‘But you are come to mount Zion,
And to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
And to innumerable hosts (or ‘large numbers, myriads, thousands upon thousands') of angels in a festal gathering,
And to the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,
And to the God of all as Judge,
And to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant,
And to the blood of sprinkling which speaks better than that of Abel.'
But what his readers have come to is not like that. Rather it is glorious and wonderful and heavenly. It is both a place of welcome and a place of awe. Because a way has been provided for them through Christ, by which they could enter boldly, they have come into the very presence of God and the glory of the heavenlies, but they must never forget that He is a consuming fire for all but what is acceptable to His nature.
We present the verses in couplets, not in order to present it as poetry but in order to bring out the pairings and contrasts. It is noteworthy that in each pairing the first part of the pairing is a straight statement and represents that which is permanently of Heaven, and the second part represents the people of God who have become a part of Heaven, and in each of the second items in the pairings a further explanation is added on. Thus the first phrases present basic, enduring, heavenly facts, the second refer to their connection with mankind and require expansion. They are interwoven to emphasise the closeness with which they are now combined. Heaven and earth has met together.
The first parts of the pairings are, ‘To Mount Zion -- to innumerable hosts of angels in festal gathering -- to the God of all as Judge -- to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant.'
In these we have that which is heavenly and permanent, the heavenly source of earthly blessing and protection and sustenance. We might almost see it as the sights that meet us as we approach into His presence. First we come to His dwellingplace, to the heavenly Mount Zion. Then we come to the festal gathering of angels. Then we approach the throne itself where the Governor of the Universe is seated, but which can approach without fear because our mediator sits at His right hand.
‘Mount Zion' represents the original and permanent dwellingplace of God (Psalms 20:2; Psalms 48:2; Psalms 87:1-2; Psalms 99:2; Psalms 125:1; Psalms 135:21; Jeremiah 8:19; Revelation 14:1), the very throne room of God in which is the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:2; Hebrews 9:11 compare Isaiah 16:5; Psalms 20:2; Psalms 76:2) to which we are privileged to come to seek help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). On that heavenly Mount Zion we see the ‘innumerable hosts of angels', gathered as one whole in festal joy, both rejoicing in God and also rejoicing in every sinner who repents (Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10), who are the servants of God who have always awaited His heavenly bidding, and who minister to us as the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14 compare Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalms 68:17; Daniel 7:10). They are gathered here for the worship of God (Revelation 5:11-12).
Here too is ‘the God of all as Judge'. He represents the One Who is over all, ruling over all and responsible for all. This is not a scene of judgment, He is there as the ‘Judge' in the wider sense as the One Who exercises authority over all and governs all, Who is in a way like the judges in the Book of Judges (compare Acts 13:20), responsible for maintaining and dispensing justice, and giving guidance and help to the people. He is the One Who will one day call all to account, but as yet acts as Moral Governor and Guide and awaits the petitioner who seeks His aid and mercy.
And there too on Mount Zion is ‘Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant'. Without Him we would have no approach. He is the One Who as Eternal God (‘the Son') and Representative Man acts in Heaven to make His plea on behalf of those who are within the new covenant on behalf of those who approach through Him.
So all the participants are there to welcome God's people. The way has been made open. The man or woman in Christ may approach God continually in Heaven, looking to worship Him and seek His aid in living their lives for Him under His care. There is no more fear, nothing to keep man away. For Jesus Christ has through His offering of Himself removed the veil that kept men and women from God. Through Him therefore we have access, and there is thus only peace and love in His presence.
‘New.' The word used (neos) means new because recently established for each one who becomes a Christian. This is in contrast with kainos (Hebrews 8:8; Hebrews 8:13) which means new as contrasted with the old, new of a different kind.
The second parts of the pairings are:
‘To the city of the living God, ---- the heavenly Jerusalem,
To the church of the firstborn ones --- who are enrolled in Heaven,
To the spirits of just men -- made perfect.'
To the blood of sprinkling -- which speaks better than that of Abel.'
It will be noted that the first of the first pairings, and the last of the second pairings differ from the other three in each case in that they refer to what are non-personal descriptions. Thus Mount Zion is followed by three references to heavenly personages, and the blood of sprinkling is preceded by three references to the people of God. The pattern is clear.
It should further be noted that these second parts of the pairings do not just refer to those who have died and are in Heaven. They refer to all who become His from the moment that they do so. They include the whole true people of God on earth and in Heaven. ‘You have come.' Once we become His, we come to this heavenly sphere as we seek to worship God. We, along with those who have gone before, are thus spiritually part of the city of the living God, citizens of Heaven even though we travel as ‘strangers' on the earth. And here we can come in Christ to worship.
We are also therefore part of the assembly of the firstborn ones, whose names have been written in Heaven, which indicates that we are enrolled in Heaven, that we are citizens of Heaven. And we are those who have been called and set apart by and for Him Who is the Firstborn, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). And we are also included among the spirits of just men made perfect, for God is the Father of spirits including our spirits (Hebrews 12:9), and we have been perfected in Christ (Hebrews 10:14). And we are also united with Him and with all God's people in the covenant by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus.
‘You are come.' That is, ‘you have come and are now here' (perfect tense). For the meaning of proserchomai in the letter see Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 11:6. It means to come to God, to draw near to God. And to where have we come to draw near to God? To the new Jerusalem, and to the church of the firstborn ones, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to the blood of sprinkling. We can approach in worship here (Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:19) precisely because in Christ we are present in the spiritual realm, in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), because we have been raised with Him, because we are even now a part of this great assembly and gathering, are even now citizens of this heavenly Jerusalem.
We are not on earth cowering before Mount Sinai in fear, standing in a barren wilderness and petrified at the sound of His voice, rather, together with all those who have passed on before us, we rejoice in this heavenly Mount Zion, in the glory of God's presence, and we glory in Him, being brought near and having access through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). For the work of Christ on the cross and His establishment as High Priest on our behalf (the resurrection being assumed) has all been in order to make this possible.
‘To the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem'. This is paralleled with Mount Zion, the dwellingplace of God. And its second part in the parallel demonstrates that it refers to man's part in the heavenly realm, where those who have gone before can worship God, and those still on earth can worship Him too (Hebrews 10:19). At Sinai the people stood afar off and could not approach the mountain because of their fear, for God temporarily abode there (Exodus 24:16) and they were afraid, for they were kept from Him by their sinfulness and by His awful holiness. But the people of the new Jerusalem gather on Mount Zion, the very permanent dwellingplace of God, and are not afraid (compare Revelation 14:1).
This city of the living God represents the whole of the people of God whether in Heaven or on earth, all who are founded on the Apostles (Revelation 12:14), for in Christ all who are His dwell in the heavenlies, in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 2:6), and dwell in the new Jerusalem (‘you have come and are now there') and will one day dwell in the new creation (compare Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21 all). This is the city which has foundations (Hebrews 11:10), the foundations being the Apostles and Prophets with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), or seen in another light the twelve Apostles (Revelation 21:14), with the twelve tribes of Israel as the gates. The latter stresses that our access is thus through being of His true people, through our being the true Israel. For in the New Testament the church, the ekklesia, the congregation, is seen as in essence the true twelve tribes of Israel (Romans 11:13-29; Ephesians 2:11-22; Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 1:1; James 1:1; Matthew 16:18-19; Revelation 7:1-8) continuing the congregation of Israel of old).
It is the city for which Abraham looked, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10), which we can even now enjoy. Abraham could only look out for it in hope. We can experience it. It is God's replacement for rejected earthly Jerusalem. It is the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4:25-26), the whole people of God, established in the heavenly Mount Zion, in God's permanent dwellingplace, through the work of Christ. Its coming and final triumph was vividly portrayed in pictorial fashion in Isaiah 66:10-24, with the wicked evermore excluded (Hebrews 12:24). See also Isaiah 4:3; Isaiah 4:5-6. Mount Zion is the dwellingplace of God. The heavenly Jerusalem is that wherein God's people dwell with Him.
We should note that like Zion and Jerusalem in the Old Testament (e.g. Zephaniah 3:16; Zechariah 2:7; Psalms 147:12; Joel 3:1; Isaiah 40:2; Isaiah 49:14; Jeremiah 4:14; Jeremiah 6:8; Jeremiah 7:29; Lamentations 1:8) Jerusalem can represent both the place, and its people when the latter are spoken of in large numbers. In Matthew 3:5 Jerusalem is mentioned as going out to hear John. In Matthew 23:37 and parallels Jerusalem killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent to her. Compare the same idea in Matthew 8:34. And this fact is made full use of in Revelation 21. The new Jerusalem is the bride (Revelation 21:2 compare Revelation 19:7-8), and the twelve Apostles her foundation (compare Ephesians 2:20). It was thus the ideal way to connect God and Mount Zion with His people. It is both heavenly city and heavenly people.
The ‘church of the firstborn ones.' This is paralleled with ‘the innumerable host of angels in festal array (in general assembly)', indicating their uniting with them in the worship of Heaven. All the angels worship the One Who is the Firstborn Who came into the world (Hebrews 1:6), and worship before the throne. Here His people also worship with them, and they too come as a festal gathering, for in Isaiah 66:10 LXX it is they who are called on to call a general assembly or feast as the new Jerusalem. ‘Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and all you who love her, hold in her a general assembly (a festal gathering)').
But Christ's people are clearly also contrasted with the angels, for they come not as attendants but as His fellow-heirs, sharers in the privileges of the Firstborn, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). They are ‘firstborn' ones, co-heirs of Christ's privileges (compare Romans 8:29 where Jesus is described as ‘the firstborn among many brothers and sisters'). They are one with Him as the angels can never be. For He is their Elder Brother (Hebrews 2:10-16), and they will share His throne, the one given to Him as glorified Man (Revelation 3:21). And part of angelic service is to minister to them (Hebrews 1:14). In the same way in Revelation 4:5 the church is represented by the twenty four elders who are seated on thrones and are near the throne of God and have received their crowns, which they cast at His feet.
‘Firstborn ones.' In Hebrews 1:2 the Son was called ‘the heir of all things', for Whom all things are destined. He is the Firstborn, the rightful Heir, because of His Oneness with the Father (Hebrews 1:6). In Romans 8:29 He is ‘the firstborn among many brothers and sisters', the heir Who shares all with those who are have been called by God and have been conformed to His image. And in Colossians 1:18 He is ‘the firstborn of the dead', the One through Whom the redeemed have received life as firstborn ones, given life by the Firstborn from the dead. Thus by being the ‘church of firstborn ones', that is, those gathered and given life by the Firstborn (and therefore also heirs), His people are associated with Him in His destiny and in His resurrection
They are the gathering of the redeemed people of God, those who have been united with the One Who is the Firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), Who is the source of its existence and its life, the One Who is the Giver of being, and Who is the Firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18), the One Who has power over all life and had power to take back His life again (John 10:18; John 5:21) and is the Giver of New Life, Eternal Life, the One Who came into the world and as Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) is worthy of the worship of angels (Hebrews 1:6). And to this gathering of firstborn ones (of heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ) belong all Who are His people in Heaven or on earth to whom He has given being and eternal life (Colossians 1:15; Colossians 1:18; John 5:24; 1 John 5:12-13 and also Hebrews 1:6). They are the ‘firstborn' ones (prototokon), those who will receive their birthright (prototokia) through Him, in contrast with those who have rejected and forfeited it (Hebrews 12:16). As heirs they are the inheritors of God's inheritance (Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:12).
‘Which are enrolled in Heaven.' This restricts the description to genuine believers. They are those whose names are written in Heaven, enrolled in the New Jerusalem as men on earth were enrolled in their cities and were their cities (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3 compare Malachi 3:16; Psalms 69:28). It is God Who has enrolled them and they are thus citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20 compare Isaiah 4:3). It was a normal process in great cities that those who were citizens had their names enrolled in the city records, and expunged if they were seen as guilty of some great crime, and all were aware that a select number could be described and enrolled as ‘Roman citizens' even though they had never lived in Rome. They represented Rome.
‘The spirits of just (righteous) men -- made perfect.' This is paralleled with ‘to the God of all as Judge'. These spirits of righteous men do not fear the God of all, the One who rules and governs as Judge, (in the same way as the Judges of the Old Testament), but love and worship Him, for they come to Him looking for His righteous governance and guidance, for they are righteous, having been perfected by the blood of Christ. They are the spirits of all who have been made righteous by faith (see Hebrews 12:9), and having been made perfect through Christ's offering of Himself (Hebrews 10:14), are even now spiritually present in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 2:6), perfected by Him with a view to their ultimate sanctification, which is at present in process.
This represents we who are on earth, whose hearts and minds and citizenship are in Heaven (Colossians 3:1; Philippians 3:20), as much as those who are in Heaven. (‘They without us shall not be made perfect' - Hebrews 11:40). The use of ‘spirits' may well be in order to confirm that the resurrection is seen as having not yet taken place. Such have not yet been ‘clothed upon' (2 Corinthians 5:2-4; 1 Corinthians 15:20-57). They still ‘sleep' in Christ (because their ‘sleeping' bodies lie in the grave) or walk on earth. But God is the Father of all such ‘spirits' (Hebrews 12:9) and watches over them all.
So the three descriptions reveal God's people, firstly in connection with God's dwellingplace, secondly in conjunction with and in contrast to the angels, and thirdly in the relationship that they have with God even prior to the resurrection.
‘To the blood of sprinkling -- which speaks better than that of Abel.' This is paralleled with ‘And to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.' This is the blood of Jesus as sacrificed for His own (Hebrews 9:14) that it might successfully call down mercy from God on those to whom it has been applied. Rather than crying for judgment, as Abel's did (Genesis 4:10-11), its successful plea is for mercy and oneness in the covenant. And its Source is now in Heaven.
This comparison with Abel should make us aware of exactly what the blood of Jesus represents. It represents blood shed through death. It represents the blood of one slain by those who hated Him. But unlike Abel's it also represents blood which cries out for mercy for His enemies. That is why it speaks better than the blood of Abel.
And ‘the blood of sprinkling', being here related to the Mediator of a new covenant, is a specific reminder of and contrast with the blood of sprinkling on the people when they were brought into the old covenant (Exodus 24:8). Through it He brings His own into the new covenant. Through it all His people are sprinkled and made one, for the sprinkling is on them all..
It may also have in mind the Passover, although there, while the blood was applied with hyssop, it was not said to be sprinkled (Exodus 12:22). But see 2 Chronicles 35:11. The blood of sprinkling also hallowed the priests when the priesthood was first set up (Exodus 29:21; Leviticus 8:30) and was continually applied by sprinkling to the altar as an indication of atonement (Leviticus 1:11 and often). It was also sprinkled in the water of purification for the removal of the taint of death. And it was to be sprinkled by the Servant of Yahweh on ‘many nations' when He had become the One who bore our sin and was our offering for sin (Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 53:4-5; Isaiah 53:10-11). Thus we find in this blood of sprinkling participation in the new covenant (compare Mark 14:24 and parallels) and the means of full atonement and purification.
This spiritual blood of sprinkling is applied on earth when we respond to Christ, but it is carried into Heaven on those who have been sprinkled, just as the Lamb is seen in Heaven as the One Who has been slain (Revelation 5:6), even though He was slain on earth. The thought is of the fact that all men and women who are in Heaven are there by virtue of the sprinkling of the blood of the Lamb Who was slain. It has to be introduced in order to make this very fact clear. And in that sprinkling we are all made one. And He acts as our Mediator in Heaven because His blood has brought us within the new covenant.
The whole emphasis then of this passage is that in Christ we have broken through into Heaven itself, and into the very presence of God through the blood of Christ (Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:19) and join with the people of God in Heaven in worship and praise as one people. Not for us Mount Sinai, but the heavenly Mount Zion. That is why He became our High Priest. Not for us visits to the earthly Jerusalem. That has been replaced. For the earthly Jerusalem is no longer the centre for God's people. We have come to, and are a part of, the heavenly Jerusalem. Nor for us the gathering in Jerusalem for the great feasts and especially the Passover and Atonement, we join the festal array of the angels and gather in the heavenly Mount Zion with all who call on His name, while our Passover and Atonement, already accomplished in Him, are seen in Heaven as having been applied to us as His people. The earthly copies and shadows are no more. They have been replaced by the heavenly realities. Let men not therefore look back with nostalgia to the old things. They are gone for ever. When that which is perfect has come then that which is in part is done away.