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HE WHO SPEAKS FROM HEAVEN. Hebrews 12:25-29. 5/26/2024. #47.
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
1. The command voice
a. When God manifested Himself in the OT, there was fear and trembling
a1. Fire consuming the rebellious Levites
a2. Mt. Sinai quaking in giving of the Law
a3. Nebuchadnezzar struck with madness
a4. A plague at Baal Peor
a5. Fire descending at Mt. Carmel
b. At each manifestation of God, there were consequences for disobedience
a1. Vipers among the disobedient Israelites
a2. A generation was not allowed to enter the land
a3. Moses was not allowed to enter the land
a4. Jonah was swallowed by a fish
a5. David experienced turmoil and death in his family
a6. Uzziah was struck down with leprosy
c. The voice of God spoke of His holiness
a1. The love of God is emphasized by believers
a2. We must not forget the holiness of God
a3. When God spoke it moved men to act, however, men returned to evil when fear wore off
d. The earth is a shakable thing (i.e., the Flood)
a1. God’s demonstration of power showed His holiness and willingness to punish disobedience
a2. A warning should have been sufficient, but most often, it was not (Genesis 2-3)
e. Voice of God elicited fear, but often on obedience
2. From shakable to unshakable
a. God, who shook earth, will shake both heaven and earth (Revelation. 12:7-12), before His unshakable kingdom comes
b. Haggai 2:6 God’s great power seen in His Incarnate Son
a1. He did not come to threaten man, but to save him
a2. Jesus’s call to salvation is a call to peace with God through His sacrifice
c. Through Christ we can move from what was shaken to what can never be shaken
a1. To hold onto the fear of the Law was to hold on to the terror of its provisions
a2. Heb. invites all to reject the certain terror of judgment to the grace found in Christ
a3. The New Heaven and Earth can never be shaken
b1. They are not subject to sin and death
b2. Under the Law, uncertain efforts led to insecure results (only faith in Lord made the sacrifices meaningful)
d. Once the unshakable is established, there will never be again that which can be shaken or threatened
3. Serving in peace
a. Since keeping the Law doesn’t guarantee salvation, Hebrews invites his readers to receive the Kingdom that can’t be shaken through His grace via faith in Jesus Christ (John 3)
b. Instead of rebelling against God, we serve Him in reverence and godly fear (a pleasure to worship and serve)
a1. Man’s rebellion = search for independence
b1. Isaiah 14 first, Lucifer in heaven rebelled
b2. Genesis 3, man sought independence in Eden
a2. Romans 12:1-3, man was created to worship and serve God
b1. As we serve Him, He puts us in charge of many things (as David as king, or faithful servants given rule over cities)
b2. Ironically, those who rebel will end up alone in torment, while those who submit will rule with Christ (II Timothy 2:12, Revelation 20:4, 20:6, 3:21, Matthew 25:14-30)
c. We were created to serve God and are only at peace doing it
d. Those who rebel find God to be a consuming fire
a1. Judgment and salvation are the only 2 options
a2. To reject God is to reject peace, joy, and fulfillment
Key passage: Revelation 12:7-127 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”