"You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end" (Hebrews 1:12).
The author of Hebrews makes a very bold move in Hebrews 1:10–12. We have seen that the human king in Psalm 45 is said to have a throne that lasts forever. Yet no Davidic king ever measured up to the mark of perfection required to maintain that throne. Thus, the psalm implied that a perfect king was going to come. But the author of Hebrews draws out another point as well. Since the throne is everlasting, we really need an everlasting man to sit on it. A succession of kings won’t do. Thus, Psalm 45 really pointed forward to the incarnation of the Son of God Himself to be that king.
Now the author takes up the idea of an everlasting throne and quotes verses from Psalm 102 that refers directly to God Himself (Psalm 102:25–27; Hebrews 1:10–12). The everlasting throne of God stands in marked contrast to all created things, both heaven and earth. Remember that Genesis 1:1 says that God created two spheres of existence: heaven and earth. Heaven is the abode of the wonderful angels, but it still exists in time and history. Heaven itself will undergo a change, as will the earth, but the eternal throne of God will never change.
Here is the argument: The messianic King will sit on an everlasting throne (Psalm 45). Therefore, He must be God Himself. God and His throne can never change, but the created universe undergoes history, development, and change, and is headed for a big transformation (Psalm 102). Angels are part of that world of change and history, but the Son’s throne is not. Thus, the words spoken by angels can be superseded, but the Word of the Son is final and definitive.
Now the author clinches his argument with a reference to Psalm 110. In Psalm 110, David addresses a King who is the True King of Israel under God: “Yahweh says to my Master, ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet’ ” (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:13). Here is a divine throne with a divine figure seated on it. God never spoke these words to angels, nor ever to a mere man. Any Jew who claimed to believe the Old Testament would have to grant that the Son is superior to angels.
That His throne is everlasting should fill us with awe and wonder, leading us to worship. Be comforted also in this, that the everlasting throne is not subject to decay or rebellion. We can trust in it now and forever more.
