Hebrews 12:23 Themes and Topics

Verse Concepts

For he decreed of old that those whom he predestined should share the likeness of his Son ??that he might be the firstborn of a great brotherhood. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

And further, when introducing the Firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.' Verse Concepts

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the prince over the kings of earth; to him who loves us and has loosed us from our sins by shedding his blood ??6 he has made us a realm of priests for his God and Father, ??to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever: Amen. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him; Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

And I saw the dead, high and low, standing before the throne, and books were opened ??also another book, the book of Life, was opened ??and the dead were judged by what was written in these books, by what they had done. Verse Concepts

and if anyone removes any words written in this book, God will remove his share in the tree of Life and in the holy City described in this book."] Verse Concepts

'As for the conqueror, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God (nevermore shall he leave it), and I will inscribe on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem which descends out of heaven from my God), and my own new name.' Verse Concepts

And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, crying, "Lo, God's dwelling-place is with men, with men will he dwell; they shall be his people, and God will himself be with them: Verse Concepts

But the Jerusalem on high is free, and she is 'our' mother. Verse Concepts

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

So he carried me off, rapt in the Spirit, to a huge, high mountain, where he showed me the City, the holy Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

Now this is an allegory. The women are two covenants. One comes from mount Sinai, bearing children for servitude; that is Hagar, for mount Sinai is away in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for the latter is in servitude with her children. But the Jerusalem on high is free, and she is 'our' mother.

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's.

May the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of the eternal covenant, Verse Concepts

Were he on earth, he would not be a priest at all, for there are priests already to offer the gifts prescribed by Law (men who serve a mere outline and shadow of the heavenly ??as Moses was instructed, when he was about to execute the building of the tabernacle: see, God said, that you make everything on the pattern shown you upon the mountain). As it is, however, the divine service he has obtained is superior, owing to the fact that he mediates a superior covenant, enacted with superior promises. read more.
For if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. Whereas God does find fault with the people of that covenant, when he says: The day is coming, saith the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be on the lines of the covenant I made with their fathers, on the day I took them by the hand to lead out of Egypt's land; for they would not hold to my covenant, so I let them alone, saith the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel when that day comes, saith the Lord; I will set my laws within their mind, inscribing them upon their hearts; I will be a God to them, and they shall be a People to me; one citizen will no longer teach his fellow, one man will no longer teach his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know me, low and high together. I will be merciful to their iniquities, and remember their sins no more. By saying 'a new covenant,' he antiquates the first. And whatever is antiquated and aged is on the verge of vanishing.

You have not come to what you can touch, to flames of fire, to mist and gloom and stormy blasts, to the blare of a trumpet and to a Voice whose words made those who heard it refuse to hear another syllable (for they could not bear the command, If even a beast touches the mountain, it must be stoned) ??21 indeed, so awful was the sight that Moses said, I am terrified and aghast. read more.
You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's.

Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

For he decreed of old that those whom he predestined should share the likeness of his Son ??that he might be the firstborn of a great brotherhood. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

And further, when introducing the Firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.' Verse Concepts

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the prince over the kings of earth; to him who loves us and has loosed us from our sins by shedding his blood ??6 he has made us a realm of priests for his God and Father, ??to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever: Amen. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him; Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

'The conqueror shall be clad in white raiment; I will never erase his name from the book of Life, but will own him openly before my Father and before his angels.' Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

Only, do not rejoice because the spirits obey you: rejoice because your names are enrolled in heaven." Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

And I saw the dead, high and low, standing before the throne, and books were opened ??also another book, the book of Life, was opened ??and the dead were judged by what was written in these books, by what they had done. Verse Concepts

so shall her plagues fall in a single day, pestilence, tears, and famine: she shall be burnt with fire ??for strong is God the Lord her judge. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

he then adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. Verse Concepts

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's.

And this makes Jesus surety for a superior covenant. Verse Concepts

As it is, however, the divine service he has obtained is superior, owing to the fact that he mediates a superior covenant, enacted with superior promises. For if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. Whereas God does find fault with the people of that covenant, when he says: The day is coming, saith the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be on the lines of the covenant I made with their fathers, read more.
on the day I took them by the hand to lead out of Egypt's land; for they would not hold to my covenant, so I let them alone, saith the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel when that day comes, saith the Lord; I will set my laws within their mind, inscribing them upon their hearts; I will be a God to them, and they shall be a People to me; one citizen will no longer teach his fellow, one man will no longer teach his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know me, low and high together. I will be merciful to their iniquities, and remember their sins no more. By saying 'a new covenant,' he antiquates the first. And whatever is antiquated and aged is on the verge of vanishing.

By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent (which foreshadowed the present age) was still standing, with its offerings of gifts and sacrifices which cannot possibly make the conscience of the worshipper perfect, since they relate merely to food and drink and a variety of ablutions ??outward regulations for the body, that only hold till the period of the New Order. read more.
But when Christ arrived as the high priest of the bliss that was to be, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent which no hands had made (no part, that is to say, of the present order), not taking any blood of goats and oxen but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy place. He secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on defiled persons, give them a holiness that bears on bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God? He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant.

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

Only, do not rejoice because the spirits obey you: rejoice because your names are enrolled in heaven." Verse Concepts

Immediately after the misery of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not yield her light, the stars will drop from heaven and the orbs of the heavens will be shaken. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

But when that misery is past, in those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not yield her light, the stars will drop from heaven, and the orbs of the heavens will be shaken.

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, while on earth the nations will be in dismay with bewilderment at the roar of sea and waves, men swooning with panic and foreboding of what is to befall the universe. For the orbs of the heavens will be shaken,

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's. read more.
See that you do not refuse to listen to His voice. For if they failed to escape, who refused to listen to their instructor upon earth, much less shall we escape, if we discard Him who speaks from heaven. Then his voice shook the earth, but now the assurance is, once again I will make heaven as well as earth to quake. That phrase, once again, denotes the removal of what is shaken (as no more than created), to leave only what stands unshaken.

'As for the conqueror, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God (nevermore shall he leave it), and I will inscribe on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem which descends out of heaven from my God), and my own new name.' Verse Concepts

Then I saw the new heaven and the new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy City, the new Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, all ready like a bride arrayed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, crying, "Lo, God's dwelling-place is with men, with men will he dwell; they shall be his people, and God will himself be with them: read more.
he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more ??no more wailing or crying or pain, for the first things have passed away." Then he who was seated on the throne said, "Lo, I make all things new." And he said, "Write this: 'these words are trustworthy and genuine.'"

Tell me, you who are keen to be under the Law, will you not listen to the Law? Surely it is written in the Law that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-woman and one by the free-woman; but while the son of the slave-woman was born by the flesh, the son of the free-woman was born by the promise. read more.
Now this is an allegory. The women are two covenants. One comes from mount Sinai, bearing children for servitude; that is Hagar, for mount Sinai is away in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for the latter is in servitude with her children. But the Jerusalem on high is free, and she is 'our' mother.

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's. read more.
See that you do not refuse to listen to His voice. For if they failed to escape, who refused to listen to their instructor upon earth, much less shall we escape, if we discard Him who speaks from heaven. Then his voice shook the earth, but now the assurance is, once again I will make heaven as well as earth to quake. That phrase, once again, denotes the removal of what is shaken (as no more than created), to leave only what stands unshaken. Therefore let us render thanks that we get an unshaken realm; and in this way let us worship God acceptably ??29 but with godly fear and awe, for our God is indeed a consuming fire.

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

And I saw the dead, high and low, standing before the throne, and books were opened ??also another book, the book of Life, was opened ??and the dead were judged by what was written in these books, by what they had done. Verse Concepts

so shall her plagues fall in a single day, pestilence, tears, and famine: she shall be burnt with fire ??for strong is God the Lord her judge. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, Verse Concepts

And just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that to be judged, Verse Concepts

You have not come to what you can touch, to flames of fire, to mist and gloom and stormy blasts, to the blare of a trumpet and to a Voice whose words made those who heard it refuse to hear another syllable (for they could not bear the command, If even a beast touches the mountain, it must be stoned) ??21 indeed, so awful was the sight that Moses said, I am terrified and aghast. read more.
You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood whose message is nobler than Abel's.

You have come to mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born registered in heaven, to the God of all as judge, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

The seventy came back with joy. "Lord," they said, "the very daemons obey us in your name." He said to them, "Yes, I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. I have indeed given you the power of treading on serpents and scorpions and of trampling down all the power of the Enemy; nothing shall injure you. read more.
Only, do not rejoice because the spirits obey you: rejoice because your names are enrolled in heaven."