Hebrews 2:1-8… HELLO!

The word ‘therefore’ never really impacted the way I read a sentence until…. a grade school teacher said I should find out what its there for?

adverb
For that reason or cause; consequently or hence.
For that or this purpose, referring to something previously stated.

2:1 Therefore we ought (it is necessary) to give the more earnest heed (pay abundant attention) to the things which we have heard (Chapter 1), lest at any time we should let them slip. (carelessly pass by)

“we should let them slip” is a Hebrew idiom that is being transcribed in the Greek philosophy. The word here is G3901 παραρῥυέω pararrhueo (pa-ra-rhï-e’-ō) v. to flow by. (figuratively) carelessly pass (miss). But it is much deeper than that, even in the Greek! Here are the two words…

G3844 παρά para (pa-ra’) prep. παρ- par- (par-) [alternate prefix]

(properly) near or close.
(positionally) beside.
(genitive case) directly from beside a person or thing.
(relationally) personally from someone (i.e. being relationally close).

G4482 ῥέω rheo (rhe’-ō) v. ῥεύω rheuo (rhev’-ō) [a prolonged form for some tenses]
to flow (“run,” as water).

John 4:10 “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
Revelation 7:17 “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Zechariah 14:8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem”
Jeremiah 17:13 “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.“

Paul is telling the people that they risk losing their relationship with Yeshua based on their disbelief. When Peter warns of the roaring lion he does so because the weak in faith are the prey. We often hear the “church” is a “hospital for the spiritually sick” …if that is true…. think of the word paramedic. Paramedics are for the para “very close” medical treatment. Paul is telling us to be ‘very close’ to this source of living water.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2:2 For if the word (logos) spoken by angels (messengers/prophets) was stedfast (stable, trustworthy), and every transgression (violation of Torah) and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; (requital)

Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” {This verse should ring through your head every time you hear a preacher say “I’ve heard a word from the Lord.” You should question that preachers statement heavily!}

Referring back to John 1:1: John used the word “Word” in dual form, and it was intentionally, to the Hebrew this meant the same as the Torah or what many label as “The Law of Moses”. The real rub would then come from the other major societies of the era, the Greeks and Romans, or better known as the thinkers and philosophers. The word “Word” would be taken by them in their understanding as “Logos” = the rational principle of the universe, gaining knowledge of another human through conversation to exceed over appearance only.

Isaiah 24:5 “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.”
1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

Look at these verses and ask yourself some questions…. like “did God change anything about our faith? Or did men change it?” Some might even ask what is the Everlasting Covenant? Questions are OK! Paul is talking about the Mt. Saini covenant. This was written by the finger of GOD! This IS THE Word of God.

2:3 How shall we escape (flee), if we neglect so great salvation (rhetorical question?); which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Hosea 2:23 And I will sow her {the bride of Christ} unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Paul is asking a serious question here in my opinion. In today’s vernacular: “What other way is there? God has shown up, in the flesh, and told us exactly what to do. So now what? We doin this or not?”

This separation of Torah and faith becomes a hot topic because the influence of Marcion in the first century. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created the world. Even the early Roman Church founders such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian denounced Marcion as a heretic, and he was excommunicated by the church of Rome around 144CE. But this philosophy has had a resounding affect on the church of today. Many believe the Torah has been abolished while claiming the ten commandments, a “cliff notes” version of Torah, as their guide. If you want to hear the value and importance of Torah from a first century-post resurrection believer just read Acts chapter seven!

2:4 God also bearing them witness (added evidence), both with signs and wonders, and with divers (various) miracles, and gifts (distribution) of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

Deuteronomy 26:8 “And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.”
Daniel 4:3 “How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.”
Luke 21:11 “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”

2:5 For unto the angels (messengers? or actual angels?) hath he not put in subjection (to subordinate, obey) the world to come, whereof we speak.

Paul is referring directly to the Kingdom of Heaven in this passage. AND he is dropping a very serious amount of truth on these luke-warm Hebrews. Lets look at the definitions of the word translated as messenger here.

G32 ἄγγελος aggelos (an’-ğe-los) n.

a messenger.
(especially) an “angel” of God.
(of evil, Satan) a demon.
(by implication) a person carrying forth a message from God, i.e. a servant (a disciple, pastor, elder, prophet, etc.).

Recalling Paul had just mentioned the Everlasting Covenant in verse two…. so this reference is to the fallen angels spoken of by Jude, Isaiah and Enoch.

Jude 6-7 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Revelation 12:3-4 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
2 Peter 2:4-6 “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”
Enoch 13:1-4 “Then Enoch, passing on, said to Azazyel: Thou shalt not obtain peace. A great sentence is gone forth against thee. He shall bind thee; Neither shall relief, mercy, and supplication be thine, on account of the oppression which thou hast taught; And on account of every act of blasphemy, tyranny, and sin, which thou hast discovered to the children of men. Then departing from him I spoke to them all together; And they all became terrified, and trembled; Beseeching me to write for them a memorial of supplication, that they might obtain forgiveness; and that I might make the memorial of their prayer ascend up before the God of heaven; because they could not themselves thenceforwards address him, nor raise up their eyes to heaven on account of the disgraceful offence for which they were judged.”
Jude 14-15 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful (remember) of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?

Psalm 8:4-9 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Stop for just a minute and consider what Paul and the Psalmist are saying here! The angels which were these magnificent and powerful beings, sinned against God, and for them there is no redemption. They knew the rules for the house and they violated them. This should be a very apparent clue for our generation. This is Paul’s plea to mankind…. Wake UP!

2:7 Thou madest him a little lower (lesser ability) than the angels; thou crownedst (adorned) him with glory (dignity) and honour (value), and didst set him over the works of thy hands: (divine purpose)

Genesis 1:26-28 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection (in obedience, i.e. creatures) under his feet (dominion). For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. (repeated for emphasis) But now we see not yet all things put under him. (pointing out our failure through Adam to be the man God designed)

When Adam sinned he lost his dominion over the Earth to the Serpent. This is what is described for us in Ephesians six as well as Matthews gospel.

Matthew 4:8-9 “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The Everlasting Covenant is the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven for the redeemed remnant of the House of Israel.

Matthew 15:24 “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
1 Corinthians 15:25-27 “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.”