In Hebrews 1:8-9 Paul claims the text in Psalm 45:6-7 is speaking of the Son, meaning the Messiah. Then, without a break in thought to show he is speaking of anyone else, he quotes Psalm 102:26-27. In it David was speaking to God. In verse-16 he addresses God as Jehovah (YHWH; see also Psalm 102:18-19, 21-22), then as God in verse-24. Then Paul says in Hebrews 1:10-12:
And, “You, Lord, have laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of Your hands. They shall perish, but You will remain. And they shall all become old as a garment, and as a covering You shall fold them up, and they shall be changed. But You are the same, and Your years shall not fail.” (Hebrews 1:10-12)
Thus, quoting from Psalm 102:25-27, Paul calls the Son, i.e. the Messiah, “LORD” or, in other words, the Messiah is God, himself. It was he who “laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning”. The heavens are the work of the Son’s hands. He is the one who does not change from age to age, and it is his years that won’t fail. In contrast to what Paul writes, the apocryphal work of second Esdras no doubt preserves Jewish theological understanding of angels during the first century AD. Notice what it says this about them:
“…before whom (i.e. before God who sits on his throne) the army of angels stand with trembling, at whose bidding they are changed to wind and fire; [2Esdras 8:21-22; parenthesis mine]
Obviously, there is a connection of the above with Psalm 104:4, and such a thought unveils not only first century Jewish understanding of the variableness of angels but also of their transience. They could take any shape, or no shape at all. They are completely under the power of God and serve him in whatever capacity he desires, and this is according to the then current Jewish religious thought. In fact, many rabbis of Jesus’ day taught that angels were created daily out of the fiery stream that issued from God (Daniel 7:10), and they praised him new each day and then passed out of existence (cf. Lamentations 3:23).[1]
Although Paul doesn’t suggest that Jewish angelology was true, he does seem to take advantage the doctrine to show the subservient character of angels. His emphasis in his epistle is upon the superiority and permanence or unchangeableness of the Son in contrast with nature. Nature, remember is that which the LORD often uses as his messengers (cf. Psalm 148:8). So, since angelic beings were created in the image of nature, their existence pointed to their variableness and transience. Thus, as such, many first century Jews believed they were created new daily and passed out of existence, when their service was complete. On the other hand, the Son is unchangeable. They are not. The Son is permanent, but, at least according to Jewish doctrine of the day, angelic beings were not; they were transitory.
In other words, and according to Hebrews 1:14, they are ministering spirits sent out to advance the work of salvation. They have not been created to rule, but to serve. Never, has God ever said to an angelic being: “Come and sit at my right hand…” (Hebrews 1:13) implying authority to rule. Rather, referring to Psalm 103:20-21, angels were created to serve, but as far as sitting upon the throne of God is concerned (Hebrews 1:13), that prerogative was afforded the Messiah (Psalm 110:1), whom David referred to as his Lord. Thus, the Messiah was greater in authority than David, Israel’s greatest king. The fact that the Messiah sits with YHWH upon the throne of God, points to the fact that the Messiah is God, himself, for who but God rules from God’s throne (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11)?
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[1] See Babylonians Talmud; Chagigah 14a.
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