Hebrews 1:8-14: Thy Throne, O God, Is For Ever and Ever
2022-07-02
The next verses quote a few different Old Testament passages, which all have eschatological significance.
Hebrews 1:8
In the previous verse, we see that angels were made to be servants. When we read the first word of this verse, “But,” this signals a contrast with this previous verse. “But unto the Son he saith...” Who saith? God is still the subject of the sentence, established back in Hebrews 1:1. The Father is speaking to the Son in this verse. Everything here is what the Father testifies concerning the Son. Let us consider the next two verses, and then we will consider the original quotation in Psalm 45:6-7.
“Thy throne, O God...” The Father is addressing the Son, and He calls Him God. This is a clear statement of deity, probably of the clearest there is. Moreover, the Son’s throne is forever. This means His throne, His reign, and His kingdom are forever. We previously alluded to this when speaking of the Davidic covenant. Jesus will reign forever, fulfilling that covenant.
“...a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” A scepter is a symbol of authority. Jesus rules with righteousness. No other king has ever ruled in complete righteousness; Jesus’ rule will. “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land” (Jeremiah 33:14-15).
Hebrews 1:9
“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity...” The Lord Jesus was without sin His entire life. Consider the study here.
Likewise, Jesus loved sinners, but He hated sin. He chided the unrepentant and the hypocrite. Consider a portion of some of the hardest preaching in the New Testament in Matthew 23:13-17. They corrupted the message of salvation, stole from the poor, and did things for appearance and the praise of men. People often want to say that Jesus’ preaching was only about love. There were plenty of times He confronted sin.
Other times, He befriended publicans and harlots. However, He never affirmed them in their sins. Recall what he said to the adulteress: “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:10-11).
“...therefore God, even thy God...” Recall that in the previous verse God the Father referred to the Son as God. Here, we see again that distinction in the Godhead between the Father and the Son.
“...hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows...” The Father anointed the Son to be the Messiah, or King. The pouring of oil on the appointed king is what happened throughout the Old Testament.
Saul: “Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?” (1 Samuel 10:1)
David: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah” (1 Samuel 16:13).
Solomon: “And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon” (1 Kings 1:39).
Jehu: “And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel” (2 Kings 9:6).
Because Jesus was without sin, He was anointed as the Messiah (“anointed one”). Previous kings may have been godly or valiant, but none could ever claim to be sinless.
Let us now consider portions of Psalm 45.
Psalm 45:1
It is a wedding song, “A Song of loves.” The song is written to the king. Jesus is that king. Even those within Judaism say this is the Messiah.
Psalm 45:2
“...grace is poured into thy lips...” Where else is grace found but in Jesus Christ? Also, “God hath blessed thee for ever.” Forever.
Psalm 45:3
“Gird thy sword upon thy thigh...” What sword does Jesus have in Revelation but the word that proceeds from His mouth (Revelation 19:15)?
Psalm 45:4
“And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness...” He is seen riding. This could be the donkey such as in his first coming, but more likely the horse at His second. The marriage supper of the Lamb is around the same time as His return on the white horse.
Psalm 45:6-7 includes our verses of interest.
Psalm 45:9-10
“...upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” Here we see the bride of the King. Who is this in the New Testament?
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. (Psalms 45:10-11).
I picture the glorious church, people called out of every nation, to forget those ways of the nations they came from. Rather, they worship the King, and they are freely admired and loved by the King.
Hebrews 1:10
A new Old Testament quotation begins here; Hebrews 1:10-12 quotes Psalm 102:25-27. Let us consider this.
Here, we see again that Jesus, the Son, is the creator of everything, which includes the earth and the heavens. He was already there “in the beginning.” Like in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1, Jesus was already there in the beginning of time; He exists outside of time and space.
Hebrews 1:11-12
We see here, however, that the creation shall perish. It will one day be gone, but the Son will always remain. From here, we know that the Son of God is eternal in both directions; He was from everlasting, and He will continue to everlasting.
The old creation “shall wax old as doth a garment.” Everything we see here decays or dies. We do our best to take care of ourselves, but we eventually die no matter how cautious we are. We try to make things that last for a long time, but everything new always gets motheaten, rusty, torn, or damaged in some way. Even stars fade away. The shoreline erodes. One day, the Lord will destroy it all. “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7).
The Son also will be the executor of this judgment to come upon the world: “And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.” Jesus Christ folds them up. Whatever He does, however, the Lord Jesus Christ will never perish, because He was not created. He is always the same. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Going to the original passage in the psalms, let us consider Psalm 102:24-28. The author is anonymous. This psalmist is clearly speaking to God Himself, but there is no clear indication that he spoke to the Son: “I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations” (Psalm 102:24). He cried out to God and asked of Him to do only what God could do: save him from premature death. Afterwards, we see our verses of interest. Then, we read, “The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee” (Psalms 102:28). Because Christ endures forever, His people shall continue forever. Being in Christ, we have received His nature, and will endure just as He does.
Hebrews 1:13
Here, we continue our comparison of the Son to the angels. Angels were never enthroned at the right hand of the Father. As we discussed previously, to be at one’s right hand is to be exalted in a place of prominence. The Father’s right hand is reserved only for the Son. He quotes Psalm 110:1 here. Psalm 110:1 is quoted at least five times in the New Testament: Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43; Acts 2:34-35; Hebrews 1:13.
What does this mean for Jesus’ enemies to be His footstool? Whatever this event is, this is when the Lord will cease being at the Father’s right hand in heaven and return earth. It could be that the maximum number of people are saved and are converted by Gospel preaching, meaning enemies have been turned into sons. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). This seems reasonable. We all were enemies of the Lord until He saved us. The Gospel will go into the entire world so that everyone hears.
It seems more likely that this means those who reject Him and fight against him. Consider Joel 3:1-2, 11-14. The Lord will gather the nations together, and at that point, the Lord Jesus will return and destroy the multitude world army. Again, we see in Revelation 19:19-21. Jesus returns on a white horse and ends the reign of the Antichrist by destroying him and his army.
Consider the original passage Psalm 110, which elaborates on this. God will establish the rod of the Lord’s strength from Zion; Jerusalem is from where Jesus will reign. To the Son, God says, “rule thou in the midst of thine enemies” (Psalm 110:2). Clearly, not all enemies are destroyed upon His return. After His millennial reign, we read that Satan will gather the nations again and surround Jerusalem and fight Christ. He will lose in a final sense that time.
Here, we also see the reference to Melchizedek. We will look at this in depth later in the book of Hebrews, when this verse is quoted.
The one at the right hand of God, namely Jesus, “shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath” (Psalm 110:5). See how many will be destroyed at the time of His return.
Hebrews 1:14
Paul reiterated that these angels are servants and subordinate to the Creator. Moreover, these are servants even to “them who shall be heirs of salvation.” The creation is subordinate to the Creator and exists for the pleasure of the Creator. Angels are subordinates that serve the Creator. The Creator is Jesus. The Sonship and Deity of Christ are imperatives for His Messiahship.
Other than Satan, there are two angels that are named. Here you can see that they are subordinate to God:
And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. (Luke 1:19)
Here, Gabriel is a ministering spirit that stands in God’s presence, waiting to be sent into His service.
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 1:9)
Here, Michael is clearly not the Lord Himself, but deferred to the Lord to rebuke Satan. Clearly Gabriel and Michael are God’s servants for His purposes.