 that says, speaking of God

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

We know from scripture that Jesus atoned for the sins of the whole world, and we know from scripture that God does some amazing things to bring about as many as possible to saving truths.

Finally, we know that God elected the nation of Israel, as a people, to do certain things – bring forth the Law, the scripture, and the Messiah.

And when they were in the game they thought they were all that, that everything began and end with them, right?

They were reticent and surprised that the “great unwashed” Gentiles would be accepted of God, right? They still resist the notion.

But contrary to their ideas, the Lord did open the gates to all, didn’t He?

And Christ has gathered unto Himself a bride (or a church) – and we were elected to do certain things to help bring about God’s will, right?

(LB)

Is it possible, that just as the Jews thought that they were all that and no others were allowed, that we, as the body of Christ, could be making the same mistake?

Is it possible that those who go to the lake of fire, once bowing and confessing, will too, come forth and bring to fruition God’s will that all men be saved?

More on this next week.

Get into the word. Maybe we can talk more about this next week when we open.

Let’s pray.