In which we discuss Hebrews 12:18-24; that the Old Testament must be interpreted as speaking of Jesus; Psalm 2; the Mount of Transfiguration; Psalm 9; Psalm 14.

Tim: We are still contrasting the difference in the two covenants, one being illustrated as Mount Sinai which is a place full of terror and fear, a mountain that is untouchable, that you cannot approach without fear of death. Many churches, both Catholic and Protestant, promote this fear, preaching “hellfire and brimstone” sermons to induce people down the aisles through fear and guilt. The author is steering his readers away from this mountain.

He describes the Gospel destination in Hebrews 12:22-24 –

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, ²³ to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a New Covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

There are some phrases in this passage that pop up almost randomly; Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. To understand this, we need to remind ourselves of how the early church interpreted the Old Testament. At the end of Luke 24, Jesus, in speaking to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, claimed that the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms all spoke about him (verses 27, 44). We need to keep this in mind as we look at these phrases.

This will become clearer as we examined the apostles’ sermons in the book of Acts. For instance, on Pentecost, Peter preached that God swore to David to seat one of his descendants on his throne. Peter interprets this as David speaking of the “…resurrection of the Christ” (see Acts 2:29-30). The early church read the Old Testament with this principle always in mind.

In order for us to understand these phrases like “Mount Zion, the city of the living God, and the Heavenly Jerusalem,” we need to look at these phrases in the Old Testament and find Christ in them. The qualities of these things in the Old Testament were taken and applied to Christ. So, let’s take these phrases in the Old Testament and see what we can glean from them and how we understand Jesus.

Valori: I had never heard preachers telling me about the destruction of the temple in AD 70. I wonder why they didn’t use that when they were preaching hellfire and brimstone sermons. No preacher giving a hellfire sermon ever used the example of the fall of Jerusalem.

Tim: You would probably have to ask one of them, but my guess is that they couldn’t reconcile the temple’s destruction in that first-century generation with their preaching about a future destruction to come. If you preach that the temple’s destruction in AD 70 was God’s wrath fulfilled, then you have nothing left for the future. You have no threat of wrath ahead to manipulate the crowds.

The author of Hebrews is not debating the end times here, but he is trying to give encouragement to those living in the end times. This is at the heart of his mentioning Mount Zion, the city of the living God, and the Heavenly Jerusalem. Geographically, Jerusalem sat on the eastern edge of Mount Zion. Its situation made it a formidable fortress. Later, David purchased the land north of it which later became the site of the temple.

Let’s begin with Psalm 2. Here is the whole Psalm but we will not be looking at each verse. This is undoubtedly a Psalm where the early church saw Christ. Verse 7 is quoted multiple times in the New Testament, including Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5.

Why are the nations restless
And the peoples plotting in vain?
² The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
³ “Let’s tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”

⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
⁶ “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

⁷ “I will announce the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
⁸ Ask it of Me, and I will certainly give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth as Your possession.
⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”

¹⁰ Now then, you kings, use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

This psalm begins declaring the nations in an uproar and the people devising vain things. It’s not hard to see the early church identifying with this sentiment as they were undergoing a hard persecution by the Jewish religious leaders. Remember, the writer was trying to give them a solid foundation for staying with Christ amid their sufferings instead of leaving that suffering to go back to the Old Covenant.

In verse 6, God declares that he has installed his king on Mount Zion, his holy mountain. This is a stark contrast to Mount Sinai which is more associated with the temple leadership of that day. The followers of Christ leave Sinai, that mountain of terror, to dwell in the mountain of the king whom God has installed.

Here’s a footnote regarding Mount Sinai: I noticed in Exodus 19: 9 that God said to Moses “…that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.” I thought that was interesting in that the scribes and Pharisees always referred to Torah as “the law of Moses.” When people are emersed in the Old Covenant, Christ seems to take a secondary position. They find it difficult to separate Moses from the Gospel. I have been in conversations where people zealously defend the Ten Commandments in the law of Moses while Christ gets barely a mention.

Roger: In Deuteronomy, Moses told the people to look for a prophet that will be greater than he is. He foresaw their breaking of the law so it was important that they looked ahead to another that would save them.

Ty: It is important to note that the people were too afraid to go up to the mountain themselves and they wanted Moses to go in their place. Perhaps they were attached to Moses because of their own fear. In Hebrews, Mount Sinai is a mountain of fear and terror. This fear is attached to Moses and the law, not to God’s king who lives on Mount Zion.

Tim: This is an important point. Roger reminded us that Moses looked ahead to a prophet greater than he was. Matthew 17 is the story of the Mount of Transfiguration. On that mountain was Moses and Elijah in the presence of Jesus.

In Matthew 17, Jesus, with Peter, James, and John were on the mountain top when there appeared a cloud. Jesus’ appearance took on a shining glory and there also appeared Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, standing with them. Here is Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, standing in the presence of representatives of the old covenant.

This is another mountain where we see some fear and trembling. Peter, James, and John became nervous at the sight of Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah. When the voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him,” we are told the disciples “…fell face down to the ground and were terrified.” At first, the disciples were thrilled to be in the presence of Moses and Elijah. They wanted to build tabernacles and dwell with them and Jesus on a normal basis.

Decades later, Peter reflects on this event (2 Peter 1:16-18). His memory is gripped, not by the shining appearance of Jesus, but by the utterance made by the “Majestic Glory,” that Jesus was his beloved son and in him he was well-pleased. The voice did not say this about Moses or Elijah; it was directed at Jesus. In this event, we see the shift from the Old Covenant to the New, from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion. The writer is very emphatic that, when the cloud dissipated, Jesus stood on that mount by himself and totally alone, without the law and the prophets.

Roger: Instead of holding tablets with the Ten Commandments on them, it was the spoken word of Jesus that God pointed to; “…this is my beloved son, listen to him.” We have a parallel in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, “You have heard it said… but I say to you…”

Tim: Remember in Hebrew 7 where we are told that if there is a change in the priesthood then there also has to be a change in the law. We have already examined that the law is only as good as the covenant to which it is attached. With a New Covenant there also comes a new law and a new mediator. Jesus specified that he was giving out a new commandment.

Ty: We have to throw out the old wineskin as well. When you look at the law and Moses, there’s a whole collection of old beliefs that need to be thrown out before we accept the new. The whole system has to go.

Tim: If you want to start a fight in a lot of churches, you argue that we need to throw out the Ten Commandments. There is a lack of trust that simply following Jesus would dissuade someone from committing murder. Most Christians think that simply following Jesus and walking in his righteousness is not enough to keep someone on the straight path. My argument is that I do not follow the commandments written on stone, but I follow him who displayed those commandments in living, breathing human form.

Hal: One major contention in discussions about the Ten Commandments is keeping the Sabbath day. The problem is that there were different sabbaths.

Tim: Yes. We would not say the Sabbath has been scrapped, we would say it’s been fulfilled. God said that he installed his king upon Zion, his holy mountain. We’re examining how the 1st century church looked at this. They were adamant that the mountain where Christians dwell is not a mountain of thunder, lightning, darkness, gloom, whirlwind, and trumpets. We dwell where God has installed his king! We are just looking at Mount Zion in a sampling of the psalms that mention Mount Zion.

Let’s look at Psalm 9 starting with verse seven.

But the Lord sits as King forever;
He has established His throne for judgment,
⁸ And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.
⁹ The Lord will also be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;

Let’s remind ourselves how Zion was considered back in the days of David. When David captured it, it was a fort or a stronghold. This is why the image continues to pop up in the psalms.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
Declare His deeds among the peoples.
¹² For He who requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the needy.

He is trying to tell those early Christians who are suffering persecution for their faith that they have come to a stronghold in Mount Zion, that is, Christ. To them, God is a fortress who will protect them, watch over them and vindicate them. Zion is also the place where the Lord himself dwells. This fits in with the Gospel where, in Christ, we have been brought into the very presence of the father.

Valori: What do you think verse 14 means when he refers to the “daughter of Zion?”

Tim: I don’t know if I have a detailed answer for you, but when we were in Isaiah 62 and in other psalms, there is a reference to people who would be born in this or that city. There are great blessings to dwelling in your birth city. Being a daughter or a child of Zion was considered special.

Valori: There is also the reference in Galatians 4 about the two women being the two covenants.

Tim: Yes! The one who was born to the free woman, which being the heavenly Jerusalem was free. It says a lot about birthright.

Roger: Of course, for the first-century Christians, this freedom was for those who put their trust in Christ and not those who kept the Old Covenant law.

Ty: A couple of things I saw. The first is that we can trust God because he is the holy one up on Mount Zion. The other is that he will not forsake you in Christ. The law winds up condemning us. The law cannot give life.

Tim: Excellent! This is what comes of finding Christ in the psalms.

Roger: It is evident how mutually exclusive the two covenants are. When you see that, you want to ask the same question Paul asked to the Galatians, “You who want to be under the law, don’t you listen to the law?”

Tim: What is so appealing about coming to a mountain full of darkness, thunder, lightning, and judgment?

Ty: Moses tells them in the song of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:16 ff.) that they were going to fail under those circumstances. It is a prediction of their failure.

Roger: By the way, I still believe that what Paul said to Timothy where he told him to study to show himself approved, a workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, that he is encouraging him to keep the covenants distinct. The Old Covenant was true for a time until it grew old and disappeared. We are not arguing about its truth, we’re arguing about whether it is still applicable. We divide the word of truth by not talking about the law of Moses written on tablets, but of Christ written on our hearts.

Tim: Yes, this passage is glorious declaring that we have nothing more to do with Mount Sinai. Most folks who read the Old Testament really get into the commandments about keeping the Sabbath or wearing the tassels. If anyone wants to, that’s fine, but it’s not necessary. The idea that, if I don’t do those things I’ll be in disobedience to God and under the curse, is gone under the new covenant. I am glad we dwell on Mount Zion!

Let’s look at Psalm 14 –

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is no one who does good.
² The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek God.
³ They have all turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴ Do all the workers of injustice not know,
Who devour my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?
⁵ There they are in great dread,
For God is with a righteous generation.
⁶ You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
But the Lord is his refuge.

⁷ Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

The Psalm first describes the nature of humanity. This passage saying there is no one who seeks God, all have become corrupt,” is also cited by Paul in Romans. The author of Hebrews could have this in mind describing the culture that is persecuting the Christians because of their love for Christ.

He encourages them by describing Zion, the mountain they have come to. Zion is described as the place of salvation where the Lord will restore the fortunes of his people. This is a contrast to Mount Sinai which is a place of fear and terror.

It’s also unfortunate that futurists put this off as something yet to come. It was rich encouragement to those being persecuted before the destruction of the temple. If this is something that God has already accomplished in Jesus, then we have a great foundation for believing in the faithfulness of God, not because we are waiting for him to do something, but because he has faithfully done what he promised.

Ty: What do futurists have left for the present time? How do they explain all the bad things that are happening now? That would seem to be a problem they have.

Tim: I saw a meme of a woman squinting at all the tragedies going on in the world. The caption said she was trying to figure out which chapter of Revelation was being fulfilled. It’s a commentary on the anxiety that people have about the future, but if all these things are fulfilled, if the devil is thrown into the lake of fire, and the judgment is passed, then wouldn’t that be a good thing?

Valori: If there’s nothing left, then preachers don’t have anyone and anything to blame for the bad things going on in the world.

Roger: It only takes one generation to fail and pass on understanding here. If we don’t pass on good information to the next generation, then that generation will lose it. It takes somebody like John L. Bray going to a bunch of old libraries and finding out what these old writers believed and bringing it back to the world.

Tim: We were told at one time that nobody in history believed this way. That only proves that somebody hasn’t studied history.

Roger: If you begin a study saying this has never been taught in history, then you’re never going to find it when it’s right in front of your face.

Tim: It’s interesting to ponder that the history we are drawing from to understand the Gospel covers only about forty years from the ministry of Jesus until Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70. That covers the time that Debbie and I have been married! It is a lot of history when you consider our moving from Texas to Colorado, having children, raising them, and then having grandchildren, but in that span of time two thousand years ago, the church was formed, and a message emerged that changed the world. New Testament is really a tiny collection of writings when you consider forty years of history.