Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 1
One of the Bible’s names for God is the ‘LORD of hosts’. The word ‘LORD’ translates God’s most holy name. The word ‘hosts’ means armies. And that includes in particular God’s vast army of angels.
The angels are God’s special servants who work for him in heaven. They guard sacred things (Genesis 3:24). They fight battles (Daniel 10:13). They bring messages from God (Luke 1:26). They help God’s people (Acts 12:7).
There are more angels that anyone can count (Hebrews 12:22). Like other armies, there are different ranks in God’s army of angels. The Bible mentions cherubim (Psalm 99:1) and seraphim (Isaiah 6:2) in particular.
Some angels are called archangels, which means ‘chief angels’ (Jude 9). Those angels have especially great honour and importance. But none of them is as great as God’s Son. None of them has a name like the name of ‘Jesus’.
God the Father has declared that all must give honour to the name of Jesus. That includes every person, every angel, and every spirit. It does not matter whether they are in heaven, on the earth, or even in hell. Everyone must declare that Jesus is God. And when they do that, it gives honour to God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
Next part: How to understand the Old Testament (Hebrews 1:5)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.