In the opening verses of Hebrews, the unnamed author emphasizes the enemies of Christ and His people. He does this by quoting and alluding to various OT passages, focusing mainly on passages from several psalms. In Heb 1:5, the author quotes from Ps 2, which speaks of the coming King’s laughing at His enemies (Ps 2:4–6). Heb 1:6–7 is evocative of Ps 97, v 7 and v 10, which states that the Lord will deliver His people “out of the hand of the wicked.” The wicked are the enemies of His people. They are enemies because God’s people hate evil. In Heb 1:7, the author quotes v 4 of Ps 104, a psalm that ends with sinners being “consumed from the earth” and the wicked being “no more.”
In Heb 1:8–9, the author quotes Ps 45:6–7. Psalm 45, like psalms 2 and 97, states that the King will defeat all His enemies (vv 3–4).
In Heb 1:10–12, the author quotes Ps 102:25–27. Like the previous psalms quoted in Heb 1, Ps 102 mentions the enemies of the King (Ps 102:8). The major point is that the King will never change, but the wicked will perish.
In Heb 1:13, the author quotes Ps 110:1. The day will come when all the enemies of the King are placed under His feet.
Why all this discussion about the enemies of Christ? The King’s enemies were oppressing the original readers of Hebrews. Because of the persecution, some had renounced their faith, and others were contemplating doing the same (10:23–25). The King had a lot of enemies! If believers publicly identified with Him, they too would have many enemies. That was why some—perhaps many—were thinking of abandoning the Christian faith.
However, the author demonstrates that the power of these enemies to threaten believers is temporary. They are opposing a King who will rule forever. It’s a losing proposition. The readers should find comfort in knowing that one day their King will defeat their persecutors.
All believers, whether they are faithful to the Lord or not, will be in His kingdom. The book of Hebrews shows that there were believers who had publicly renounced their faith. Despite their apostasy, these believers still had eternal life. Eternal life cannot be lost or given back.
Hebrews teaches us that faithfulness to Christ comes at a cost. But the greatness of our King means that everything done in service to Him will be richly rewarded.
We might not be able to relate to what the original readers were going through. We live in a country where we are free to worship the Lord. But we shouldn’t kid ourselves. The world we live in opposes the coming King. His enemies are all around us. You don’t have to be an old “I walked to school uphill five miles every day” kind of person to see the moral depravity all around us. He has promised a kingdom in which righteousness dwells. The author of Hebrews speaks of this in Heb 1:8. Most in our day do not appreciate such a message.
If you proclaim the grace message—that eternal life is by faith alone, eternal rewards are the result of works, and Christ will return—you will have enemies. They will be the enemies of the King. But when we work for Him, we are working for the winning team.
