Albert Barnes Commentary Hebrews 1:11

"They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;" — Hebrews 1:11 (ASV)

They shall perish. This refers to the heavens and the earth. They will pass away, or they will be destroyed. Probably, the phrase here means no more than that important changes will take place in them, or that they will change their form.

Still, it is not possible to foresee what changes may yet occur in the heavenly bodies, or to say that the present universe may not at some point be destroyed and be succeeded by another creation even more magnificent.

He who created the universe by a word can destroy it by a word; and He who formed the present frame of nature can cause it to be succeeded by another, no less wonderful and glorious. The Scriptures seem to present the idea that the present frame of the universe will be destroyed (see 2 Peter 3:10–13; Matthew 24:35).

But thou remainest. You will not die or be destroyed. What a sublime thought! The idea is that, though the heavens and earth should suddenly disappear, or though they should gradually wear out and become extinct, yet there is one infinite Being who remains unaffected and unchanged.

Nothing can reach or disturb Him. All these changes will take place under His direction and by His command . Therefore, let us not be alarmed at any revolution. Let us not fear, though we should see the heavens rolled up as a scroll and the stars falling from their places.

God, the Creator and Redeemer, presides over all. He is unchanged; He always lives. And though the universe should pass away, it will be only at His bidding and under His direction.

And they all shall wax old. This means they will grow or become old. The word wax is an old Saxon word, meaning to grow, increase, or become. The heavens here are compared to a garment—meaning that as a garment grows old and decays, so it will be with the heavens and the earth.

The language is evidently figurative; yet who can tell how much literal truth may be couched under it? Is it absurd to suppose that the sun, which daily sends forth so many countless millions of beams of light over the universe, may, in the course of ages, become diminished in its splendour and shine with feeble lustre?

Can there be constant exhaustion, a constant burning like that, and yet no tendency to decay at some far distant period? Not unless the material for its splendour is supplied from the boundless resources of the Great Source of Light—God; and when He chooses to withhold it, even that glorious sun must be dimmed of its splendour and shine with enfeebled beams.