Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 2 * PART 2 * BOOK 46
The Son’s Glorious Creation – Part 2
Hebrews 1:11 – 2:3
Now as we continue our study in the book of Hebrews, you’ll remember I’ve been stressing that Hebrews is written by the Apostle Paul, but he didn’t put his name to it because he knew the Jews had a bad taste in their mouth with what he had done with their religious system. He had turned his back on their system and was now contrary to what they thought of in the keeping of the Law.
But we feel that he is the writer, and the evidence is quite insurmountable that he is the writer. And he’s addressing this Book to Jewish people who are having a hard time overcoming the pull of Judaism, and were having a hard time stepping out of the Law and the ramifications of it, and simply trusting that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the King of glory, and to believe that He’s the Son, and the One Who satisfied all the demands of a Holy God by simply putting their trust in Him.
So, in this first chapter of Hebrews we’re seeing Christ elevated to a place high above the angels. He’s the Creator of everything and the sustainer, even as Paul writes in the book of Colossians. Now we’ve been seeing in the last couple of verses how indeed He was the One Who created everything and then in the last part of the last program we saw that all of this glorious creation is hearing the death knell. His glorious creation is all going to pass off the scene and be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth.
Remember at the close of the last lesson, we left off with scientific laws of thermodynamics. And we saw that the second law of thermodynamics kicked in the moment that Adam sinned, because with sin came death. So the whole creation is under the death knell. Everything is moving closer and closer to oblivion. Now the average individual on the planet probably never thinks about that. But everything on the planet is going into a less useable state. Even our fossil fuels, as they pump those billions and billions of barrels of oil out of the Middle East, it’s not being replaced, it’s not a replaceable energy source, but rather it’s going to one day run out.
And it’s the same way with everything in creation, as it is constantly moving into a less useable state. And even we in this body of flesh, as I said in the last program, from the day we’re born, death begins. It doesn’t matter whether we live to be 10 or 70 or 100, that’s beside the point; death is our final end, short of the Rapture of the Church. So the whole creation is under that same set of circumstances. It is moving closer and closer to the time when it will finally be exchanged for something totally new. Now let’s back that up with some Scripture.
Hebrews 1:11
“They shall perish; (all the things God has created) but thou (the Creator) remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;” My, what a beautiful illustration. Now a garment doesn’t wear out overnight. That’s something that is accomplished over a process of time, and so is creation. As the eons of time are going by, everything is in entropy, it’s all going into a less useable state, until finally God will undo the whole thing. Now verse 12, and using that same word: garment, or a vesture or piece of clothing:
Hebrews 1:12
“And as a vesture shalt thou (the Creator) fold them up, and they shall be changed: (I think a clearer word there would be exchanged. The heaven and earth are not going to be changed from this to that, but they’re going to be totally destroyed, and we’re going to have everything new.) but thou (Creator) art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” Now let’s go back once again to the Old Testament to Isaiah chapter 51, then we’re going to look at Psalms again.
Isaiah 51:6
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, (same language) and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”
Now let’s come back to Psalms 102 for a moment, because I know a lot of times we read these Psalms and yet we don’t read them, and here’s another few verses that I would say most people, if they’ve read it, have missed one of the major points.
Psalms 102:21-23
“To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem: 22. When the people are gathered together and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. 23. He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days”
What do you think He’s talking about? How old was Christ when His life was ended? 33 years old, and right in the prime of life as we normally think, so that’s the reference here. Now He cries out to the Father:
Psalms 102:24
“…I said, O my God, (see that’s why Christ in the flesh and refers to the Father as His God. It’s just from that position where He is, as the Man-God) take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.” In verse 25, God the Son is still addressing the Father from His position on earth and says:
Psalms 102:25
“Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” And now here in verse 26 we come back to the same language that we’ve been seeing in the book of Hebrews and the Psalms, and various other portions of Scripture. Remember the Psalmist is speaking of the work of creation and says:
Psalms 102:26-27
“They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: ye, all of them wax old like a garment; (isn’t it amazing how the Scripture just repeats itself? And you know what I’ve always said, what’s the purpose of repetition? Emphasis! God wants us to understand that this old world isn’t going to last forever. But you see most people today think there’s no end to it, and it will just keep going and going and going. But there’s a day coming when God’s going to wrap it up, like an old worn out garment) as a vesture shalt thou change them, (or exchange them) and they shall be changed: (but God never changes, God the Son never changes,) 27. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.”
Well that’s the Psalmists way of putting it. Now let’s come back and look at some of the New Testament analogies in II Peter to see when this old planet is going to meet its end. Here we have this little epistle of II Peter with this same thought, that there’s coming a day, for not just the earth, but I feel the whole universe will be totally done away with, because everything has to be made new. Now why? Because there isn’t a corner of this universe that hasn’t been defiled by that old devil, Satan. He’s defiled it all, he’s been in the presence of God in heaven, you know that. He’s been, I think, to the ends of the universe, and it’s all defiled, so consequently, it all has to be destroyed. Now verse 10.
II Peter 3:10
“But the day of the Lord (which goes right on past the Tribulation, and through the 1000 year Kingdom until we come into eternity. And remember 1000 years with God is just a day, so don’t think in terms as we look at it, but rather in God’s thinking. In His thinking it’s all in one successive time. So the day of the Lord) will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Everything is suddenly going to return to the nothingness from which it came. Verse 11.
II Peter 3:11a
“Seeing then that all these thins shall be dissolved,…”
Now you know what dissolved things look like. I mean the heat just melts it down, and if you keep the heat on it long enough, it’s going to be nothing. Now reading on. It’s going to be dissolved, so consequently:
II Peter 3:11b-12
“…what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation (or manner of lifestyle) and godliness. 12. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, (when eternity will be ushered in) wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, (see there’s twice we’ve had the word dissolved in two verses.) and the elements (that make up matter) shall melt with fervent heat?” Now verse 13, and see it’s not a hopeless case.
II Peter 3:13
“Nevertheless we, (as believers) according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Now to complete this thought, let’s go all the way up to Revelation, and this just puts the capstone on it, and it’s almost the same identical language. Let’s go to chapter 20 first of all, and drop in at verse 11. Keep in mind this whole concept that everything in the universe was created by a loving and merciful God to provide everything that was needed by all life forms, whether it’s human, animal, birds, or whatever. He provided for all of us. Now verse 11, as we’re ready to usher in eternity:
Revelation 20:11
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, (which of course will be the Son) from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”
They’re gone! They’ve disappeared. No hope? Yeah there’s hope, now look at Revelation 21, and verse 1. It’s almost the same identical language with what Peter said, but now John is writing.
Revelation 21:1a
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:…” This new heaven and new earth, I think will be undefiled and perfect. Oh, I think it’s going to be beyond human comprehension.
Revelation 21:1b
“…for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;…”
And with it went all the defilement, all the residue of the wickedness of all the ages, completely gone, and with this new heaven and earth, there is nothing but purity, beauty, righteousness. God’s holiness is evident everywhere.
Revelation 21:1c-2
“…and there was no more sea. (and then on this new planet, John saw) 2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Now that verse doesn’t call the new Jerusalem the bride, but as a bride. I had someone call me the other day and wanted to know if the new Jerusalem was the Bride of Christ. It doesn’t say that. It merely says that this new city is going to come down with all the beauty of a bride. I’ve made this statement before, Iris and I have been to our share of weddings, and you know we have never seen an ugly bride. Am I right? They’re always beautiful, and that’s why the Scripture uses that analogy. So this city is going to come down with the beauty and majesty and purity of that little bride dressed in white. That’s why we’ve got to be careful with language so we don’t jump to the conclusion that the new Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ, because it doesn’t say that.
And when you go on further into this chapter, this new city four square is going to be, if we can understand Scripture dimensions, 1500 miles long, 1500 miles wide, and 1500 miles high. You and I can’t imagine the square footage in something like that. Now that’s a city that would reach, on this present day planet, from New York City to Denver, and from Denver, to Mexico City, and from Mexico City out into South Atlantic, and then back to New York, and then it would be just as high.
Well I read the other day, and this is mind boggling, that if you gave every individual 3 square feet, you could put all the population of our United States of America, which at this time is about 275 million in the city limits of Jacksonville Florida. Now that will throw you a curve won’t it? Now that just goes to show you how many people can be put into that kind of area. And then take a city that is 1500 miles cubed? So if you think heaven is going to be crowded, you can forget that. Just forget that. And that’s just the city, that doesn’t take in the rest of the universe, that I think we’ll have access to. Oh listen, eternity is something to get excited about.
I think people get the idea that we’ll just float around and strum a harp when we get to heaven. But that’s not what it’s going to be at all. Heaven is going to be a place of intense activity. We’ll also have music that will just blow us away. We’ll have joy and happiness like you and I can’t comprehend.
As Iris and I travel, we have to wonder, especially as we travel in big cities with 6 or 7 lanes of traffic bumper to bumper, and people hurrying to and fro, just how many of them ever think about eternity? And I think the answer is “very few.” They never stop to think of this eternity that’s waiting for us who believe. So it’s sad that here our Creator God is in such control of everything, and He’s setting everything up for glory, and the vast majority of mankind could care less. They’ll live their 70 years or so years on this old planet, and try to live it up the best they can, and then that’s it. Is it any wonder we feel sorry for them, and I do feel sorry for them, because they just don’t know what they’re missing now, and what they’ll miss for all eternity. Now let’s come back to Hebrews again, to chapter 1 and verse 12.
Hebrews 1:12a
“And as a vesture (His creation) shall fold them up, and they shall be changed:…” (or exchanged for new heavens and a new earth)
I think I used this illustration years ago on one of the programs. I had read an article in a scientific journal. It was written by a multi-degreed physicist and he was writing an article on the origin of the universe (which scientists are all hung up on). And his final statement in the article was so shocking, that I just had to read it to my little wife. Do you know what he said? He said, “I have come to the conclusion that all of the universe came from one single source of light.” Well so far so good, but it was his next statement that just blew me away. And so he said, “I can foresee the day when this whole universe will come right back into that original source of light.” And isn’t that just exactly what the Scriptures teach?
God created it all out of nothing, and He’s going to bring it all back from whence it came and recreate it again. And I doubt the gentlemen had any idea how close to the truth that he really came. Even though God has let the universe run, for however long it’s been here, whether it’s billions or thousands, that’s irreverent, but the day is coming, when it’s all going to disappear – but God remains. God is still going to be in control of everything. In fact, let’s take a look at the last chapter of Hebrews for a moment, and I’d like to start with verse 5, but the verse I really want is verse 8.
Hebrews 13:5a
“Let your conversation (or your manner of living) be without covetousness;…”
Now do you remember what Paul said about covetousness? Well back there in Romans chapter 7, it basically says, “covetousness is what triggers all other sins.” Now you think about that for a week or two. So that being the case, here’s the admonition.
Hebrews 13:5-8
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, (Here’s the promise) I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6. So that we may boldly say, (God the Son) The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 7. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8. Jesus Christ (the Creator, the One Who is higher than the angels, the One Who will one day destroy everything, yes, Jesus Christ is) the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
He’ll never change! Do you see why our faith is on bedrock? He will never, ever change. Now for the short time we have left, let’s come on back to Hebrews chapter 1. Oh my goodness, I don’t know why I always end up with a subject that’s going to take an hour, and I only have three minutes left. But I’m not going to fudge, and try to fill the three minutes with empty words, so we’ll just go on into the next verse. Remember when I try to plan for four programs, I find it is utterly impossible for me to know where I’m going to end a particular half hour lesson. I’ve tried over the years, and it’s just impossible. So all we can do is just take it as the Spirit leads and if we don’t finish it this half hour then we’ll complete it in the next. So let’s go on into verse 13.
Now remember we’re showing throughout all these verses how that God the Son is above the angelic host. His power is more than the concentration of the millions upon millions of angels, He is far above them.
Hebrews 1:13
“But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”
Now I’m going to give you some homework. You just take a good concordance and see how many times the Holy Spirit prompts the writers of Scripture to go back to this verse and you will be amazed. I think probably this verse is quoted more often throughout the Bible as a whole than any other Scripture. I know I was just amazed as I was preparing for this, how many writers refer to this verse. Now I want you to contemplate as we get ready for the next half hour, what is the picture of the world being His footstool? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “He’s got His foot on their neck?” Think about it.