“So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”

When the writer to the Hebrews described Jesus as “superior to the angels” in 1:4, he created an intersection between two major streams in the Bible: (1) the superiority of Jesus, which is the theme of Hebrews, and (2) angelology, the study of angels.  Let’s consider a few thoughts about both.

First, as a letter, Hebrews has multiple purposes depending on the various audiences that would read it.  Some were believers who were at various stages in their spiritual growth.  But others were unbelievers, and among them, some were intellectually convinced that Jesus was the Messiah but hadn’t trusted him yet do to numerous pressures.  Others were attracted to Christ and the gospel message but remained unconvinced he was the real deal.  Therefore, they too had yet to trust him for salvation.

The prime way the writer challenges all three groups is to develop the theme of superiority or “better-ness” of Jesus.  Simply put, Christ is superior to or better than a lot of other things, good things all.  Check out what Jesus exceeds.  In Christ we have a better: (1) one than angels (1:4), (2) hope (7:9), (3) testament (7:22), (4) covenant (8:6), (5) promises (8:6), (6) sacrifices (9:23), (7) possessions (10:34); (8) country (11:16); (9) resurrection (11:35) and (10) things for us (11:40).

But he is superior/better because he opened the way to heaven, which makes another interesting study.  The word heavenly in Hebrews is used to describe (1) calling (3:1), (2) gift (6:4), (3) things (8:5 and 9:23), (4) country (11:16) and (5) Jerusalem (12:22).  Heavenly is better than earthly any day.

Second, we venture into angelology, but not exhaustively.  Volumes have been written about this, so there is no need — or space — for that.  But let’s make a few observations that others might have missed.

Let’s begin with angelic names.  Technically, there are only two named angels in Scripture: Michael and Gabriel.  Michael is the greatest angel, the archangel.  He is mentioned in Daniel (three times), Jude (once) and Revelation (once).  Michael and the army of angels overcame the devil and his fallen angels (Revelation 12:7-9).  His name means, “He is like God”.  Gabriel means, “strong one of God” and appears twice in both Daniel and Luke’s gospel.  Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12, NKJV) probably is the name of another angel, but many translators and Bible teachers translate this “morning star”.  That chapter speaks of judgment for the king of Babylon but morphs into a scene in heaven describing the rise of Satan’s pride and necessary judgment before he was cast down to earth and acquired that name.  In 2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul says that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light”, a possible throwback to his former glory in heaven.  But it’s all a show; it’s not real.  That glory is gone forever.  At best he’s a cheap imitation…yesterdays’ news.

We find an interesting story in 1 Kings 19 after the Assyrian King Sennacherib threatened to annihilate Judah and King Hezekiah.  Isaiah prophesied the complete destruction of Sennacherib’s army, numbered at 185,000 men (19:35).  That very night, one angel put them all to death!  Then in Matthew 26:53, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter rose up with a weapon and cut off a man’s ear.  Jesus told him to put his weapon away because his Father could have called 12 legions of angels to help.  If by “legions” he meant the same as a Roman legion, that would have been 6,000 per legion.  Times 12, that totals 72,000 angels.  And if they had the same kind of killing power as that angel that took out Sennacherib’s troops, 12 legions of angels could wipe out 13.32 billion people!  That’s equal to all the people who ever lived on planet Earth at the time of this writing!  Clearly God is someone to be reverenced and respected, if only for the power of life and death he has.

One final point about angels is this: shortly before Jesus’ arrest, he prayed in that very same garden under unbearable anguish (Luke 22:43).  So bad was it that an angel came to strengthen him.  Notice that the angel didn’t replace him.  He couldn’t.  There is only one person strong enough to carry our sins to the cross and pay for them entirely.  Superior to angels?  Absolutely, in every way!  Are you giving superior attention to him?  Is he getting your all since he gave his all for you?