Thoughts From Hebrews - Day 1

                                                   Hebrews 1:1-3

 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. 

      What was the job of a prophet? He was to be the mouthpiece of God to people who didn't have God in their presence or His written word to speak to them. That's why he had to be 100% accurate because if he wasn't, then he couldn't be speaking for God. Moses spell out how serious God was about this in Deuterononomy 13

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, ² and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. ⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death ....  Deut. 13:1-5

 Nathan once told David to go ahead and build the temple but God quickly corrected Nathan and then Nathan told David the correct message. Now that Jesus has come, we actually don't need prophets anymore, we have His written word in the Bible and we have the writings of those who followed Him and were taught by Him also recorded. So in order to replace the prophets, the Bible has to be 100% accurate or it can't speak for Him. This passage in Hebrews implies that it is, or will be, because if it wasn't, the job of prophet would not have been made obsolete.

     God spoke the world into existence through His word. God holds the world together through His word. His word is the atomic glue, the great force, that holds the universe together. If God's word is this powerful and this important, don't you think that when Jesus left earth and went back to Heaven, He would have made sure to leave us with His word? Even though the Bible was compiled some 300 years later, don't you think He would have overseen its formation and 100%  innerancy with the same care that He protected His Son from Herod? Yes we have thousands of first century manuscripts to document its accuracy. Yes all but a few lines can be recreated from passages quoted by early writings of 1st and 2nd century saints. We can document its accuracy well, but can we say it is Truth and it speaks for God? Yes! The writer of Hebrews says a resounding, "Yes!"