Part 21: A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

Introduction to Hebrews

Author

Obviously Paul. [Jk…]

Audience

While this would seem fairly obvious, there is actually much disagreement among commentators about who the epistle to the Hebrews was written “to”. Much of the controversy comes up because the two main candidates (Christians (Jewish or not), or Jewish unbelievers) don’t seem to fit the profile that is implied by the whole epistle. If written to Christians, why do many of the warning passages suggest that the audience may not in fact be saved? If written to unbelievers, why is there no apologetic for the Christian faith (eg, Jesus being the Messiah), and seemingly a presupposition that the readers are in Christian fellowship?

My view is that we risk creating an artificial dilemma if we only consider the above categories for the audience. The title and general tenor of the epistle are clearly Jewish in concern. We should think back to our story - the Jewish people were told to expect a Messiah, one who would fulfill prophecy and make atonement for his people, who would inaugurate the New Covenant and restore the Davidic kingdom. Believing Jews at the time of Christ - think of Simeon, and Anna - recognized that Jesus was the Messiah they were waiting for. However, the surprise “twist” of the story - the death, resurrection, and ascension (read, departure) of the Messiah left Jewish believers in a bit of a quandary. This is especially acute if one thinks of faith Jewish believers who did not live in Israel (to whom this epistle, as well as the epistle of James, are most likely in mind). These believers (in the promises of God in the Old Testament), who received Jesus as the Messiah, would be in a particularly confusing moment. Their entire relationship to God up until the time the “good news” came to them would have revolved around the Old (Mosaic Covenant) way of worship. They were not rejection of the message of Jesus, or his Messianic claim (hence, little attention to that apologetic case in the epistle). But they were very vulnerable to resisting the full implications of the departed Jesus being the sole means of their communion with God and their participation in the New Covenant. They are not “unbelievers” in the sense of disbelieving the faithfulness of God or even the person of Jesus, but they are not necessarily fully-commited to Christ as their exclusive and final savior. They are at risk of repeating the deadly error of their Exodus ancestors, those who experienced the salvation and faithfulness of God as he led them out of Egypt and to the doorstep of their promised inheritance, only to draw back before taking that final step of faith.

Aim

The author of Hebrews is regarded as the most sophisticated and rigorous of the NT (human) authors, both in vocabulary (which is more advanced and complex than the Koine Greek common elsewhere in the NT) and in rhetorical and logical moves throughout the epistle. The epistle is constructed as a single argument, complex but unified by a consistent theme of the superiority of Christ. The Old Testament is quoted liberally throughout, using both composite and extended quotations, adding additional layers of complexity to the letter. The central theme motivates the argument: Do not make the error of the wilderness generation, who believed God all the way until the actual entrance into the promised rest (Hebrews 4:6), only to draw back when the time came to step out in faith. In other words, the call to action of the epistle is what we (evangelicals) would typically say, “to get saved.” The argument is fortified by demonstration’s of Christ’s exalted status to the Father’s right hand; not specifically to convince the reader of his Messianic role, but of his priestly one - in other words, Jesus’ physical absence is not a reason to doubt, but rather evidence that he has been received and accepted as both an advocate and mediator into the holiest places of Heaven. With such a reception, the believer can have utmost confidence in the certainty of their own acceptance before God in Christ, and of their ultimate destiny in the eschaton, when heaven and Earth are finally brought together in the unshakable kingdom of God.

Subjection of the World to Come

In These Last Days

Hebrews 1:1–4 LSB

God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

“The fathers in the prophets” - The reader of this epistle is expected to be well-grounded in the Old Testament scriptures, both historical and prophetic. This is why we have spent so much time in this study looking at the Old Testament, especially the prophetic writings, in some detail - this is the backdrop and the “given” of much of New Testament revelation, especially the book of Hebrews.

“In these last days” - the theme of eschatology, last things, runs throughout the book (which is fitting, as it is the central concern of much Old Testament prophecy as well - as we’ve seen with our study of “prophetic gaps”, the prophets will frequently embed material concerning the First Coming of Christ within a greater context that is focused on (what we now know to be) the Second Coming).

“His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” - cf Col 1:16 (Pauline allusion). The “heir of all things” previews the first move of the argument in the book, which becomes more explicit in chapter 2.

“So much better than the angels” - Angels are mentioned 12 times in the epistle, and all but 1 one those mentions occur in these first 2 chapters. This line of argument has confused many readers, and indeed, the Bible’s teaching on angels is complex and almost cryptic at times. However, there is a clear logic to this argument, which will become evident as we move into chapter 2. For now, it is sufficient to understand verses 4-14 as establishing, with multiple Scripture citations, the unquestionable superiority of Christ to the angelic realm.

Hebrews 1:13–14 LSB

But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies As a footstool for Your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to render service…” An important aspect to the argument vis a vis angels is that they are specifically created for service - that is their entire role. In Scripture we see them act as God’s envoys, his soldiers, and worshippers - because that is what they were created to be. They have an important role and a privileged place in God’s order - but their ontological purpose is to “render service”. Keep this in the back of your mind as we continue.

All Things Subject to Him

Hebrews 2:1–5 LSB

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every trespass and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? That salvation, first spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.

“For he did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.” Again we have the eschatological theme (cf “these last days”) - the perspective of the epistle is futuristic.

But the key idea in this next section is the “making subject”, or “putting under” (in terms of authority). In other words, this is “kingdom” language. Angels, great as they are, are not made to rule over anything or anyone. But there are those who are made to rule.

What follows is an extended quotation from Psalm 8, a passage we have looked at multiple times in our study. It succinctly and beautifully states the majesty of God and the exalted status of humanity.

Hebrews 2:6–9 LSB

But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? “You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And have appointed him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels—Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Now we begin to see the reason for the extended excursus on angels. We have already established that Christ is greater than the angels, yet it was not to angels that God subjected the world - it was to mankind. The quotation is modified slightly from what we typically read in the Old Testament (“for a little while lower than the angels”), although the original does leave this as a possible meaning.

The premise of this Psalm and it’s citation is that man was created, not as a servant, but as a ruler. This is in juxtaposition to the angelic beings. Mankind was designed for the purpose of ruling God’s creation, as Genesis 1 and 2 clearly state (“Let us make man… so that they will have dominion”). God did not create human beings because he needed servants, but because he desired kingly friends.

I think it is important that we note that the “he” and “him” in Psalm 8 is clearly referring to human beings in general, not exclusively the Messiah (although as a man, it would still apply to hom). Some English translations will capitalize some of these pronouns, suggesting that Jesus is in view in verses 5-8. But I think this is a mistake (albeit not a critical one). The author is shifting the view from the angelic servants to the lesser, yet still honored, perspective of human beings, made in God’s Image for the purpose of ruling creation. The right and responsibility to subdue and rule the Earth was never revoked in the Scriptures - not even at the Fall in Genesis 3. Sin and the curse have marred and distorted that picture, to the extent that the full realization of this mandate (to rule creation) have not been, and cannot be, met. “We do not yet see all things subjected to him.”

It is in verse 9 that Jesus is explicitly refocused as the main character - “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels - Jesus.” Jesus Christ himself is being linked together with the ruling mandate that humanity was created for. This of course emphasizes the humanity of Christ and his “Last Adam” significance - he will perfectly and finally accomplish the godly dominion that God intended from the beginning.

But it also creates a beautiful tension, one that is critical to the rest of the epistle, though we can only briefly touch upon it today. Christ is demonstrably greater than the angels. But yet, as a man, he is also lower, albeit only a little (and for a little while), than they are. In fact, he lowered himself to the point of undergoing the suffering and death that we incurred, because of sin (and the Fall).

The Author of Our Salvation

Hebrews 2:10–13 LSB

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will recount Your name to My brothers, In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.” And again, “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

“To perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” Christ is made “perfect” not in the sense of moral improvement, but because he is completely suited to accomplish God’s plan for saving and restoring humanity, by defeating death (and sin, which brings death). The word “perfect” in the Greek has the idea of accomplishment, achievement, or reaching an intended goal. Through his “lowering”, to the point of death on the Christ, Christ has not only been exalted, he has become the perfect human being, who will accomplish God’s creation design for all humanity. What’s more, he will not do it alone, but in union with all those who are in Christ.

This concept of the union between Christ and human beings carries through the rest of the chapter as the author transitions to the next phase of his argument, regarding the priestly role of Christ. As he “shares in flesh and blood” with his people, they share in his triumph over the “power of death”. And because he was “made like his brothers in all things”, he is a perfectly compassionate and sympathetic mediator (“high priest”) on their behalf.

We must break from the epistle’s argument at this point, but to summarize the key points from this section, the author of Hebrews is making a Christological argument that depends upon the Bible’s storyline as it relates to mankind and his relationship to creation. Man was made in God’s image, designed to rule creation for the glory of God, but he has failed to do so (sin). Jesus, unquestionably greater than angels (who are greater than man), has become mankind’s representative, and has shown by his death, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God, that he is perfectly qualified and able to accomplish God’s design for mankind. And he will do so, but “not yet” - and when he does, all the people of God will share in his successful and eternal rule in the “world to come” - that is, the kingdom of God.

Present: Man still possess the right and responsibility to rule over God’s creation, but this is not occurring yet.

Present: Jesus, who is representative of mankind, is crowned with glory and majesty at the right hand of God.

Future: In the world to come, all things will be subject to man because of Jesus.

Michael Vlach, “He Will Reign Forever”

An Unshakable Kingdom

Sat Down at the Right Hand of the Throne

Hebrews 12:1 LSB

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

“The sin” - in context, the “sin” is unbelief (contrasted against the so—called “Hall of Faith” in chapter 11); the same sin that prevented the wilderness generation of Israelites from entering the promised land.

Hebrews 12:2 LSB

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

“Jesus…. sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The idea of Christ “sitting at the right hand” has been mentioned several times throughout the epistle, including in the first section we looked at previously. These references are almost universally quotations or allusions to another Psalm we’ve studied previously, Psalm 110. Let us review it again briefly.

Psalm 110 LSB

Of David. A Psalm. Yahweh says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.” Yahweh will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Have dominion in the midst of Your enemies.” Your people will offer themselves freely in the day of Your power; In the splendor of holiness, from the womb of the dawn, The dew of Your youthfulness will be Yours. Yahweh has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His anger. He will render justice among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will crush the head that is over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head.

Some theologians have said that Psalm 110 contains the message of the epistle to the Hebrews, in seed form. Many of the important concepts we’ve mentioned already are here - the exaltation of the Messiah, the priestly ministry, and the coming day of judgement. This Psalm is also the only other reference in the Old Testament (besides Genesis) to the king-priest Melchizedek, who figures prominently in this epistle. The Melchizedekan Priesthood is vital to the argument of Hebrews because it shows the legitimacy of Jesus’ non-Levitical priesthood, while also cementing his link to the Davidic kingship spoken of in Psalm 110.

The key observation we want to take from this heavily-cited Psalm is how the Messiah’s kingly right is linked with a station at the Father’s “right hand”, as we read in Hebrews. In a king’s court, the right hand was a place of exaltation and honor. It was also a place of influence and advocacy. But it is important to note that it is distinct from being seated on the throne itself. Sometimes Christian interpreters have conflated Christ’s being “seated at the right hand” with Christ “sitting on his throne”, but those are demonstrably not the same thing. Jesus himself distinguishes the Father’s throne from his own in Revelation 3:21. The Messiah’s throne is tied to the restored Davidic kingdom - in other words, it is not a throne in heaven, but a throne in Jerusalem.

This fact is emphasized by the statement in vs 2, “Yahweh will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion” - that is, Jerusalem - “saying, ‘Have dominion in the midst of your enemies.’” This underscores the idea that Christ’s physical presence is vital to the establishment of this kingdom. He does not reign from heaven, but from Earth, and in a particular place on Earth. “In the midst of your enemies.” In other words, his reign will be in the same sphere where his rulership has been resisted. The same concept is echoed in Psalm 2, another Messianic kingdom Psalm. “As for me, I have installed My King upon Zion, my holy mountain.” The Messiah’s vindication will take place in the same realm where his humiliation and rejection took place.

“He will crush kings in the day of his anger” Judgement is unavoidably linked with the establishment of this kingdom. A day of reckoning - the “day of Yahweh” - is coming, when justice will be dealt and all wickedness and corruption rooted out from Earth. The Messiah’s heavenly session - his time at the right hand of the Father, representing and interceding for his people - will continue “until” the time comes for all things to be “subjected” to him.

Returning to Hebrews, we will look at the final half of chapter 12.

The Mediator of a New Covenant

Hebrews 12:18–24 LSB

For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear what was being commanded, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” And so terrible was what appeared, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

“You have come to Mount Zion.” This section highlights the contrast between the Old Covenant (aka Sinaitic/Mosaic Covenant) that had governed the Hebrews’ relationship with Yahweh, with the New Covenant (this topic being more thoroughly expounded in Chapters 8, 9, and 10). In contrast with the fear and darkness and endless sacrifices associated with the covenant given at Mt Sinai, believers have now been brought into a new communion with God, and with each other, based on the once-for-all blood of Christ on the Cross. We do not have time to revisit the New Covenant and all its aspects here, but a key feature of this covenant is the intimate and direct closeness that it brings between God and his people; in the words of Jeremiah’s prophecy, cited in Hebrews 8:10-12

Hebrews 8:10–12 LSB

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And upon their hearts I will write them. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”

This is in stark contrast with the Old Covenant and its reliance on a small class of priestly mediators (who themselves fell woefully short of being worth to stand in the presence of God). Within the New Covenant regime, every individual believer is “made perfect” so as to come boldly before the Father’s throne (Hebrews 4:16).

One note about the language of these verses - many Christians have interpreted the “heavenly Jerusalem” (as well as the “heavenly country” of Hebrews 11:16) as referring to Heaven itself. This is not the correct way to read these terms, in my view. “Heavenly” as an adjective does not refer to “Heaven”, the place. “Heavenly” describes something that has its source, or its power, from Heaven. A “heavenly city” is not a city in Heaven, it is a city that is characterized or endowed with Heaven’s qualities. Indeed, this is exactly what the prophets said would happen to Jerusalem; as Jeremiah wrote, in the same context as the New Covenant promises:

Legacy Standard Bible CHAPTER 33

‘In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell in security; and

The heavenly city and country, Zion and the New Jerusalem, will indeed exist here on Earth, in the same realm that will be subjected to Christ, as the place God has appointed for his king to reign and and his kingdom to spread forth.

Once More I will Shake the Earth

Hebrews 12:25–29 LSB

See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” Now this expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

“Yet once more I will shake not only the Earth, but also the heaven.” This citation is from a prophecy given in Haggai, during the time of the return from exile in Babylon.

Haggai 2:6–9 LSB

“For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Once more—in a little while—I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ‘And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the desirable things of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.”

This “shaking” was future from Haggai’s standpoint, and still future from the Hebrews at the time this epistle was written. It is to be a cosmic shaking - Earth and heaven - and it is associated with the subjugation of all nations to the Messianic kingdom. Note that, as we studied briefly some time ago, the nations continue to exist in this kingdom - underscoring again it’s physical “realness”. The nations not only exist, but they are productive - bringing “desirable things” as a tribute to the house of Yahweh (a practice also predicted in Revelation 21:24).

When the shaking is complete, all that remains will be all that God desires to be a part of his “unshakeable kingdom”. It is this kingdom that the believer awaits and anticipates - not a present reality, but a certain future hope.

Conclusion

As we close I want to draw our attention to the interplay of these kingdom themes we’ve looked at in this epistle. Of course we have not done justice to this incredible, complex book. There is so much more to be said, about the New Covenant, the relationship with the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system, the so-called “warning passages”, etc etc. But I want to highlight two of the aspects that we discussed: the “lowering” of Jesus and his solidarity with humanity, in Hebrews 2/Psalm 8, and the exaltation and priestly ministry we read in Hebrews 12/Psalm 110 (and that is discussed extensively throughout the epistle. I think these twin concepts help us illustrate what, at least in my mind, is so incredible about the kingdom of God. One the one hand, we have Jesus and his humanity, humbling himself and making himself as one of us, those who are “lower than the angels”, yet in the process he shares in our created purpose - image bearers of God and rulers over creation. And on the other hand, we have the exaltation of Christ as a man to the very presence and right hand of God, a place none of us could ever stand apart from him. The same Jesus that showed himself after his resurrection, with unhealed wounds, and a taste for honeycomb and sardines, is the same Jesus that right now, sits at the Father’s right hand and advocates on your behalf. As I like to say, there is a human heart beating in Heaven right now, and he’s on your side.

But what I find truly profound is that Jesus, in his descending to Earth as a man, living and walking among us, brought Heaven down to Earth. And in his ascension, he’s brought a piece of Earth to Heaven. Like grappling hooks binding two ships together, Christ’s Earthly ministry, and present Heavenly session, have inexorably linked the fate of both realms. And in the the process, the eternal destiny of every individual who is “in Christ”, has a double-surety. Jesus Christ will have his successful kingdom reign established here on Earth, and his present absence - and acceptance as our representative in Heaven - is the guarantee. The day is coming when those grappling hooks are going to come together, when the God-man again stands, glorified and vindicated, on the Earth he was “made to rule”. When Heaven and Earth are brought together, and God’s perfect will is done in both spheres. When the sons and daughters of the king are finally revealed in all their blood-washed beauty, in the inevitable, unshakeable, glorious kingdom of God.