Heb. 1:1 After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, 2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son,
God has always been communicating with us. He has done so over long periods of time. He spoke face to face to Adam. He revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. In the Old Testament, His revelation came in piecemeal, a bit at a time. It came in various ways: through dreams, through visions, through theophanic manifestations, through miracles, signs, and wonders, through an audible voice, and through a still small voice. For over 2000 years, God had spoke to people in a variety of times and ways. But now he has spoken in one unique and supreme way—through His Son. This revelation did not come piecemeal; it came at one time. It did not have various manifestations, but one manifestation—God in human flesh (John 1:14). The prepositional phrase, “in a son” (ἐν υἱῷ), is not indefinite, meaning one so out of many sons, but qualitative. Nouns in prepositional phrases are rarely indefinite. Also, the context emphasizes the quality of the revelation of the last days. As the Net Bible says:
The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).
No longer is God’s revelation through dreams, visions, or even simply and audible voice, but now it is through the manifestation of God in human flesh. The one most like God is God’s Son. No one can reveal God in the same way that the Son can. So Jesus is superior to the prophets. He is God’s supreme revelation. He is God’s best. God’s efforts to communicate with us are not minimal or mediocre. They are not simply adequate. He communicated with us in the best way possible, progressively perhaps, but ultimately He sent His Son as spokesman, savior, and sacrifice, as prophet, priest, and potentate.
Do you really appreciate the extent that God has gone to reveal Himself to you? As you read the book of Hebrews meditate on all the ways that Jesus Christ is superior.