at the end of these days has spoken to us in [the person of the] Son, whom he has established heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
God's last word does not come through a messenger. It comes in the Son Himself, and this verse sets three things side by side: God speaks in the Son, the Son is heir of everything, and the Son made everything.
The end of revelation
The old order came in pieces, through many speakers across long centuries. The phrase "in these last days" closes that sequence for good.
There was a constant, increasing unfolding of truth. But now the Son of God has come. The Sun in all its glory and splendour has burst upon the vision of faith. What further revelation can there possibly be? This is not "the last days" in the sense Scripture sometimes gives that phrase. It does not mean days when Christianity declines. It does not mean the time when Israel will be restored and God will begin to deal with His ancient people — though then Messiah will have brought in blessing. Those are smaller uses of the phrase "the last days." Here it simply marks the revelation of Christ.
No go-between
Prophets passed on a message from someone else. Here God does not use a go-between.
In the past God spoke by the prophets. But now He has spoken to us, not by or through anyone else, but "in His Son." He Himself spoke to us directly, in that character, for the Son was and is God just as much as the Father. So there is nothing more to be said.
"In Son" — the character of the speaking
The ESV reads "by his Son." Other translations have "in Son," because the Greek has no article before "Son." Commentators say this marks the character in which God spoke, not just the messenger He used.
Many learned men say the missing article is caused by the preposition in front of it, or by the emphatic position of the word. It is neither. The wording is deliberate… Yet the phrase has no article, so it does not set the person before the mind as an object. It brings His character to the front. The prophets were, like Moses, only servants. He in whom God spoke at the end of these days was Son… Now God spoke no longer in the prophets, nor in the form of an angel as He often had, but as Son.
English does not carry that as well, so J. N. Darby paraphrased the phrase in his translation and explained why in a note:
On the whole I have paraphrased it: in [the person of the] Son. It is God Himself who speaks. Not by another. Not as the Father. Not merely by the Holy Spirit using a person who is not divine, but as Himself a Divine Person — and that Person the Son.
Heir of all things
The heirship is not a reward handed to an outsider. The One who will receive the universe is the One who called it into being.
The universe exists by the creative power of the Son; it is through Him that it has its being. In becoming "Heir of all things" He will take possession of that which owes its very existence to Himself. It will all be put under His hand, and He will acquire the glory of it all in a public way. And this, let us remember, will be in Manhood. As Man He will be "Heir of all things."
Human ambition reaches for the very same things.
Men are trying to own the earth, to rule the sea, and conquer the air. They strive to inherit power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing. Christ, as Son, will inherit all, for He is the appointed Heir of all, and He alone is worthy of all… Man had completely rejected the One who is the appointed Heir of all things, and nailed Him to a cross.
Maker of the ages
The ESV says He created "the world"; other translations read "the worlds." The Greek word usually means "ages," and here it carries a wider sense.
tous aiōnas generally means "the ages." But Greek-speaking Jews also used it, beyond any fair dispute, for the universe — perhaps as the stage on which God's dealings through the ages take place — as here and in Hebrews 11:3.
That claim lands hardest when you put it next to the cross.
Yes — the very Man they crucified by the hand of lawless men, the Man crucified in weakness! At the moment He bowed His head and died, He was holding all creation up. If He had been only a man, it would be absurd to think or say such a thing. But He was God.
Why the inheritance waits
The Heir has not yet taken possession, and the delay has a reason.
He is waiting for all the joint-heirs to be called out. He will give them the inheritance at the same moment that He takes it Himself. For if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
Summary
- Spoken — God has moved from speaking through many prophets to speaking in one Son. Nothing is left to add.
- Son — God speaks as a divine Person, with no go-between. "In Son" marks the character of the speaking.
- Made — the Son made "the worlds," a word meaning the ages and, by use, the whole universe.
- Heir — He will publicly take possession, as Man, of what already owes its existence to Him.
- Shared — He waits until God has called out every joint-heir. Then He and they enter the inheritance together.