Epistle to the Hebrews: "The Son of the Bridegeroom", v.2

Hebrews 1:2

επ εσχατου των ημερων τουτων ελαλησεν ημιν εν υιω ον εθηκεν κληρονομον παντων δι ου και τους αιωνας εποιησεν

Having come to these final days he has spoken to us in [the] Son, who has been designated the heir of all things, through whom he also made the aeons;

The idea expressed by the grammatical structure of this sentence is that “the end time has come upon us in these days”. The word the author uses is the “eschaton”. This adjective describes something at the extreme point of something, regardless if it is time or space. As far as time, it is the final point of human history. The “eschaton” is the very last, when all is about to end. It is at this specific time when God manifests himself in all his fullness, and in all clarity. The author wants to make it clear that we are no longer living in antiquity, nor in times past. We are now living at the extreme end of time. That which was useful for those in antiquity is no longer useful for those of us who are living at the extreme end of time. A full and special revelation is necessary.

This full revelation of God’s presence has been manifested “in Son”. Here the author does not use the definite article “the” to introduce the “Son”. The article was omitted in the Greek when one wanted to call attention to the subject’s singular or special identity. The author highlights the uniqueness of Christ as the One who in the flesh reveals God’s word to humanity. The word of God has now been poured out in its fullness upon the Son, so that he who has seen the Son, has seen the Father (John 1:18; John 14:9). In contrast to the “prophets” who in antiquity had received God’s revelation in bits and pieces, the Son is God made manifest.

The Son has been designated the owner, the title holder, of all things. The emphasis is not that he is the heir, but that all things are his, belong to him, and have been given to him by divine decree. Therefore, he receives all things since he is the heir by divine decree.

The Son was God’s instrument at the creation of the universe (John 1:1-3). Now he is no longer instrumental but owner of all creation. The word the author uses here for creation does not describe the creation of matter or space, but uniquely the creation of time. The word is “aeons”. He created the aeons of time and all which these contain, including all time and space, all matter that would ever occupy the space of time. He is not only the creator of the aeons. He also possesses by divine decree all time integrated therein for all aeons to come. All eternity is his. All time has also been consigned to him. To his nail pierced hands has been delivered all time past, present, and future. He now fills the past with his presence and therefore all human history acquires the meaning given to it by his presence. What in the past was fragmented, he now unifies and fills to its fullness. He is not one more link in the past’s fragmented revelation. He now becomes in Himself the past of all humanity. All that was given to humanity in the past is now to be understood in his fullness, and is invested with his fullness. On behalf of humanity, he now represents the entire past of humanity before the eternity of God. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God slain from before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Jesus Christ is not only the collective past of all humanity. He is also the past of every single individual before God. His past is now my past. All that he was before his incarnation is now also my past. All that he is now before God is also my ongoing present. All that he will be forever before God will be my future forever. Jesus is the Lord of time, and all that he is gives value and meaning to time. This aspect of Christ as the meaning of time in all its diverse forms and symbols will be developed more fully in Hebrews 3 and 4.