God Will Shake the Heavens

Recently I was doing a study on heavens and God’s voice in the New Testament when I came across this passage in Hebrews 12 which I hadn’t noticed before.

Not only does it talk about the shaking of heaven but, in the same breath, it talks about the removal of this and something which can’t be shaken remaining afterwards!

This ties in with several passages that we have already looked at.

Let’s start by having a quick look at this passage and relating it to other passages we have studied. Afterwards, we will look more closely at the text of Hebrews 12 itself.

Shaking the Heavens ~ Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:25–29 (NAS):

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 shall 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.”
And this expression, “Yet once more”, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we receive 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.

Let’s look at some other passages which mention the shaking of the heavens.

Isaiah 13 and Shaking the Earth Out of its Place

Looking at the outline of Isaiah 13, we see that verse 13 appears in the context of God’s judgement on man and making him scarcer than pure gold (verse 12).

Verse 13 (NAS):

Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble,
And the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of the LORD of hosts
In the day of His burning anger.

As in Hebrews 12 above, not only are the heavens shaken but the earth is too.

Interestingly, this shaking of the earth is so severe that it is described as “shaken from its place“. This is not the only passage that describes the earth shaking in this way:

• Job 9:6 – This passage seems to be prophetic for end times: “Who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble…..”
• Isaiah 24 doesn’t use this exact phrase but uses very strong language to describe how broken the earth will be. Verses 19 and 20 (NAS):
  

  “The earth is broken asunder,
  The earth is split through,
  The earth is shaken violently.
  The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard,
  And it totters like a shack,
  For its transgression is heavy upon it,
  And it will fall, never to rise again.”

The Heavens and the Earth Trembling in Joel

There are two passages in Joel which mention the heavens and the earth trembling, however, at least one of these passages seems to be more of a localised effect rather than something global.

Joel 2:1-10 describes something advancing similar to an army yet different in some way. One of the effects of this is verse 10 (NAS):

“Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.”

It is not difficult to imagine how an advancing army today, with tanks rolling in, etc., could cause the earth to quake and for clouds of dust to rise up, blocking visibility of objects in the sky.

The context of this passage emphasizes a local effect but it uses the same imagery as that used later in the book in chapter 3.

Joel 3:14-17 again has the heavens and the earth trembling but someone else is causing this to happen. NAS:

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.
And the LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers will pass through it no more.”

What I found interesting about this passage is that, like Hebrews 12, the heavens and the earth tremble in response to God’s voice.

Each time I read these passages where man goes to war against God and then God responds (e.g. this passage or Psalm 2), I am reminded of just how powerful and frightening God is and how puny we are.

Those last couple of phrases in Hebrews 12 seem appropriate: serve “with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Double Reminder in Haggai of God Shaking the Heavens and the Earth

Haggai 2:6 is the passage quoted in Hebrews 12:26. NAS:

“For thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Once more in a little while,
I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. … ‘ “

Zerubbabel is reminded a second time of this by the prophet Haggai in verse 21 (NAS):

“Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah saying,
‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. …’ “

These two verses do go on to say that God will shake all the nations and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.

In this sense, you could argue that God is shaking up the earth in a figurative sense, but this wouldn’t explain why there is also a reference to shaking the heavens (v6, 21), nor to shaking the sea and dry land in verse 6.

It seems to me, that a literal interpretation of the shaking is required in these two verses.

This physical shaking might also be the tool that God uses to destroy their kingdoms and to bring them to their knees, particularly when the earth is being shaken out of its place (Is 13:13) and broken into pieces (Is 24:19).

The Powers of the Heavens Will be Shaken

There are three similar passages in the gospels which say that the powers of the heavens will be shaken: Matthew 24:29, Mark 13: 25 and Luke 21:26.

I will look at this phrase, the “powers of the heavens”, in a later post. However, you may want to look at the passage in Luke 21 in light of the application in Hebrews 12 – see below.

The Heavens Being Removed

This passage in Hebrews 12 is not only a reminder of the heavens being shaken (and the earth also), but the heavens being removed and rolled up.

There is an aspect to the removing process which is hinted at in Hebrews 12 but explicitly stated in Hebrews 1:12 and Psalm 102:26.

Hebrews 1:10-12 (NAS):

And “Thou, LORD, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Thy hands;
They will perish, but Thou remainest;
And they all will become old as a garment,
And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up;
As a garment they will also be changed.
But Thou art the same,
And Thy years will not come to an end.”

And again in Psalm 102:25-27 (NAS):

Of old Thou didst found the earth;
And the heavens are the work of Thy hands.
Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment,
Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed.
But Thou art the same,
And Thy years will not come to an end.

The process that I wanted to draw your attention to was that the heavens (and the earth?) will not only be rolled up but they will be changed like someone changes their clothes.

The old will be taken off and a new or different set of clothes put on in its place. The heavens don’t just have the old taken off, leaving it bare, but something is put on afterwards.

Hebrews 12 sheds more light on the final state – it cannot be shaken and it remains.

Further Study of Hebrews 12

Shaking

There are two Greek words for shaking in this passage (12:26), G4531 and G4579.

G4531 means to waver, shake, and stir up.

G4579 means to rock, vibrate, shake, agitate, and cause to tremble.

I started to try and work out what the difference was between them, but when I looked at verses 26- 27 it seemed as though they have been used interchangeably:

And His voice shook (G4531) the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake (G4579) not only the earth, but also the heaven.”
And this expression, “Yet once more”, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken (G4531), as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken (G4531) may remain.

The Removal is a Transposition or Transferal

The word for removing or removal in verse 27 caught my attention. I want to look for clues that will tell me what is going to happen and what are the properties of the heavens. G3331 (metathesis) is the Greek word used here.

G3331 is the noun form of G3346 (to transpose, transfer, transport, exchange). G3331 means a transposition or transferral.

This word is used two other times in the New Testament, both of which are also in Hebrews – Hebrews 7:12 (the priesthood changing from the Levitical one to the order of Melchizedek) and Hebrews 11:5 (Enoch being transferred from living on earth to going directly to living in heaven, and all that entails).

This word surprised me but it reinforces Hebrews 1:12 and Psalm 102:26 in that the heavens being removed is only half the equation, so to speak.

They are being swapped – the old, worn out, and shakable version for one that can’t be shaken and which remains.

Yet Once More

I have been wondering why this phrase “Yet once more” could indicate so much to the writer of Hebrews.

I am wondering if it could better be translated in the English as “Yet one final time” or “Yet one last time”.

If it is the last time then something has to happen to stop it happening ever again.

The writer, under divine inspiration, fortunately explains to us some of what is involved in ensuring that it doesn’t happen ever again after this.

I am so thankful for the Word of God clarifying this.

The New Version of the Heavens

The description of the heavens that are being removed as “things that are made” (KJV) or “created things” (NAS) surprised me.

This seems to imply that what it is replaced with is not a “created thing”, i.e. not part of God’s original creation! This makes it a lot more difficult and challenging in trying to work out what this new layer of clothing is, from a physics point of view.

One of the properties of this new version of the heavens is that it can’t be shaken. At this stage, I don’t have any ideas as to what would cause it not to be able to be shaken.

However, I get the feeling that if other physicists knew about this and believed it then it would make a difference.

I don’t understand the physics but I know what Scripture says. (For further discussion on the current version of the heavens, especially from a physics perspective, refer to a later post about what sort of medium does the Bible hint at.)

Another property of this new version of the heavens is that it remains. This word (meno – G3306) means to remain, abide or stay, so no surprises there.

A reading of Hebrews 12:27 without the context of other Scripture seems to paint the picture that the shakable parts of the heavens are removed leaving behind the parts that are unshakable and remain.

This raised the question for me as to whether these unshakable parts were there before the shakable parts were removed or did they just remain from that time onwards?

Looking at verse 27 in another way, we have one action (the things which can be shaken are removed) and we have a result (the things which cannot be shaken may remain).

I looked at the grammar of this word, to remain, and found out that it was an aorist subjunctive active construct, which means that the verb does not have any temporal significance; it only refers to the reality of the event and not when it took place.

So the grammar does not provide any clues. One of the golden rules of interpretation is to interpret unclear passages in terms of clear passages.

This is where Hebrews 1:12 and Psalm 102:26 come in. Those two passages make it clear that something is put on in its place. In other words there is a part of the process omitted from verse 27.

So there are two actions to the process and not just one. The unshakeable parts remain from that time onwards.

A Picture of the Two Heavens

Here is a picture of the two heavens or mediums that came to mind while doing this Bible Study.

The two heavens (or mediums)

Application ~ Show Gratitude

In the midst of this topic on things shaking, the writer still finds an angle to bring us back to an application to our daily life.

Therefore, since we receive 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.

Let us show gratitude. We have a great Kingdom coming which cannot be shaken. That may not sound very significant to you at this time, but to others around the world it would mean a lot, and as end time events start to unfold it will become very comforting. Let me explain further.

As I started typing up this blog (it takes me several days to do this), a 6.2 earthquake had just hit the bottom half of the North Island of New Zealand the previous afternoon.

The earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2010 and 2011 also came back to mind for New Zealanders, especially those who had experienced them directly.

In these situations, it is a great comfort to know that the eternal Kingdom cannot be shaken. There will be no more earthquakes.

As end time events start to unfold, especially those mentioned in this blog, with both the heavens and the earth shaking and a great earthquake (Revelation 6:12), shaking is going to be a major part of life and one that can be very destructive, unsettling and frightening.

In this situation this passage is going to be a comforting reminder to believers that we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. In light of this, we should be grateful and this should be reflected in how we conduct ourselves – grateful right now and not just in the end times.

 

~ Priscilla

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by: PRISCILLA VAN SUTPHIN of Upstream Ministries, California www.upstreamca.org and www.blogtalkradio.com/Upstream Email: goinupstream@hotmail.com Donate to Upstream: via secure Paypal by sending as gift to goininupstream@hotmail.com or send to: Upstream, PMB 545, 14311 Newport Blvd, Suite G, Tustin, CA 92780, USA.

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