all things, and in that inheritance the redeemed find their portion, even as the two typical

"heads", Noah and Abraham, are called in this epistle "heir of righteousness" and "heir of

the world". In addition to this, Heb. 1: 2 says "By Whom also He made the worlds". At

first reading this added statement seems to conflict with what we have already seen. The

order seems to be:

1.) Creation.

2.) Appointment as Heir of all things.

But in this verse the making of the worlds follows this appointment. When John

revealed the fact of creation and said "the world was made by Him", he used the Greek

word kosmos, "world". When writing Heb. 1: 2 the word "worlds" is not the Greek

kosmos but aion. Moses Stuart says "The classical use of aion is (1) age, period of time.

(2) age of man, time of life.  Aionas (plural) then is used here for world, worlds,

universe. Theodoret explains it as meaning ages: and so others have since done." This

is strange reasoning. Aion means age, yet the plural means world or worlds, Theodoret

and others have maintained that aion means "age", therefore it means "world"! Creation

is ascribed to the Lord in Heb. 1: 10, but the purpose of Heb. 1: 2 is to show that the

same Lord is Jehovah, the God of Redemption, Whose name is His memorial for the age

and unto all generations, Who is the same, yesterday, and today, and unto the ages.

In like manner, we shall see that the "ages" are in view, and not the material creation,

when we come to examine Heb. 11: 3.  There is a majestic sound in such phrases as

"eternal salvation" and "everlasting covenant", but we may be sacrificing precious truth

by adopting this high sounding and traditional translation.  One objection to the

translation "He made the ages" might be that the word "made" is more suggestive of the

material creation, than of ages or dispensations. It may be useful therefore to note that in

Hebrews we have the verb poieo "to make" used many times with the sense "appoint".

"Who maketh His angels spirits", i.e. appointed them, they were already created, the

sequel being "His ministers a flame of fire". Christ is said to have been "faithful to Him

that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house". The margin turns us

back to a parallel usage in I Sam. 12: 6, where the phrase "advanced Moses and Aaron"

employs the Hebrew word "made" (asah) in like manner. The "covenant made with the

fathers" does not mean "made" in the sense of creating. "Through faith he kept the

Passover", means "to celebrate", the word used in the Old Testament for keeping the

Passover being asah. Heb. 1: 2 can therefore be translated:

As to the employment of the word aion in Hebrews, see what light is thrown upon the

Mediatorial office of the Son if we translate Heb. 1: 8:

pointing on to the consummation, when God shall be all in all, the Mediatoral kingdom

being at last rid of all enemies (I Cor. 15: 28). In like manner "Thou art a priest unto the

age", for the office of a priest indicates the necessity for mediation, suggests that the

redeemed are still at some distance, that reconciliation, in its full experimental sense is