Hebrews 1:2

Hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

The broad premise here is that the same personal God who gave the Old Testament and its derived institutions has likewise given the New Testament and its system. The same God who spoke of old through the prophets reserved a more noble means of communication for humanity in the setting up of the new covenant, seeing that he did so "in his Son." The contrast in the manner of God's speaking to the Hebrew prophets and in that "at the end of these days" is vivid indeed. Their revelation came piecemeal, here a little and there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10-13); the revelation for the new covenant was brought in one vast body of truth. The old system was communicated through many persons, the new through the Son alone; and a proper understanding of that epic truth will dispel forever any notion that there could be any prophet, leader, or any other type of seer in the Christian dispensation, with a valid message from God. For God to communicate to mankind through any such persons would be a reversion to the old system. As declared in Jude 1:1:1:3, the faith was "once for all delivered"!

THE KING'S SEVEN-FOLD CREDENTIAL

The superiority of Christianity over Judaism is set forth in the opening lines of Hebrews and with an emphasis that makes the superiority overwhelming. The new revelation came, not through servants, as in the prophets, but through the Son and heir of all things. The superiority of the new institution is actually the subject matter of the whole epistle; and that superiority derives totally from the Son who in this chapter is presented as none other than God himself, humbled in the incarnation, of course, but only for a little while and for a definite purpose. The credentials of the Son are not few but many; and in Hebrews 1:2 and Hebrews 1:3, no less than seven credentials of his authority are enumerated.

1. "Whom he appointed heir of all things ..." It was in our Lord's status as a man that he was appointed heir of all things, since in his character as God, he created all things. Bruce wrote,

These words no doubt echo the oracle of Psalms 2:8, addressed to one who is both the Lord's Anointed and acclaimed by God as his Son:

Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Our author applies the preceding words of this oracle to Christ in Hebrews 1:5; but in his mind the inheritance of the Son of God is not limited to earth; it embraces the universe, and particularly the world to come.[1]

These credentials, if we may so name them, establish the authority of the King of kings, Christ; and the first of these makes him king by right of inheritance, which is the classical and historical means of establishing kingly authority. In our world, even today, the great fortunes still move along lines of inheritances; and the most stable thrones move on the same trajectory. As a man, Christ is the "firstborn" of all creation, entitling him as the heir of all things, more especially in view of the additional fact that, in the most exalted sense, he is the "only begotten."

2. "Through whom also he made the worlds ..." This second credential makes Christ King by right of creation. What one makes is his; and we are Christ's, as are the worlds also, by fact of creation by Christ. This astonishing declaration is supported by other scriptures. "For in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible, and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him and unto him" (Colossians 1:16). "All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made" (John 1:3). It is evident that Hebrews presents Christ as a member of the Godhead, present and active in creation, and therefore hailed as maker of the worlds, or ages, but not to be distinguished from "all things." Thus, here is revealed a part of the mystery why God said, "Let us make man in our own image" (Genesis 1:26). Isaiah called him "Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6), thus making our Saviour a partner and participant in the immutable counsels of the Eternal before the world was made, a fact implicit in the words of Christ himself when he prayed, "Father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5). Cargill said:

An astronomer recently announced that the universe contains twelve quadrillions of suns, each with its own solar system. What is a quadrillion? In the United States and France, it is the figure 1, with fifteen ciphers; and in England, it is the figure 1, with twenty-four ciphers. Just think of the size of the universe! It staggers the imagination. It is foolish to say the universe centers in the sun. It centers in Christ. The entire universe holds together in him. He is pre-existent. He is Creator. He is thus fit to be the Lord and ruler of the world.[2]

[1] F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 4.

[2] Robert L. Cargill, Understanding the Book of Hebrews (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1967), p. 5.