Hebrews Highlights #1: Better Messenger

Yesterday, I finished my study of the book of Hebrews.  It is the first study I have completed after having the baby and I went much slower than I was accustomed, but nonetheless, I finished.  It has been a while since I have written highlights on a book I have studied. In this book there have been many things I wanted to share that have been convicting to me, have made me really ponder, and things that have made me ask questions because I didn't fully understand.  I just haven't been able to find the time. I was planning on doing this all in one post but it was too long so this will be over several posts instead.  The theme that I kept reading throughout the whole book is that Jesus is better and He is sovereign over anyone and everything.

 
This book is different from other New Testament letters because the author is not identified. The content of the letter reveals that his audience is steeped in the Old Testament, the tabernacle, the Sabbath, the priesthood, and the sacrifices.  This means the audience is Jewish and the reason for the name of the book.  However, the message of this book isn't just for Jews alone.  We are grafted into that line so it is for Christians as well.  It connects the Old Testament to the New Testament teaching that Jesus is better than the Old Covenant and that He came to fulfill it. 

1.  Better Messenger:  Hebrews 1-2
 
In the first two chapters, we are told that Jesus is better than the angels.  Although they are also created by God and used as His messengers all throughout scripture, Jesus is a better messenger
because He came to fulfill God's plan of salvation to all mankind.  Some put angels in a place of
worship rather than the only One who is worthy.  Hebrews 1:6 tells us that the angels worship
the Son, so we need not worship them, but the One they worship.

People have many beliefs about angels that aren't bible-based.  Many are based on television and
movies such as City of Angels or Michael, which aren't scriptural at all.  Many are intrigued about who angels are and if they truly exist.  There are hundreds of verses in the bible about angels and
if you believe the bible to be true, we know angels are real.  Here are a few truths about angels that I discovered through scripture:
     * they presented themselves before the Lord and satan was among them
     * there is joy in the presence of angels of God over one sinner who repents
     * satan was an angel; unrighteousness was found in him and God cast him down from the
        mountain
     * satan disguises himself as an angel of light (not the red man with pitchfork that we may
        visualize)
     * we aren't to worship angels, taking a stand on visions we have seen, inflated without cause by
        fleshly minds
     * they are subjected to the authority of Christ

There is much more in scripture about them, but I won't write it all.  One misconception that I   
have heard several times is how some believe that we will turn into angels,  or how a loved
one will get their wings and becomes a guardian angel.  As warm and cozy as that sounds, that
isn't what scripture says about them.☺ We are made separate from angels and we will not become
one in eternity. 

God says His Son is different from the angels and prophets.  Hebrews 1:1-2 says that they spoke  
in many portions and in many ways, but in these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son...our
better messenger.  Jesus is better than the angels.  He has a better name and a better position.
Unlike the angels, He became flesh that He might come to our aid and save us from our sins.  He
came to redeem us and rescue us from the one who held us captive under the power of death.