Does Hebrews 1:2-4 teach the cessation of revelation?

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

Hebrews 1:2-4

Let's quote the passage. 

He. 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

This verse is used to document the cessationist doctrine that God does not speak to us in any other way but through the Scriptures. We quote a typical cessationist assertion:

...the Bible says that God has spoken through His Son, who is the Word... And what is the Word? The Bible. 

We first note the obvious: These verses are not referring to the Bible, but rather to Jesus. We agree that the Son is the Word and the Bible is the written down Word of God. But the Son, the Word, and the Bible are not interchangeable. The Son exists independently from His titles. His Word exists independently from what has been written down. And what has been written down does not address the totality of what Jesus has said.

Thus to claim that the "word" must be the Bible is false.

The writer of Hebrews was not discussing the cessation of revelation or the closed canon. The actual topic is the superiority of the Son over the prophets and the angels. In fact, the entire opening chapter of Hebrews is written to establish the high position of the Son. His speaking is higher than others who previously spoke. It is so high that this Speaker now sits at the right hand of the Majesty.

Certain men "spoke to our forefathers." That is, they were the OT prophets who spoke to Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, and David, Jeremiah, among others. The writer of Hebrews was making a clear point. God has changed His avenue of speaking. He now speaks directly through Jesus. This passage is not about the culmination of the communication of God, but rather, the apex of God's revelation to man.

Further, the word "word" is not present in verse two, it's in verse three: 

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

The Greek word is rhéma, which means a spoken word, made "by the living voice"... This cannot be the Scriptures, it's the voice of Jesus. He is speaking right now to sustain creation. The word "sustains" is pheró, to bear up, i. e. uphold (keep from falling). He continues to speak, or the universe would fall apart. So Jesus upholds all things by His spoken living voice, which resounds through the universe. "All things" includes His Church. We are also sustained by His speaking.

In addition, we must consider the context of the passage, including how a reader in the early church would understand what was written. This letter was written to Christian Jews (i.e., Hebrews). Would such a reader conclude that this the verse is telling him about the final culmination of God's revelation, the Bible? Of course not. There was no Bible back then.

No, first century Jewish readers would understand these plain, direct statements as presented: In the past age, God spoke to their ancestors ("forefathers," that is, the Patriarchs and prophets) via the OT prophecy.

...but in these last days... "But..." The writer of Hebrews creates a contrast. Contrary to what He did in the past, in these last days God speaks [the Greek is present tense] directly in His Son, without the intermediation of a prophet. 

When did Jesus get proclaimed as the ultimate of God's revelation? Read the verse:  ...in these last days... Jesus dispensed with intermediation of the OT prophets at the commencement of the last days. 

To whom does His Son speak? ...he has spoken to us by his Son. First, the Son spoke to the prophets our forefathers. Then He spoke in person to the disciples while He was on earth. After He died and rose from the dead, He spoke to the NT prophets and the apostles. 

But He didn't stop there. He poured out the Holy Spirit on all people:

Ac. 2:17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams...

Notice that Peter quoted the prophet Joel, using the same phrase used by the writer of Hebrews.  Are we no longer in "the last days?" When Peter quoted Joel, was Peter talking about some other last days? No, we are currently in the Last Days, so Jesus still speaks. So in the last days He speaks to us. In the last days He pours out His Spirit. In the last days we prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions. 

Because we are in the last days. 

He. 1:1-4 has nothing at all to do with anything ceasing. It does not speak to the closed canon. Scripture is not under discussion. There is nothing about the gift of prophecy. Instead, using very particular language, the writer of Hebrews is making the same claim that both Joel and Peter claimed: What was formerly spoken to a very rare group of people is now directly spoken to all flesh via the Son.

Also, if the writer of Hebrews was claiming that revelation ceased with Jesus, then the book of Hebrews should have ended right there. There should be no inspired writing after this point in history. The book of Revelation should not exist. A couple of the Gospels shouldn't have been written. Some of Paul's letters must be considered extra-biblical revelation, if the cessationist's belief about what this passage means is true.

None of this is to suggest that we don't study and meditate on Scripture. But we simply need to understand that this passage is not talking about the Bible, the closed canon, or the cessation of revelation. It is certainly misusing this Scripture to teach something it is not saying.