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Introduction indicating the exceptional height of the New Testament Mediator of Divine revelations (1-4). Evidence from Scripture (5–14). Hebrews 1:1. God, who spoke many times and in various ways of old to the fathers in the prophets, “Many times (πολυμερώς) and diversified (πολυτρόπως)” – through many prophets and in a variety of ways. The latter refers both to the ways of communicating the will of God to the prophets, and to the ways of communicating this will by the prophets to people, for which - in addition to ordinary speech - they also used unusual means - visions, signs, wonders, symbols, prophecies and prototypes. Slavic - “many parts” better and more correctly reflects the thought of the original, who wants to point out the simple multiplicity and, as it were, repeatability of the revelation, namely, its many parts and, as it were, separateness, with the diversity and characteristic features revealed in each individual case and with the closest relationship of each individual revealed truth to the general - single and whole content of the revelation. Thus, through the prophet Isaiah, for example, the birth of the Messiah from the Virgin and His suffering were revealed, through Daniel - the time of His coming, through Jonah - His three-day burial, through Malachi - the coming of His Forerunner, etc. In contrast to this separateness and plurality in the New Testament, God revealed through His one Son the whole fullness of truth - essentially, apparently, tangibly - in the incarnate Son, Who is the Truth Itself. - “From ancient times” - (indefinite adverb) is again less characteristic than the Slavic “from ancient times” for the most accurate shading of the thoughts of the original. This “in ancient times” (πάλαι) is contrasted with the future - “in the last days of these days” (έπ εσχάτου ταίν ημερών τούτων) and means here the entire time of the Old Testament, all antiquity in its totality, and not in individual moments. - “In the Prophets”. – This expression must be understood here in the broadest sense, meaning by prophets all the holy men of the Old Testament who received revelation from God. Hebrews 1:2. in these last days he spoke to us in the Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the worlds. “In these last days” - in the last times generally denotes the time of the reign of the Messiah. With the advent of this time (“when the fullness of time had come”, Gal. 4:4), the days of subordinate service - according to God’s definition - not eternal, but temporary, doomed to be replaced by new, eternal, grace-filled ones - were the last, not only in the chronological sense, but, so to speak, in essence, as the days that exhausted the temporal necessity of the Old Testament and caused the birth of the New. “He spoke...” - in comparison with what was used above - “who spoke” from the same verb λαλείν (Heb. דכֵד - used to denote Divine revelation) - indicates the internal connection of both revelations - the Old Testament and the New Testament, and the first was only a preliminary step to the second predetermined by God. – “To us” in contrast to “the fathers” also indicates our advantage, resulting from the further opposition “in the Son” instead of the previous one – “in the prophets”. - “In the Son” - as in “in the prophets”, - έν Greek in the sense of δια - through the Son, through the prophets, but with a special connotation of the thought that both the Son and the prophets of God were not only external instruments of revelation, but living intermediaries and exponents of it. The Greek text here expresses itself - έν υιώ (without a member), thereby wanting to say that Someone opposed to the prophets stood to God not in the relation of a simple prophet, but in a much closer relation to the Son. Other interpreters explain the omission of the member in this place by the fact that here - υιός (as in Heb. 7:28) has the meaning of the proper name of the Messiah, and how this, being defined in itself, does not need immediate definition through the member. As the true Son of God, equal to the Father (Heb. 1:3.), this last Mediator between God and people gave in Himself to people the complete and most perfect Revelation of the Divine, covering and completing all previous revelations through the prophets. Having mentioned the Son, the writer tries to understand His Divine and human nature and essence, doing this in three correlative sentences. The son is also the “heir”; hence the Son of God is “heir of all,” i.e., the Lord of the whole universe, since inheritance and heir in Jewish usage mean dominion and master (cf. Ps 2:8, and also John 16:15; Matt 28:18). – “Total” – πάντων – like Col. 1:16, means the totality of all things. But why is it said: “Whom he set” (εθηκε), and not “Which is?” – St. Chrysostom and Theodoret explain this by saying that here we are talking about the human nature of the Messiah. As God, He was always, from the beginning, Lord of all, because through Him all things were created. But as a man, He became in time the Heir and Lord of all, having accomplished, as the God-man, the second creation, that is, the redemption of all creation. “This atonement has not yet ended in its actions and will continue as long as the world lasts.” Christ founded for Himself a special God-human kingdom, at the end of which all His enemies will submit under His feet and the complete dominion of the Son over everything will come (cf. 1 Cor. 15:25 etc.). The expression “he set an heir for all” (“he made him heir of all”) must, therefore, be understood in the sense of the eternal destiny of the Son of God for future possession, which, so to speak, legally began from the moment the Savior uttered the words: “made perfect,” and will actually be fulfilled and completed when God “subdues all things to the Son, and when the Son Himself submits to him who put all things in subjection to Him, and all things are God in all!” “Through Whom He also created the eyelids...” This sentence, as shown by the particle and, forms the basis for what was said before: “But put Him...” Christ was made heir of all things because through Him God also created the eyelids. - “He created centuries,” that is, not only time itself, counted in centuries, but also everything that exists in time or together with time. It is significant how the apostle gradually, as if on a ladder, goes higher and higher in theology: first he calls the Founder of Christianity the Son, which others, perhaps, will consider to be a general name for the children of God; then he called Him the heir of everything: this is already the highest degree of Theology; further calls Him the Creator of ages; this is even higher compared to previous titles; finally, the apostle represents something even more sublime—that which is no longer higher. Hebrews 1:3. This One, being the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis and holding everything by the word of His power, having accomplished the cleansing of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, “The radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis.” This directly signifies the eternity of the Son and the consubstantiality of God the Father. “The radiance comes from the sun, and not after it; for together is the sun and together is the radiance (Theophilus).” Just as the sun, in relation to its radiance, is from itself, and the radiance from the sun, so the Father is from Himself, and the Son is born from the Father. Just as radiance comes from the sun, without taking anything away from its essence and without being separated, so the Son came from the Father. The sun exists before the radiance, but nevertheless, together with it, so the Son is with the Father. The radiance cannot exist without the sun, and the sun without radiances: so the Son cannot be without the Father, and the Father without the Son, and yet they are both different. It is impossible to see the sun without the light emanating from it: so no one can see the Father without the Son (cf. John 1:18, 5:19ff; John 6:46, 14:9, 16:15). If that which shines is God, then His radiance is also Divine. If what shines is eternity, having neither beginning nor end, then such is the radiance. Complete consubstantiality and equality in everything. – “Image of hypostasis” – χαρακτήρ τής ὑποστάσεως, – imprint, imprint, mark (from χαράσσειν – to cut, to draw). Just as a seal imprinted with a stamp fully corresponds to the image made on it, so the Son is the most accurate and perfect reflection of the essence of the Father (cf. John 14:9 “he who has seen Me has seen the Father”). In a completely different sense, man is called “the image and likeness of God.” As created in time, with the ability of endless development, man gradually becomes like God and deified. The Divine essence is reflected in his soul as a weak likeness, as a small spark of Divine radiance, and not all the light that is fully and completely shed by the Son. Man is only co-essential with God, and the Son is consubstantial with the Father. Or the Son is consubstantial with the Father to a full and all-perfect degree, as personality is inseparable from Him, and man is consubstantial with God in the sense that God gave Him a small likeness of His essence for eternal perfection in the image of the Creator. - “Upholding all things by the word of His power.” Having created everything with His Word, God holds everything, that is, He also preserves the being and order of things “by the word of His power.” This preservation of the world is, as it were, a constantly ongoing creation; both are accomplished by one word of Divine power, which will complete everything with the same word, when by the power of the mouth of the Son of God the only opponent of the moral order of the world’s existence, the Antichrist, is killed (2 Thess. 2:8). “Having made the atonement for our sins...” The atonement for our sins, the sanctification and justification of man are often mentioned in this epistle as the fruits of the high priestly ministry of the Messiah, His sacrifice, which He performed not through the blood of goats or calves; but “by Himself,” the sacrifice of His obedience, His self-sacrifice, His blood and life. Having made such a sacrifice for people, Christ for Himself, that is, for His human nature, acquired exaltation above all creatures - “he sat down at the right hand (throne) of the Majesty on high” (έν υψηλοίς, actually on high, i.e. in heaven, cf. further Heb. 8:1). That this expression refers to human nature in Christ is evident from the fact that nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father before His ascension into heaven is attributed (cf. John 17:5, 6:62). Before this ascension, the Son is spoken of more sublimely: “He is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). The image of the expression (about sitting on the right hand), meaning participation in Divine power and world government, was borrowed by the apostle from Ps. 109:1, which was always considered Messianic, although in different senses. “At the right hand of the throne of Majesty on high” - in this figurative expression, every word is full of deep meaning: “at the right hand” - indicates the affinity and equality of the Son of God with the Father; – “Throne” – means the dignity and power of the Divine; – “graying” – peace and contentment; – “greatness” – the same as above – “glory”, i.e. the glory and greatness of the Divine; - “on high” is a significant expression that does not mean to limit God to one specific place, even the sky, but only to indicate His highest position above all, i.e., that God is above everything. Hebrews 1:4. being as much superior to the Angels as he inherited the most glorious name before them. The apostle begins to develop the idea of ​​​​the superiority of the Son of God further by comparing Him with the Angels, meaning to indicate that the revelation communicated by Him is higher and more perfect than that which was given through the mediation of the Angels, by the hand of the Old Testament mediator - Moses. The name, which alone already expresses the superiority of Christ over the Angels, is the name of the Son, which He bore before the ages, and “inherited” - according to the expression of the Apostle - in the sense that it was on Him, and not on anyone else, that the prophecies given below were fulfilled and applied to Him. - You can also understand this inherited in the same way as above - “set, sat down” referring to the human nature of the Son of God. Christ from all eternity was the Son of God and before the Angels. Having become a man, He apparently humbled himself before the Angels, but this humiliation was limited to a short time. Having shown obedience to His Father even to the point of death on the cross, He also earned for His human nature an exaltation above all creation, inheriting in humanity the name of the Son of God, possessing this Name by right of inheritance, and not, like us, by adoption. Hebrews 1:5. For to which of the Angels did God ever say: You are My Son, today I have begotten You? And again: I will be His Father, and He will be My Son? The apostle confirms and explains his thought with a number of Old Testament sayings, showing that his thought is not new, but eternal, like truth itself. “Said... introduces... says...” – predicates to the implied subject God. In some places in the Old Testament, Angels are also called “sons of God,” but in this case the apostle means to point to a very special personal one-of-a-kind sonship, which is also shaded by the Psalmist with a more precise definition: “My Son, whom I have begotten,” i.e., the Only Begotten Son in essence, equal in nature and Divine properties. “Today (today)” - according to some interpreters - indicates the eternal birth of the Son from the Father, since in eternity there is no past and future, but there is only one eternal present, the eternal. The past tense of the verb “gave birth” (γεγέννηκα) means, on the one hand, the completion, and on the other, the constant continuation of this birth. According to other (especially Greek) commentators, the expression today refers to the temporary birth in the incarnation when Christ and how man became the Son of God. According to the meaning of this interpretation, now (today) should refer to the time of the earthly life of the incarnate Son of God, and in this case, the past tense of the verb gave birth indicates the time of his incarnation by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary. According to others, the expression of the psalm refers to the resurrection and ascension of Christ, that is, to the time of His glorification, which will continue forever (cf. Acts 13:33, 4:25 et al.). “And also”, i.e. “who did God say when?” (implied: never to anyone). - “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son...” These words, most closely spoken about Solomon, also contain a promise about the restoration of the seed of David and the eternal existence of the kingdom and his throne, which was fully realized only in the person of Jesus Christ - the Messiah, to whom this promise was attributed by David himself, Solomon, the prophets, and the Archangel Gabriel in gospel to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:32; cf. 2 Samuel 7:19; Isa 22:22; 1 Kings 5:5, 8:17–20, 24; Isa 9:6–7; Jer 23:5, 33:15; Zech 6:12–13; Acts 2:30). Hebrews 1:6. Also, when he introduces the Firstborn into the universe, he says: and let all the Angels of God worship Him. “Also, when he introduces” is an inaccurate translation of the Greek όταν δέ πάλιν εισαγάγη, the Slavic is more correct: “when he again introduces”, that is: when he introduces again. – “Introduces the First-born into the universe” - Greek εισάγειν means introduces into the possession of a known object (judicial term); introduces into the universe - introduces into the possession of the universe; “introduces the Firstborn” - introduces one who, according to the law, has full rights of inheritance. Again, this expression is meant to indicate not the secondary introduction of the First-born into the universe, but the secondary bringing of the text corresponding to the one just cited above: “when he again introduces the First-born into the universe, he says...” or more clearly: “again, when he introduces the First-born, he speaks,” that is, not: he introduces again, but speaks again. The expression – “Firstborn” – (πρωτότοκος) is a favorite among Jews to designate the Messiah. The Apostle Paul repeats it several times with different shades. Thus, in Romans 8:29 Christ is called “the firstborn of many brethren,” in reference to the redeemed people who in Him were adopted again by God as children, and thus became His brothers (Heb. 2:11). – In Col. 1:18, Christ is called “the firstborn from the dead,” as the first to overcome the death that came from Adam. In Col. 1:15, the apostle calls Christ “the firstborn of all creation,” as the prototype of everything created by Him and through Him. In all these cases the said expression must be understood as applied to human nature in Christ. Just as Christ, being the eternal Word, is the Only Begotten (μονογενής) with the Father, so, being a man, He is the “firstborn” of God (πρωτότοκος του θεού). He is firstborn in relation to Christians, who are His brethren, and therefore also “sons of God” (Heb. 2:10). As the firstborn, He will therefore one day be introduced into His full inheritance, and then the Angels will worship Him as the king of all creation (cf. Phil 2:9, etc.). “Let all the Angels of God worship Him...” - the expression is borrowed from Ps.96:7 and the Psalmist most closely refers to Jehovah, Who is glorified in this psalm as the King and Judge of the entire universe. Referring what is attributed to Jehovah to the Son of God, the apostle acts in accordance with the instructions of this Son of God, who revealed to us that “the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). Hebrews 1:7. About the Angels it is said: You create flaming fire with Your Angels and Your servants. The apostle contrasts the sayings of Holy Scripture about Angels with several texts that speak of the Son being superior to the Angels. – “It is said about Angels...”, Greek. καί προς μέν του αγγέλλους λέγει ..., more precisely glorified: “to the Angel he says...” - “to the Angel” - ( προς - in relation to, about) as for the Angels, or regarding the Angels - says, i.e. Scripture, or the author of Scripture... What is said about Angels is borrowed from Ps. 103:4, and the Hebrew text here is actually expressed like this: “He makes the winds His messengers (Angels) and the flames of fire His servants.” The LXX translation gives some modification to this expression, changing subjects into predicates and vice versa λειτουργούς αυτού πυρός φλόγα ... - “creating his Angels with spirits (winds) and his servants with floating fire...” The meaning is such that Angels are so subordinate to God and serving creatures that, fulfilling the will of God, they even descend into matter and serve as elements nature - wind and fire (cf. John 5:4). This makes it possible to better highlight the superiority of the Son over the Angels, regarding Whom (προς δέ τόν Yιόν) the same Scripture says (Ps 45:7–8): “Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever…”, etc. Heb. 1:8–9 vv. Hebrews 1:8. And about the Son: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; The scepter of Your kingdom is the scepter of righteousness. Hebrews 1:9. You loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore, O God, Your God has anointed You with the oil of joy more than Your fellows. The strength of the proof of the superiority of the Son over the Angels is that while the Angels in Holy Scripture are called ministering elements of nature, the Son is called (twice) God and the eternal King. The power of the Kingdom of the Son of God is that it is the kingdom of righteousness, which alone endures forever and ever. Love for this truth and hatred for untruth - according to the Old Testament understanding - are the most essential properties and conditions of the dignity of a true king. In the Son of God, these properties and conditions rose to such exceptional perfection that they served as the reason for His anointing with the oil of joy more than all His partners, in other words, He became the Anointed of God in a much more perfect sense of the word than ordinary anointed ones - kings who receive their anointing for the kingdom from the same King of Kings (“By Me kings reign...”), and than all the other participants in His Royal glory and victory - those who believe in Him are “children of the kingdom.” - “Anointing with the oil of joy” - when applied to the Son of God, there is a union of His human nature with divinity, as the Holy One spoke about this. John of Damascus: “Christ himself anointed himself, anointing as God, anointing as man; the anointing of humanity is Divinity.” - “More than Your fellows...”, that is, more, preferentially, than all other people, although His brothers (Heb. 2:11). And these latter graciously receive the Divinity into themselves, but not like Christ, in Whom Divinity and humanity are united hypostatically. Hebrews 1:10. And: in the beginning You, Lord, founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; The following text quoted from Scripture to prove the superiority of the Son of God over the Angels is borrowed from Ps. 101:26–28; what is said here most closely refers to Jehovah, but the Apostle quite rightly applies it to Christ, Who is the Power and Word of God, by Whom all things were created and Who, therefore, is coeternal, consubstantial and coequal with the Father, and whose superiority over all created things is immeasurable and undeniable. Hebrews 1:11. they will perish, but You remain; and everything will wear out like a robe, Hebrews 1:12. and you roll them up like a garment, and they are changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not end. Hebrews 1:13. To which of the Angels did God say, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool? The last confirmation of the superiority of the Son of God over the Angels is borrowed from Ps. 109:1; To which of the Angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand”? - etc. The messianic meaning of this psalm during the earthly life of Jesus Christ was recognized as so undoubted that the Lord brought this place into debate with the most bitter enemies (cf. also 1 Cor 15:25: Acts 2:35). – “Sitting on the right hand” – see Hebrews 1:3. - “Until I make Your enemies Your footstool,” that is, until I subdue everything that opposes You... The word not yet (dondezhe, έως) does not mean to indicate the limit of sitting at the right hand, but the implementation of one of the goals of the Divine sovereignty granted to the Messiah - the subjugation of enemies, and the very state of sitting at the right hand will survive all its temporary goals and consequences, will eternal, unshakable and victorious (έως has a similar meaning in the Evangelist’s expression about Mary’s ever-virginity “not knowing her until she gave birth to a Son...” (Matthew 1:25), i.e., not only did he not know her until the birth of her Son, but there can be no talk of this at all). Hebrews 1:14. Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation? Art. 14 concludes what is said about the Angels with the position that all of them, in contrast to the Son - the Lord, are His servants and executors of His will regarding the salvation of all people. - “Isn’t it all” - not excluding, therefore, the highest of them. - “Serving spirits sent to serve for those who...” Spirits serve God even when they are sent by Him to serve the salvation of people. Therefore, “to serve” cannot be applied directly to those who want to “inherit salvation”: here we mean the service that the Angels provide to God, but for the sake of those who should inherit salvation. – “Salvation” is the entire fullness of grace and truth revealed in Christ, which will reach its full completion only in heaven. You might be interested in: