The Great Shakedown and the Unmovable Kingdom Text: Hebrews 12:25-29
Introduction: A New Deuteronomy for a New Israel
The book of Hebrews is the New Testament's Deuteronomy. Just as Moses stood on the plains of Moab to deliver the law a second time to the generation poised to invade Canaan, so the author of Hebrews writes to a generation of Christians poised for a great transition. They were at the tail end of their own forty-year wilderness period, from the resurrection of Christ around 30 A.D. to the looming destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. They were being tempted to turn back, to return to the shadows and sacrifices of the old order, to retreat from the brink of a worldwide spiritual invasion. The entire letter is an exhortation to press on, to not go back to Jerusalem, to not get on that boat. Why? Because the entire system they were tempted to return to was about to be violently dismantled by God Himself.
This is the context for our passage today. It is the climax of the great contrast the author has been building throughout the entire book. He has contrasted Christ with angels, with Moses, with Joshua, and with Aaron. He has contrasted the New Covenant with the Old. And just before our text, he gives us the ultimate geographical contrast: Mount Sinai versus Mount Zion. Sinai was the mountain of the law, of thunder, of terror, of distance, of "do not touch." It was the earthly mountain where God's voice shook the ground. But we have not come to that. We have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, a place of innumerable angels, of the assembly of the firstborn, of God the Judge, of perfected spirits, and of Jesus, the mediator of a better covenant.
Having established where we are, he now tells us what we must do. And the warning is severe. The stakes are higher now, not lower. The privileges of the New Covenant are infinitely greater, and therefore, the consequences for spurning those privileges are infinitely more terrifying. We are not dealing with a God who has "mellowed out" in His old age. We are dealing with the same God, who is a consuming fire. And He is about to conduct a great shakedown of all things, so that only that which is eternal might remain.
The Text
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.
(Hebrews 12:25-29 LSB)
Two Voices, Two Warnings (v. 25)
The writer begins with a stark command and a severe comparison.
"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." (Hebrews 12:25)
The imperative is blunt: "See to it." Pay attention. This is not a matter for casual consideration. Do not refuse, do not reject, do not turn a deaf ear to the one who is speaking. Who is speaking? God is speaking. In the old covenant, He spoke through prophets and angels, and His voice thundered from a mountain in the desert. Now, He has spoken His final and ultimate Word in His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). The voice from heaven is the voice of the resurrected and enthroned Christ.
The logic here is an argument from the lesser to the greater, a common device in Hebrews. If the generation in the wilderness, who heard the warning on earth from Moses at Sinai, did not escape judgment when they rebelled, and their carcasses fell in the desert, how much more certain is the doom for those who hear the voice of the Son Himself, speaking from the heavenly command center, and turn away? The logic is inescapable. Greater privilege brings greater responsibility. To whom much is given, much is required. The Israelites refused the one who "warned them on earth." This was God's voice, mediated through Moses. But we have heard the voice "from heaven," unmediated, direct from the Son. To turn away from this is not just disobedience; it is the ultimate cosmic insult.
This was a live issue for the Hebrew Christians. The pressure to apostatize, to go back to the temple rituals, was immense. They were being told that to abandon the old ways was to abandon God. The author of Hebrews says the exact opposite is true. To go back to the earthly system is to refuse the one who now speaks from heaven. It is to choose the shadow over the substance, the echo over the voice, the earthly tabernacle over the ascended Christ.
The Cosmic Shakedown (v. 26-27)
Next, the writer explains the nature of this heavenly warning. It is a promise of universal upheaval.
"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." (Hebrews 12:26-27 LSB)
At Sinai, God's voice "shook the earth." The mountain quaked, the people trembled. It was a localized, physical tremor that signified the awesome power of God and the gravity of the law. But that was just a preview. Now, God has made a promise, quoting from the prophet Haggai (Hag. 2:6). This time, the shaking will not be confined to one mountain, or even to the earth alone. He will shake "not only the earth, but also the heaven."
Now, what does this mean? Our dispensationalist friends, with their newspaper eschatology, read this and immediately think of the end of the physical planet. But we must let Scripture interpret Scripture. The author of Hebrews tells us exactly what this shaking accomplishes: it is "the removing of those things which can be shaken." What are these shakeable things? They are the "created things." This is not talking about the material cosmos, but rather the entire religious and political world of the Old Covenant. The "heavens and earth" is common biblical language for a covenantal world order. The temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the genealogies, the entire Judaic system, that was the "world" that was passing away. It was a created order, a temporary scaffolding God had built for the purpose of bringing Christ into the world. Now that Christ had come, the scaffolding was scheduled for demolition.
This demolition happened, just as predicted, in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies, as God's unwitting instrument, leveled Jerusalem and its temple. That was the great shaking. It was the final, violent removal of the old order. Why? "So that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." The Old Covenant was shakeable. It was temporary. It was made to be replaced. But the New Covenant, the kingdom we have received in Christ, is eternal. It is unshakeable. The purpose of the cosmic shakedown was to clear away the rubble of the old so that the magnificent, permanent edifice of the new could be seen in all its glory.
The Unshakeable Kingdom and Acceptable Worship (v. 28)
The conclusion from this great demolition is not fear, but gratitude and a right understanding of worship.
"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;" (Hebrews 12:28 LSB)
Because the world around us is being shaken to its foundations, because old institutions are crumbling, because empires rise and fall, what is our response? Panic? Despair? A frantic attempt to shore up the ruins? No. We are in the process of "receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken." Notice the present tense. This is not something we are waiting for in a far-off future. We are receiving it now. The kingdom of God was inaugurated at the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and it was fully established on the ruins of the old world. We are citizens of that kingdom. It is our present possession.
The proper response to this astounding gift is gratitude. "Let us have grace," some translations say, which amounts to the same thing. Let us have a disposition of thankfulness. And this thankfulness is not a passive, sentimental feeling. It is the very engine of our worship. It is by this grace, this gratitude, that we are enabled to "offer to God an acceptable service." The word for service here is latreuomen, which is the standard word for worship. True worship flows from a grateful heart that understands the stability we have in Christ while the whole world is in flux.
But this is not the casual, flippant, "Jesus is my buddy" kind of worship that has become so popular in the modern evangelical world. This acceptable worship is offered with "reverence and awe." Reverence speaks to a profound respect for God's majesty. Awe, or godly fear, speaks to a right understanding of His holiness and power. This is not the cowering terror of a slave before a tyrant, but the sober, joyful, trembling humility of a beloved child before a holy and omnipotent Father. We come boldly to the throne of grace, yes, but we do not come flippantly. We are approaching the sovereign of the universe, the one before whom angels cover their faces.
The Reason for Reverence (v. 29)
The final verse gives the ultimate reason why our worship must be characterized by this reverence and awe. It is a direct quotation from Deuteronomy 4:24.
"for OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE." (Hebrews 12:29 LSB)
This is the capstone of the argument. Lest we think that the God of the New Covenant is a tame God, a safe God, a cosmic grandfather who just wants us to be happy, the writer reminds us of His essential nature. He is the same God who descended on Sinai in fire. He is the same God whose holiness consumes all that is impure, all that is unholy, all that is opposed to Him. Fire purifies, and fire destroys. For those who are in Christ, this fire is a purifying agent, burning away our dross and refining our gold. For those who stand outside of Christ, who refuse Him who speaks from heaven, this fire is a terror. It is the fire of judgment.
This reality should govern everything about our corporate worship. It is why we take worship seriously. It is why we believe worship has a structure, a grammar, defined by God in His word. We are not free to invent worship according to our tastes and preferences. We are not trying to create a certain mood or feeling. We are handling fire. To worship God rightly is to be warmed, purified, and sanctified. To worship God falsely, to offer strange fire as Nadab and Abihu did, is to be consumed. Our God is a consuming fire, and this is not a threat, but a glorious and fearful reality. It is the reason our unshakable kingdom is secure, and it is the reason we must approach Him with reverence and godly fear.
Conclusion: Living in the Unshakeable Kingdom
So what does this mean for us, living centuries after the temple was destroyed? It means everything. The shaking is not over. God continues to shake the nations, to topple kingdoms, to overthrow the proud. We live in a world that is constantly being shaken. Political systems, economic certainties, cultural norms, they are all built on sand. They are all shakeable.
And in the midst of this great global shakedown, Christians are the only people on the planet who have their feet planted on solid rock. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved. Therefore, we of all people should be the most stable, the most confident, the most fearless people in the world. When the news headlines scream of chaos, we should be characterized by a quiet gratitude for the unshakable kingdom.
This stability must be manifested in our worship. Our worship services should be the epicenter of this unshakeable reality. When the world outside is chasing after fleeting trends and emotional highs, our worship must be grounded in the eternal truths of God's Word, offered with the reverence and awe that a consuming fire deserves. Our worship is not an escape from reality; it is an entry into the ultimate reality, the heavenly Jerusalem.
And from that place of worship, we are sent back out into the shaking world as agents of the unshakeable kingdom. We are not to be timid or apologetic. We have the answer to the world's instability. The world is looking for something permanent, something that will last. We have it. We have a King who reigns, a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and a God who is a consuming fire. Therefore, let us have grace, let us worship Him acceptably, and let us live as confident citizens of the city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.