Jump Start # 2678

Hebrews 1:2 “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

I love this verse! It is stuffed full of lessons, like a suitcase ready to go on vacation. There are so many wonderful things to see, learn and love about the Lord. This verse needs to be preached. The world needs to get this, which it doesn’t.

First, these are the last days. Unlike many of us preachers who say, “in conclusion,” and then preach another thirty minutes, the last days are it. Nothing follows last. It’s final. There are no more days, at least not here, after the last days.

Now, two thoughts from this. First, some believe the earth is eternal. Life is just going to keep on going and going as it always has. Save the planet is important if the planet is supposed to be here forever. But it’s not. And, life does not continually go on here. God is clear about this. Jesus is coming and He’s not going to start things, but end things. The Corinthians were told that when Jesus comes, the kingdom will not be established but rather it will be delivered to God. Peter said when Jesus comes the earth and its works will be burned up. We are in the final days.

But, we, as a second thought, must not hurry up God’s time table. He will pull the plug on this ole’ planet when He is ready. Some of us may want that to be sooner rather than later. All things work in God’s timetable.

Second, God speaks through His Son. He does that in the last days. Since these are the last days, that’s how God speaks today. I’ve been teaching the book of Daniel. There are dreams, visions and the appearance of angels with messages throughout that book. That was then. Today, in these last days, God speaks through His Son. So, that weird dream you had wasn’t a message from Heaven. God doesn’t speak that way in these last days. That divine nudging that you sense isn’t so divine. God speaks through Jesus. And, Jesus speaks to us through His word, the Bible. Progressive revelation, which is the idea that God is still revealing and inspiring like what was done in Biblical times, and there are a host of modern writers today who believe in that, doesn’t fly with this verse. God speaks through Jesus. He doesn’t send you dreams. He doesn’t send you messages. He doesn’t inspire you like He did the apostles.

Third, Jesus is the heir of all things. He is the anointed one. He is the chosen one. He reigns. He sits on the right hand of God. Jesus is the one. There is no other like Him. Prophesied. Fulfilled. And, uniquely positioned, Jesus is God’s only begotten Son.

Fourth, God made the world. He is the creator. From the first pages to the last pages, this is God’s world. Now, those that cannot get this, likely will not get that these are the last days, nor that God speaks through Jesus, nor that Jesus is the heir of all things. This is like a four legged stool. Take out one of the legs, any of them, and it will fall over. Likewise, remove any of these points, and the whole system falls. I can’t have Jesus if I am unwilling to have God as the creator. And, if I have God as the creator, I must have that these are the last days. And, if I have that these are the last days, then I must have that God speaks through Jesus. All of these or none of these—that’s how this works.

What a great passage. Powerful. Pointed. Principled. And, a great starting point to talk to others about the Gospel. Four different starting points: creation; last days; role of Jesus; how God communicates today. Pick any of them and start a conversation. Neatly tied together and found in one place, these words identify for us the role that God has and the wonderful work that He has done.

Roger