“IN THE BEGINNING, Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end.” But to what angel has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet?” Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?
Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him.
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The Epistle to the Hebrews is the prescribed epistle reading of the two most important times in the Orthodox liturgical year – the period prior to the Nativity of Christ and the period of the great fast of Lent itself. To be sure there is some dispute as to the authorship of this epistle due to the variation in writing style from the other works of Paul – so let us examine that matter for a moment.
The problem of the authorship of this epistle has been with the church at least since the settling of the Canon for the Bible. St Clement of Alexandria recognised the problem and his explanation was that the Epistle was written for the Hebrews in their native language by Paul and then accurately translated by Luke and published for Greek readers. Hence, in the Greek version of this epistle, we find the same stylistic colour as in the Acts of the Apostles. The usual opening – “Paul, an apostle” – was omitted from this epistle for good reason. The Hebrews would have been prejudiced and suspicious of Paul and Paul was far too sensible to put them offside at the very beginning by name himself as author.
However, whether the great Paul wrote it or not, is not the issue. The issue is whether or not this epistle forms part of Scripture and our church has declared it to be so. Therefore, it forms part of the depository of our faith and is for the edification of the faithful. Also, in relation to dating the Epistle there are no internal markers within the Epistle to indicate when it was written. It is believed however that the Epistle first began to circulate towards the end of the first century – although it may have remained uncirculated for some time prior.
Around that time, doubt was increasing amongst the Jews who were following Christ as to whether in fact Jesus was the Messiah. After all, Hebrew Scripture declared the Messiah to be a militant king who would free his people from oppression. Yet, Christ came in peace, was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to heaven, leaving his people to face persecution from the enemies of Christianity. To counter this increasing doubt the Epistle to the Hebrews avers to the Lord’s priesthood prior to his Kingship, and Paul says his true kingship will manifest itself in the second coming – so patience and endurance are necessary for the believing Christian. In other words, do not lose hope.
So, what is the overall message of the Epistle to the Hebrews? The Epistle declares that Christ is the fulfilment of the old covenant between God and Israel, thus causing that covenant to be at an end, and now, there is a new covenant between Christ and his believing people, of which the new covenant is superior in every way.
There are two main themes running through this Epistle. The first relates to the priesthood and the second, more importantly, relates to faith which is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It is faith that saves us. With faith comes hope and faith and hope attend things that cannot be seen. Faith is hope not only in the promise of God but also in those to whom God has spoken.
In talking to the majesty of God Paul turns to the Psalms of David for assistance – and what assistance there is! In Psalm 102, verse 25 the psalmist declares: “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens the work of your hands”; in Psalm 110 verse six is said: “the Lord says to my Lord “sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Psalm 8 verses 4 to 6 the psalmist ponders in awe and wonder: “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them. You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honour. You’ve made them rulers over the works of your hands. You put everything under their feet”.
God created the earth and everything in it. He created the moon, the stars, the sun – indeed the entire universe from the beginning. However, all created things are made to perish. Indeed, that is what the science tells us. This earth has a finite life. The sun has a finite life. Once it exhausts its energy everything will perish. The author in referring to the Psalms makes it plain that we should keep in mind at all times the transient nature of all things – all things save and except the one thing which is permanent – and that one thing is God who is for ever and ever.
God is constant. There is no change in God. Indeed there can be no change in God. Why? Because God is perfection and change implies that something more is necessary to travel closer to perfection. No, God does not need change and He will live for ever and ever!
So who do we mean by God?? The answer is provided for us in the introductory verses of the epistle. “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days He has spoken to us by His son whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He reflects the glory of the Father and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by His word of power. When He had made purification for sins, He set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has obtained is more excellent than theirs.” So when Paul is referring to God, he is really referencing the incarnated Christ. Further, in this epistle is declared that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and for ever. A confirmation if you will that as God his reign rules for ever and ever.
Notice what is being said in this epistle reading. Paul is in effect saying that the son of God carried out all salvific work. The son is in fact the dispensation or the divine economy of the world, if you will, in relation to all things. Further, he points to the equality of Christ with the Father. So the Hebrew Christians are urged to give the more earnest heed to all that has been received by the cloud of witness of the ancients of old. We are obliged, all of us, to pay closer attention for not doing so means that we will justly miss out on the kingdom. So, beware of false teachings about the son of God. Beware of indifference to our salvation. These things will remove us from God and the ministering spirits who are endeavouring to guide us to salvation will be in effect defeated by us. In other words, the kingdom of God, through failing to follow Christ, will be denied to those who do not follow Christ faithfully.
