 For he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels." But one testified in a certain place saying, What is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus who has made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. So the writer has been encouraging his readers to recognize the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. And last time we were together he was sharing them concerning some things that related to their eternity. And you'll remember in verses 2 and 3 here in chapter 2 how he had said, If the word spoken through angels proved steadfast in every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him? So the last time we were together we were looking at the reality of the message that was preached by the Lord Jesus Christ and he had stated that we are not to neglect such a great salvation. To neglect a great salvation is another way of simply saying ignoring the only way to God. The only way to God is Jesus Christ and therefore we are called to believe in him because he is the only way. According to Acts chapter 4 verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. That has been the message of the gospel from the very beginning. That is the exclusive message of Jesus Christ. That's why Christians cannot bow our knees to any other God or religion. That's why. Because we have commanded to give a message that is really a very strong and very, if you will, exclusive message. And that's not real popular today. Just before coming out here I was thinking how many times I have watched people being interviewed on national syndicated programs and the interviewer will be speaking to a pastor or an evangelical leader and will ask this question. And he will say, are you as a Christian saying that unless people receive Jesus Christ that they will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And I have watched so many times as pastors and teachers really begin to hem and ha over that because it sounds so harsh, doesn't it? When you think about it, it really does. And yet that's what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches Jesus himself saying this, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. And so the Scripture makes it very clear there is one God, there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. And so the Bible makes it very clear that there's one name, one name above all names. And that's why it's referred to as such a great salvation. And it's a salvation that is great because it's a great sacrifice that God has performed on our behalf in that he gave his son Jesus Christ. And so we're not to neglect so great a salvation because there is no other way of escape. If we were to neglect our great salvation then we aren't going to be saved. And so this is a message, this is a message that came through Jesus Christ as he would walk the face of the earth and call people to faith in himself. Jesus came and preached this message. And that's what he means when he says in verse 3 which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord. Jesus himself would speak concerning this as he delivered that message that he had received from his Father. Remember in John's Gospel in chapter 15 verse 15 how Jesus said all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. So the Father had given to him the message, the message is that which he declared unto us. So as he gave this message he discipled and he began to mentor, equipping people to also faithfully deliver the same message. And so what he did is he received words from his Father, words of salvation and he had these 12 men whom we refer to as apostles and these men were given the commission to take the same message out. One of them fell through treachery and that man was Judas and he was replaced by a man named Matthias and then ultimately we know that the apostle Paul joined their ranks and they took this message and they took it in a faithful fashion but it began to be taught first by Jesus was imparted to his men and then his men from that point on have been giving the same message for centuries and this is a message of this salvation that he's been referring to. Now God was bearing witness according to verse 4 both with signs and wonders demonstrating the reality of this message as the power of God was made manifest as his men of God took this message throughout the world. So moving on into verse 5 and continuing he says for he has not put in the world put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels but one testified in a certain place saying what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him you made him a little lower than the angels you crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands you have put all things in subjection under his feet for in that he put all in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him but now we do not yet see all things put under him so he's continuing notice in verse 5 he says he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels you see and we'll look at this in a moment just a little bit deeper but after the return of Christ that is referred to as the second coming he's going to establish himself as the king he's going to rule over the face of the earth both the old and the new testament declares that in Psalm 86 verses 9 and 10 for example the Psalmist said all nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you oh Lord and shall glorify your name for you are great and do wondrous things you alone are God and so Jesus Christ is promised to return and as he returns he's going to establish his rule and his reign now he gave this promise to his disciples in order that they might remain faithful to him because the promise of his return is to produce a hope as well as an incentive to live a proper or a life that is worthy of the gospel and so let me say very briefly that biblical prophecy which the Bible is manifestly filled with prophecy while over a quarter of the Bible being prophetic in nature biblical prophecy is intended to produce in us a hope of the return of Jesus Christ it's also to produce within us an incentive to live a life that is godly and the knowledge of biblical prophecy is intended to produce Christ centered lives I've burned around long enough to know that sometimes we can take the Bible and especially prophetic passages and like I said there's so many books that are prophetic that we can begin to look to the nuances of the things that are being said and try and discover secret or hidden things within the prophecies a lot of people are fascinated with books like Revelation and others like that or like to take away passages and look deeply into them in the book of Daniel for example or various books like that and we can get caught up with knowledge of prophecy for its own sake whenever there are times of crises there are always books that are being written that intend to communicate to us things that we hadn't seen before hidden things that are now being discovered in and I can remember that all the way back and this is not that far really to some of you it may be a long time to me it's not anymore but I remember back in 1988 there was a particular book that was written something like 88 reasons why Jesus will return in 1988 to some of you remember that it was out there was a book 88 reasons why Jesus will return in 1988 he didn't return so the author the next year wrote 89 reasons why Jesus will return in 1989 there have been books written over the years there are even movements that were founded on attempting to understand certain things in Scripture the Seventh-day Adventists area group that basically seem to have found their origin in speculation concerning the return of Jesus Christ and all and you can see that in the history of the church that prophecy in many ways has been an interesting subject and yet at the same time one of the things about prophecy that we need to understand is that it's intended by God to produce something and not just an ability for us to speak concerning you know the war in Iraq or what's going on with Al Qaeda or the Muslim movement those are all things of interest and of course I can find myself interested in things like that but how does that produce in me a quality of life that is really reflective of a knowledge of Jesus Christ is the big question if I know a lot of things about prophecy but it doesn't change the way that I live and it's not really doing me much good but if I study the word of God with an eye to change and I see the return of Jesus Christ as an event that stimulates me gives me incentive to live a godly life then I'm really beginning to understand the purpose of prophecy the knowledge that we live in the end times is intended to produce in us a hope in John chapter fourteen verses one through three remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said there listen he said let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you into myself that where I am there you may be also the word of God in reference to the return of Christ is a word of encouragement so that I can live with hope and anticipation so I have a hope and an excitement about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ but not only do I believe that he's returning and not only do I hope in his return but I also am encouraged to live a life of expectation that demonstrates that I really am serious that he's going to return and therefore I'm preparing myself in Titus in chapter two verses eleven through fourteen Paul said the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people zealous for his works and so what it does is it teaches us to live a holy and a righteous life in anticipation of being with him because Jesus Christ has promised to return so knowledge of biblical prophecies intended to produce Christ centered lives now notice that we're looking at this passage here in Hebrews in verse five chapter two how he says he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels so this world to come and what he's talking about is in reference to the kingdom age now when you said to your Bible you discovered there's something called the kingdom age it's when Jesus rules and reigns on the face of the earth for a thousand literal years that concept is found in both the old as well as the new testaments you can see it spoken of in the book of Isaiah especially in the last chapters of that book and you see that the Lord has given to us insight that that is going to take place now during that kingdom age and this is what he's referring to angels are not going to rule during that kingdom age God is ruling so when he says he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels during the kingdom age the angels have no rulership God is ruling but not only is God ruling incredibly man is going to rule alongside of the Lord you and I are going to rule and reign with him now that's so beyond what I even studied and prepared this and it was just reviewing it I thought that's a fantastic thought that I'm going to actually be part of the rule and the reign of the Lord but that's what scripture teaches if you take note 2 Timothy 2 verse 12 Paul said if we suffer we shall also reign with him Revelation 5 verse 10 he has made us into our God kings and priests we shall reign on the earth Revelation 20 verse 4 I saw thrones and they sat upon them judgment was given to them I saw the souls of those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God and who had not worshiped the beast neither his image neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years Revelation 20 verse 6 blessed and holy as he was pardoned the first resurrection and such the second death has no power they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him for a thousand years and so God has not placed the rule in reigning in the hands of angels God has placed that in the hands of his son he will rule and we will rule alongside of him and how that's going to take place I really don't have detailed information about but the point is he's saying here listen angels are not going to rule Jesus Christ is going to rule and because Jesus Christ is going to rule then Jesus is greater than the angels Jesus is better than the angels now redeemed man is only lower than the angels for a short time ultimately we are elevated over even the angels if you if you take notes first Corinthians chapter 6 makes that clear this is interesting how he puts it Paul said it this way he said if any of you has a dispute with another does he dare take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints and he goes on to ask a question don't you know that the saints will judge the world and if you are to judge the world are you not competent to judge trivial cases do you not know that we will judge angels how much more the things of this life what a question to ask do you not know that we will judge angels what are you talking about that we will judge angels well the fallen angels rejected the rulership of God they reject him in his rule though they bow their need to him and so our presence the fact that you and I will be in heaven and angels will be excluded is the testimony that God's word is true and angels who rejected that word will actually be judged by our presence there alongside of God as we rule and as we reign with him and so when he says in verse 5 he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels once again it's another way for him to develop the superiority of Jesus Christ over angels he goes on in verse 6 and he says but one testified in a certain place what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him you made him a little lower than the angels you crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands you have put all things in subjection under his feet so at this point here in verse 6 he introduces a psalm this psalm here is psalm 8 it's a psalm of David we all know king David because we read about him in the scripture and know that he has a son that followed his lineage a son that is Jesus Christ who is referred to in the New Testament as Jesus who is the son of David David has been referred to in 2 Samuel chapter 23 verse 1 as the sweet psalmist of Israel he wrote the psalms many of the psalms something like 76 of the psalms that you find in the book of psalms was written by this man by the name of David we know that David was a shepherd and as a shepherd he often sit in the desert and as he sat there out in the desert he would meditate I mean what else do you have to do and he would be standing out there or sitting out there and as he was out there he would look up and he'd see the sky and we in California can understand this to a degree because once in a while the sky is clear and we'll go outside and I have done this on many occasions especially when we've gone either to the mountains or to the desert and you can go outside and you will be seated outside and if you just quiet for a while and there are no lights to distract you when you begin to look around and you begin to just hear the sound of the silence how beautiful that can be sometimes especially if you have kids and if you're out there in the wilderness and you're looking up at the sky and you see the beauty of the sky and a lot of us have done that you have too where you're seated out there and you'll see a shooting star that just bursts on the screen and passes by man it is so beautiful isn't it it is so beautiful it is so peaceful and it is so quiet well David very often as a shepherd would be outside and as he's out there and the sheep are resting David would look at the sky and as he looked upon the sky he would begin to meditate and as he began to meditate he began to think of how great God is he didn't look up to the sky and when I look at the heavens and the earth I start thinking about that and I think within myself man am I something else am I a beauty to behold he didn't do that because when he saw the creation of God he became aware of his own finitude he became aware of his own weakness he became aware of the reality of the fact that he was just a speck on a small planet somewhere in a universe that was immense with uncountable stars and when he would do that he would look out there at this incredible beautiful array of brilliant light and he would consider man and that's what he did when he would be out there and he started thinking what is man that's what he says in verse 6 here what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him how humbled he was over that oh I'd point this out to you I didn't even notice this with you in chapter 1 you'll see that there are various references that are made here all through chapter 1 there are scripture references that are made are spoken of all through chapter 1 and then you get into chapter 2 and you see scripture but I want you to see something I didn't point this out notice how he says it but one testified notice he didn't say but king David testified but he said but one testified the reason he said but one testified is because this is a well known Psalm everybody knew who one is that he's referring to king David but it's also interesting to note that he hasn't even mentioned who the writers are the human authors are because he has been considering how great God is and isn't in any way trying to point to human authors basically wants them to keep their eyes on the Lord and that's why he's not siding David or the others who had written but the question is asked what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him I can remember my son David probably about six to seven years old and we had taken his mama we took Marie to the mountains we were dropping her off for a weekend retreat with the ladies and little David and I were walking together David was wearing a baseball jacket as I was and he had his little baseball hat on and we were walking from from the lodge that we had dropped a Marie off at and we were walking through a pathway and as we were walking we began to look up between the trees and you could see the beautiful stars and I remember this very well as David and I were walking looking up to the stars and I was holding his hand and I said to him son I said look up look at the sky isn't it gorgeous and he said yes dad it's beautiful and I remember asking him a question I said son I said do you see those stars and he said yeah I said how'd they get there how'd those stars get there and he looked at me he said little boy just listening to his dad and he said how did they get there daddy and I said they got there because God placed their son because those stars are creations of God and I remember sharing with him and you know when your kids are small you don't know whether you're getting through to them or not but a few years ago for my birthday my son gave to me a little poster of a boy and his father walking and the boys wearing a baseball jacket and a baseball hat and the father had a baseball jacket and they were walking out in the similar kind of experience that he had had with me so long ago and it said at the bottom of it it said train up a child in the way he should go and when he was old he will not depart from it it was something that my son had remembered now that we together had made a memory we looked up into the sky and we saw how incredible and how beautiful those stars are and those are the kinds of memories that I want my children to have even as David is saying that he's saying I was outside and I was looking up at the stars and I thought for a moment what is man what is man because as I see the incredible beauty of God's creation I realize how insignificant mankind really is and yet you are mindful of him you think of us you consider us we are in your thoughts in other words even though we are insignificant you desire to benefit us you want to bless us Psalm 40 verse 5 says many oh Lord my God are the wonders that you have done the things you plan for us no one can recount to you were I to speak and tell of them they would be too many to declare so God as incredible as this is thinks about us what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of in verse 7 you made him a little lower than the angels you crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands that kind in general is spoken of in this passage and in creation man is physical as well as spiritual and therefore has obvious limitations and that makes him in a practical sense lower than the angels when he says in verse 7 that we are a little lower this speaks not only of position but also time space and also degree this refers to a temporary condition but he says even though we are a little lower than the angels verse 7 you crowned him with glory and with honor in creation man is God's crowning work above all other created life again I brought this up to you before all you need to do is look at the Genesis account of creation and you see that God speaks all things into existence God said let there be and it was and you see that through the days of creation until he gets to the ultimate creation and then in the ultimate creation which is given to us in more detail in chapter 2 you get some things in chapter 1 in more detail in particulars in chapter 2 you see the Bible speaks concerning the creation of man and how that God took the earth and formed it and then breathed into it and man became a living soul and I pointed this out to you every time I quote that passage how that God using his hands to form man is intended to demonstrate to us his intimacy with us that God rather than speaking into creation man actually forms man and not only does he do so but man is a lifeless though beautiful form until God intimately produces life in us and that's the picture when the Lord puts his face against the face of Adam and literally as I've shared with you before in an intimate fashion he breathes into him the breath of life and he becomes a living soul but the picture is an intimate connotation it's a picture as if God were breathing life into man and in doing so what you have is a picture of God's devoted love to his creation and so the next time you have this question does God care about me all you need to think about is the initial creation of how God created Adam and how he felt about him indeed he loves you and indeed he created you in that fashion and so what he's done well he has crowned him with glory and his honor because we are God's crowning creation he didn't bring the other animals and all other forms of life into existence in the way that he brought us into existence now notice verse 8 he says you have put all things in subjection under his feet in the original creation man was established as the one God gave dominion to but the fall changed that initially Adam had dominion over everything but the fall changes everything if you take notes Genesis chapter 3 verses 17 through 19 to Adam he said to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you you must not eat of it cursed is the ground because of you through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life it will produce thorns and thistles for you you will eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you will return the ground is going to rebel against you that one time it was producing naturally on its own incredibly luscious things but now it's going to produce thorns it's a lot easier for me to grow weeds than it is roses I promise you that because it naturally produces those things I go out there and I'll throw some seeds down for the grass and it's on you know I water and I take care of the fertilizing and all of that and the grass doesn't produce but for some reason my sidewalk produces wonderful weeds it amazes me it's a lot easier for the weeds to grow than it is for the plants and so at one time nature itself was under man's dominion but now it's in rebellion because of the fall and that's what he's pointing to in verse 8 when he says now we do not yet see all things put under him again initially God intended to subject all things to man but the fall undermined that man wasn't left helpless nor was he left hopeless because God intends to do something about that so he says in verse 8 continuing in that he put all in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him but now we do not yet see all things put under him but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone we see Jesus who is made a little lower than the angels for a little time 33 years Jesus lived as man and there was a purpose in that and that is that he might taste or suffer death for everyone now notice with me he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death Jesus came in order to lay his life down voluntarily on our behalf no angel ever did that as I've mentioned to you before in certain religions and religious expressions that prefer to call themselves Christian they will sometimes speak things about Jesus Christ that are incorrect I've mentioned this many times to you how the Jehovah's Witnesses will say that Jesus Christ is the first creation of God Jehovah's Witnesses will say that he is Michael the archangel but nowhere does the Bible teach that an angel laid his life down for my sin the Bible teaches me that Jesus Christ did that and he voluntarily did that turn your Bibles with me to John chapter 10 for a moment please John chapter 10 I want to show you this in Scripture there was a purpose recently somebody was writing in the local newspaper stating something about Jesus Christ could have gotten married could have had children as if that is something that he could have done and would have done or perhaps would have been able to do the Bible doesn't teach that at all the purpose of Christ's coming to earth was to suffer death for everyone that's what we're looking at right here and Jesus spoke about that in John chapter 10 verse 17 and 18 therefore my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again no one takes it from me but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay down and I have power to take it again this command I have received from my father so my father loves me because I lay my life down no one takes it I lay it down voluntarily Jesus Christ came and voluntarily lays his life down for us he took upon himself human flesh dwelt amongst men as man for 33 years the purpose of his coming he might voluntarily as a substitute take upon himself the penalty that I deserve that you deserve it's called substitution Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world Jesus Christ came that we might have our sins placed on him God looked at him as the perfect sacrifice in the Old Testament God gave to us types in order that we might see him fulfilled those types in Jesus Christ you had the scapegoat you had the sacrificial lamb but ultimately what you have in the New Testament is Jesus Christ the Lamb of God Jesus took upon himself my sin and in doing so bore it for me and so Jesus had a purpose the New Testament teaches that he came with the purpose of voluntarily laying his life down for me he wasn't murdered and he wasn't martyred he laid it down for me and in doing so he became that perfect offering and sacrifice to the Father that's what's being referred to back in Hebrews chapter two when it says in verse nine we see Jesus who was made a little more than the angels for the suffering of death so Jesus took upon himself human flesh in order that he might fully partake of death for everyone now back in Hebrews chapter two nine when it says he by the grace of God might taste death that word taste means to fully experience it speaks of partaking of and so it points out that the whole human race has been accused tried found guilty and condemned and so what he does is he tastes of death when it speaks of him tasting of death it's a picture of him taking a cup of poison and every human being actually has a cup of poison that they themselves will take they take of that poison because that's what sin does for others drinking the cup Jesus drinks the cup on their behalf and he takes that cup of poison into himself he tastes fully of and partakes of that cup on our behalf that's why in Matthew 26 verse 39 when Jesus was praying that's why he said oh my father if it is possible let this cup pass from me but it wasn't possible there was no other way for God to do the work of salvation other than the sacrifice of his own son and that's what he did and that's how he did it he laid voluntarily put his son on a cross for us and that's what makes him superior no angel no created thing ever did anything like that Jesus Christ did and he did it on behalf of everyone notice that in verse nine he says by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone for every person who lived who is about to live who will ever live Jesus Christ died he died in order that we might trust in him you see his atonement was on behalf of everybody in 1st Timothy 4 10 we have put our hope in the living God who is the savior of all men especially of those who believe he is the potential savior and the actual savior he is the actual savior of the person who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ he is actually your savior so when I stand before God and if God were to ask a question like this if God were to say to me why should I allow you into heaven I could say to him because of what your son Jesus did for me he is my savior I trusted him I opened my heart to him to forgive me my sin I was washed clean by his blood the Holy Spirit indwelt me and I lived for you demonstration of the reality of salvation the reason that heaven is open to me is because your son made it possible for me to enter in and I have trusted him with my life and the father can say at that point enter in he is my actual savior but he is the potential savior of all mankind so prior to the day of my coming to Christ he was my potential savior I could receive him as Lord and savior and be saved but I had yet to do that so Jesus Christ is the savior of all mankind especially those who believe he is able to save anyone and he take you from the it's been said he can take you from the gutter most to the utter most he is able to save in that way he can take you from whatever life you were living and bring you into a place of blessing he can do that but he will do that if I but humble myself and ask Jesus Christ is better he is better than the angels because Jesus Christ voluntarily was made lower for a period of time to taste death for all mankind in order that we might be able to have life through him if I open my heart to Christ and receive him then I am transformed I am born again if I reject him then there is there remains no offering for my sin because I have rejected the only means of salvation that God has offered to man you'll see that later on as we go into the book of Hebrews a little more deeply but Jesus Christ from chapter 1 all the way through the book 13 different times is presented as being better and here is once again being emphasized as being better than the angels he is superior to the angels even though he took upon himself human flesh and even though he tasted death he did so for us in order that we might have a relationship with him