November 27 – Hebrews 12:22-29. Unshakeable Kingdom.

November 27 – Hebrews 12:22-29. Unshakeable Kingdom.

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 


See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 


Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” 

God calls us no longer to the foot of Mt. Sinai, where we stand trembling in fear before Him, but we are called to Mount Zion – the city of the living God – the heavenly Jerusalem.  There we will join the angels in joyful worship.

The day is coming when God will judge the earth.  There is not a single book in Scripture that denies that.  The earth will shake and all will be judged.  The author of Hebrews begs his readers to never turn from Jesus.

We know what the earth looks like when it is shaken.  We know the damage that can occur.  We’ve seen the countless lives that are lost and property that is destroyed.  We understand the long-term effects of this kind of terrible destruction.  The early readers of this letter understood those things as well.

After all of the natural catastrophes that have occurred throughout our lifetimes, can you imagine living in a place that will never be shaken?  Nothing will disturb the peace that comes from living within God’s kingdom.

I worship God now with reverence and awe for the things He has done and the unshakeable kingdom that will be.