Sinai Versus Zion

Hebrews 12: 18-29

For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to a darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 

He is referring to Mount Sinai (See Exodus 19:12-13, 16), when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, the Ten Commandments). 

And to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them  

The people were so terrified, they told Moses, "Don't let God talk to us, or we'll die!" (Exodus 20:19).

For they could not bear the command,"If a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned." 

God told Moses that anyone, man or beast, would have to die if they touched the Mountain that God was on. They would be so affected by the Presence of God on the mountain that it would be fatal, and they would have to kill them by throwing stones or shooting arrows, but if they touched them they would be affected, too. This was serious business. Our God is dangerous.

And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, "I am full of fear and trembling." 

But Moses moved past his fear when he went up into Mount Sinai to receive the Law. 

We don't have to approach this terrifying scene. Instead, we will face a much different and even (dare I say?) fun experience:

But you have come to Mount Zion 

Mount Zion is completely different from Mount Sinai. 

and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 

This is the place where God lives. 

and to myriads of angels, 

These are God's holy Angels, who chose to remain faithful to God. Uncountable. 

To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven, 

This probably refers to us as Christians who have been known of God from before Creation, listed in His Book!  Jesus is called the "firstborn of every creature," because He is the Creator of every kind of creature, and "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:15-17).  

and to God, the Judge of all, 

The Maker and Owner of all, would naturally be the one to Judge, too.

and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 

Who are the righteous but those who Jesus' Blood has cleansed white as snow, as though we'd never sinned. And when we've learned all our lessons here, we will be resurrected into bodies like Jesus' Resurrection body: perfect.

And to Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant, 

Jesus is the Mediator, the only go-between that can go between us and God. He brought us this New Covenant to replace the Old Covenant.

and to the sprinkled Blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel. 

The Blood Jesus sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, was God's own Blood, with unlimited value. 

All these are parts of what we can look forward to. Encouraging, not terrifying. 

See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. 

The One who is speaking now is Jesus, Resurrected and risen into Heaven now.

For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on Earth, 

The Voice of the Lord God on Mount Sinai.

Much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from Heaven. 

Jesus is the Lord God of the Old Testament, and He is in Heaven now.

And His voice shook the Earth then, 

The Lord God's voice shook the whole area around Sinai, an Earthquake.

but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will shake not only the Earth, but also the Heaven." 

Not only the ground we stand on, but the whole Universe, next time. 

This expression, "yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

All the created Universe will be done away, for it will flee away from the face of the one who sits on the Great White Throne (Revelation 20: 11). 

Therefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, 

The New Heaven and the New Earth will not be like the Heaven and Earth we know now. There will be no Second Law of Thermodynamics to break down or wear out anything in this Eternal Kingdom.

let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 

God has done so much for each of us and all of us. When we realize how good He is to us, we will be overwhelmed with gratitude to him. And to serve Him, realizing what a God we have with reverence and awe!  

For our God is a consuming fire.

He is very dangerous. We cannot come face to face with Him in our mortal fleshly bodies without being totally consumed. That is why we must be cleansed, so that our bodies can be changed from these frail bodies of flesh into spiritual bodies (see I Corinthians 15: 35-58).

O my Father, thank You so much that You are careful with us, and You warn us to be very careful in approaching You, not underestimating You or taking You for granted! You are a Consuming Fire! 

Yet You allow me to approach You in the authority of Christ as Your child, to curl up in Your lap and be embraced in Your Loving arms! 

Father, teach us the difference between a Sinai experience compared to a Zion experience of You, even though You are the same God in both these places on Earth. 

To the ungodly and the wicked, You are a consuming fire; and to Your children whose names You have recorded in Your book, You are a "doting parent" who will expend the most extravagant expense for Your children. 

Those who rebel against You and refuse to recognize Your authority will be fitted with bodies suitable for the rigors of the Lake of Fire to pay their debt of sin through all of eternity (The "second death," Revelation 20: 14). 

And those who seek You and are found of You will be equipped with bodies suitable to withstand Your extreme Light and Being, and enjoy Your presence forever (The "First Resurrection," Revelation 20: 5). 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!