260 in 20121 DEVOS - Day 205 - Introduction & Hebrews 1: God Speaks, Jesus Rules, Angels Serve

Introduction to Hebrews: This letter was written “To the Hebrews” – Jewish Christians who may have been thinking about going back to Judaism. It has lots of Jewish flavor and it’s more like a sermon than a letter. It was written approximately 68-69 AD. Not sure exactly who the human author is. Possibilities include Paul, Apollos, Peter, Barnabas, Clemont, Luke, Phillip, Pricilla…. Whoever it was, they had connections with their readers. The purpose of the letter is to present the Superiority and Sufficiency of Christ – that’s churchy for saying that Jesus is over all and is a all we need, He’s enough! Sacrifice, priestly angels, stuff, maturity, faith and endurance are some of the topics that come up! Chapter 11 is that great chapter in the Bible on faith and then 12:1-3 are those great application verses! Hebrews 1: God Speaks, Jesus Rules, Angels Serve How does God Speak to us Today? The beginning of this letter explains how God speaks today. “In the past” = before Jesus, God spoke “through the prophets” – and most of it was warning! How? “At many times and in various ways” = visions, parables, symbols, types, etc… “In these last days…” = indicates a change, now there is One Way = JESUS! This was a familiar phrase to Jews indicating that the Messiah had come and spoken the final revelation of God! That means, the New Testament is complete and nothing is to be added (i.e. the book of Mormon, science, etc…). See Revelation 22:18-19! Who is Jesus? “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Verse 3 makes it clear that Jesus is Greater, He Is God! And the next verse totally says Jesus is better and best! Angels: The Bible talks a lot about angels. They are: spirit beings, intelligent, don’t die, don’t have kids, more powerful than people, live in the heavens, are numerous and some of them we have names for. What do they do? They minister to God, announce and inflict His judgment, bring answers to prayer, encourage, minister to believers and proclaim God’s messages. Jews viewed angels as very important to the Old Covenant. They worshipped them and saw them as second in command only to God. This is why the author of Hebrews wrote to persuade his readers that Christ is the mediator of a better covenant! SO WHAT? *As Believers in Jesus we are told to be “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.” The idea is to be careful not to be deceived! I’m always a bit nervous when someone says “God told me” – especially in light of verses 1-4. God today communicates to us through His Son, Jesus, the Word of God (John 1). How much time do you and I spend listening to God’s voice – the Bible? It’s truly the only way we can know Jesus and what He desires in our lives. Lets make it a daily routine to spend time alone with our Creator! *Jesus IS God. The Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and every religion apart from Christianity have an issue with Jesus! Here’s some help I learned in Bible college. The deity (churchy word for God) of Jesus is clearly given in Hebrews 1, Romans 1, John 1, Colossians 1 and Revelation 1. So if you can remember the first chapter of those books, you can go there as you talk to those who doubt Jesus being God. *Nowhere are we told to worship or pray to angels (or Mary). God created angels to minister to US – believers! We will read later in Hebrews that JESUS is our mediator between God & man, not angels, or priests, etc…