Heb 12:18 - 24 Exo 19:10-13
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that has been burned with fire, and to darkness and gloom and storm, and to the sound of a trumpet and a voice of words, which those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them; for they could not bear the thing being commanded: “Even if a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned”; and so fearful was the appearance that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.”
But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to a festal gathering and assembly of firstborn ones who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous ones made perfect, and to Jesus, mediator of a new covenant, and to blood of sprinkling speaking better than (that of) Abel.
Mount Sinai stands in contrast with Mount Zion. Mount Sinai is associated with fear, law, and judgment, whereas Mount Zion symbolizes grace, access to God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the unshakable kingdom. Because Christ is our high priest; the scripture says, “let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Heb 12:25 - 27 Hag 2:6
See that you do not refuse the one speaking; for if they did not escape who refused the one warning them on earth, much more (will not) we (escape), who turn away from the one (speaking) from heaven, whose 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 the phrase “Yet once more” indicates the removal of the things being shaken, as of things having been made, so that the things not being shaken may remain. Therefore, receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
The land of Israel, the material temple, physical laws and rituals represented the earthly kingdom. The prophet Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream pointed to the Roman Empire when the God of heaven would establish his everlasting kingdom. The author of Hebrews referred to the prophesy given to the people of Israel, “Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the LORD of hosts … the latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts.” The kingdom of Israel would be destroyed, the temple would be torn down, the law and covenant would be annulled. Concerning the unshakeable kingdom, Jesus told an audience, “…the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Jer 31:31-34
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, 'Know the LORD', for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
• if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.
• I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
• not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors (in Egypt)
• I will put my laws in their minds
• I will write them on their hearts
• I will be their God
• they shall be my people
• they shall not say “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me
• I will be merciful towards their iniquities
• I will be merciful towards their iniquities
Heb 12:18-29
• In speaking of 'a new covenant', he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.
• Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
• it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
• (Jesus) abolishes the first in order to establish the second
• Christ offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins
• in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay
• my righteous one will live by faith
• You have not come … (to Mount Sinai)
• you have come to Mount Zion
• to the city of the living God
• to the heavenly Jerusalem
• to innumerable angels in festal gathering
• to the assembly of the firstborn
• to God the judge of all
• to the spirits of the righteous made perfect
• to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant
• (At Sinai) his voice shook the earth
• once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven
• once more' indicates the removal of what is shaken – that is, created things
• so that what cannot be shaken may remain
• we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken
• give thanks
• offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe
Peter speaking to Jews stated that all the prophets from Samuel on spoke of the events that occurred at that time. Jesus said he would return within the lifetime of some of his audience. The Hebrew letter claimed, “the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent is still standing. This is a symbol of the present time…” Jesus was is the mediator of the new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance…
Scriptural interpretation must be aligned with God’s plan and purpose. God’s plan was to provide a means of reconciliation. The scriptures are the record of God’s dealings with humans as he accomplished his plan. The period from John the Baptist to the destruction of the temple was transitional, the new covenant was in effect while the first covenant still applied to Jews. At the return of Jesus circa 70 CE the new covenant became of full effect. God’s plan was completed.
God’s relationship in keeping with Jeremiah’s prophecy changed from religion and law to a relationship through faith. Paul points out that believers are the children of Abraham whose relationship with God was through faith. The rituals and regulation followed by believers prior to the destruction of the temple are superseded by walking by faith. There are no rituals and no doctrines bound upon God’s children from the ancient scriptures. Those scriptures provide examples and principles to help us draw close to God. Our spiritual obligation is to love God, and love our neighbour – nothing else.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Paul told the Corinthians that they were God's temples and that God's Spirit lived in them. And, that their bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit within them, which they received from God, and that they were not their own because they had been bought with a price; therefore they should glorify God in their bodies. We don’t worship God by going to church or performing rituals, we worship God with our lives. What religious practices we follow are personal preferences they do not determine our relationship with God.
