An Exposition
Hebrews 1:1-4: “God’s Supreme Revelation”
How would you like to be called out specifically by the LORD God Almighty to do His work and proclaim His word to the people, calling on them to turn to Him, repent, and see a mighty work done in their lives and that of the nation? How would you like to confront kings, governors, and prefects with the message of God’s blessing if they would obey Him, or face impending and sure judgment for their sins and wrongdoings?
How would you like to spend long and lonely periods where you wonder if your work has been worth the trouble? How would you like to be beaten up by people who hate what you have to say, and they throw you in what amounts to a septic tank to rot and be forgotten? Would you enjoy knowing that the king was ready to kill every wise man in his court if they could not interpret his dream, that you and your friends are on the list, and you buy time to seek God, get an answer, and show you the progression of history as a result?
How would you feel if nobody ever listened to you after decades of preaching, and you ended up being killed for serving God? Do you see why when the LORD calls someone to serve Him as His messenger, it is rarely on a volunteer basis?
God’s true prophets and preachers are essentially drafted into the King’s service and work for Him either for long or brief periods of time, often seeing little or nothing for the effort until we receive our rewards from the Lord Jesus at His judgment seat (2 Corinthians 5:10). The contemporary “Christian” world loves to hear the latest “word” from “God’s anointed prophets” who usually spin tall tales of personal encounters and casual conversations that sound good, but when examined and tested in the light of the Scriptures, their “words” are as accurate as the Federal Budget and just so much nonsense. Just look back last year when the celebrity “prophets” said with confidence that Donald Trump would have a second term and blessings would pour out on God’s people.
Well, after the election and Covid-19, I am waiting for all of them to humble themselves before God, repent, and get out of the ministry for good for insulting and dragging His holy name as well as His reputation through the mud. If I hear one more person say on TV, “God told me” or “God showed me” or say that he or she did not hear Him clearly, I would love nothing more than to get in their face and call them out for what they are – blasphemous liars who are heading for judgment.
However, Scripture does tell us that it is God who will take care of these individuals, and it will be a whole lot more terrifying for them as they hear Jesus say that He never knew them, casting them out of His holy presence into hell (Matthew 7:21-23). Rest assured that these modern blabbermouths are nowhere near the true definition and mission of an authentic prophet of God, whom He used to speak to His people “at various times and in various ways” (1:1-2).
Within the pages of the Old Testament, we have the words of the “Major” prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. There are also the words and warnings of men such as Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi who spent their days having one thing in common, and that was to get the Word of God out to the people whether they wanted to hear it or not. These men were rarely afraid of anyone and often got in the faces of the ruling powers to declare God’s judgment of their land and personal behavior.
They were quick to condemn all pagan practices within the land of Israel, from idols of stone to sacrificing their children to horrendous and sinister deities such as Molech of Phoenicia. They cared not one whit whom they allegedly offended, and they did not make friends or “play nice” with anyone who opposed the work and word of the living God. They did not practice any type of “tolerance” or perversion if it went against what God had forbidden in His Word.
Men such as Elijah had the false prophets of Baal killed for their pagan wickedness and support of the evil Queen Jezebel and her bloodthirsty rampage against the prophets of God. They cried out to the inhabitants of foreign cities that God would destroy them in a matter of days if they did not repent, as did the reluctant prophet Jonah.
Men such as Isaiah spent their lives in royal service, whether the king was faithful to God or not, such as Ahaz, Jotham, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and the wicked Manasseh. Isaiah was given his commission after seeing a vision of the holiness of God within the Temple and became aware of his own sin, terrified that he had beheld a glimpse of the glory of God (Isaiah 6:1-10). He was given the privilege of writing down the prophecy of the “Suffering Servant” and His mission of redemption, taking on the sins of His people (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). Tradition tells us that Isaiah died as a martyr for the LORD when King Manasseh had him sawn in two. It is little wonder that this was not a task that was eagerly sought or desired by the average Israelite.
I do not read anywhere in the Scriptures that any genuine prophet of God either lived a long life or was given the option of retirement after a period of service. To labor for the LORD is not often a glamorous task, nor is it a place where one’s ego takes center stage for any task or job they may accomplish in the name of the LORD. It is not a place to get rich or famous; if that is your goal in life, do something else for a living. Working for the LORD, whether as a prophet of old, or a minister of the Gospel today, or some other service and calling that He has placed upon you is never seen as anything except a life of dedication to seeing that the Lord Jesus gets all the glory, honor, and praise for what is done in this world and in His will. We are His servants, not pampered squires.
In summary, the true prophet of God had numerous duties. They taught the people about what God expected of them, warned them of the consequences of disobedience to God, anointed kings and judged them, proclaimed the righteousness of God, told of the coming Messiah, and were given the honor of writing what would be the Holy Scriptures from God.
I do not see that from any of the so-called “prophetic voices” that yammer their latest “revelation” to a gullible audience on social media. I am sick and tired of their foolish antics disguised as some “anointed” plethora of blessing, power, wealth, prosperity and favor with God when the behavior of some of their so-called “evangelical” audience is no better than the average pagan spending their money and time in the bar, casino, or brothel on any given night. God speaks today through His Word as taught to us by the Lord Jesus. He has said everything to us we need to know about Him, His will, or His plans, how to pray to Him, seek His forgiveness, or win a soul for Him.
Brethren, the Scriptures are complete, and the Canon is closed once and for all. Absolutely NOTHING needs to be added or amended for modern history.
The words of the Lord Jesus as written in the Scriptures were authoritative (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:27), condemned religious hypocrisy and pretension (Matthew 23), brought comfort (John 11:25), were prophetic (Luke 21:7-28), were forgiving (Luke 23:39-43), instructional (Luke 24:25-27), and commanding (Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:8).
He is the heir of all things and the Creator of all things (John 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16). He has the power to save (Isaiah 53:4-5) and to pardon us for our sins (Matthew 9:6). His power is without limit (Matthew 28:18), can control the forces of nature (Luke 8:25), and He had power over His own life to lay it down and resurrect Himself (John 10:18). He is superior to His creation, all of which will bow down to Him at the end of history (Philippians 2:9-11).
No one is His equal. He is to be honored, glorified, praised, adored, worshipped, loved, excellent above all things, the eternal King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will rule and reign in the new heaven and new earth for all time. And we who are His will be with Him as well (Revelation 21:1-7). We will be free from the curse of sin and death, our bodies will be whole and healed, and we will be with our redeemed loved ones in the glory and beauty of His kingdom.
I will take His authentic, inerrant Word, all-sufficient and perfect over the verbal nonsense of the latest “prophets for profit” that seem to show up more as the days approach for the return of the Lord Jesus (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 21:28; Revelation 3:10).
I think you can agree that He is the real revelation of God. No others need or should dare to apply.