Sermon #  90                                                                    Hebrews Notes

 

      Title:               Once More, O Lord, Once More!

      Text:               Hebrews 12:26-27

      Readings:       Bob Poncer & Larry Brown

      Subject:          The Shaking of Heaven and Earth

      Date:               Tuesday Evening—August 20, 2002

      Tape #       X-18a

      Introduction:

 

As we anticipate and try to prepare for our conference next week, it is my heart’s earnest desire and prayer that our God might be pleased to speak, speak powerfully to our hearts by the preaching of the Gospel. Oh, that he would so speak as to yet once more shake heaven and earth. Let us seek grace that we may hear him speaks from heaven. We must not take this great opportunity and this great responsibility lightly.

 

(Hebrews 12:25)  "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven."

 

O Lord, our God, do yet, once more, speak from heaven! And give us grace to hear your voice, for Christ’s sake. Speak to us, even now, and cause us to hear your Word.

 

Our text tonight is Hebrews 12:26-28.

 

(Hebrews 12:26-27)  "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. (27) And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

 

Paul is here referring us to the prophecy of Haggai. He means for us to understand that there is only one more shaking after the time of Haggai. The shaking he speaks of is not a physical, material thing (though it certainly includes all things physical—2 Pet. 3), but a moral and spiritual shaking. It is a shaking that began with our Lord’s first advent, continues throughout this gospel age, and will be consummated in his glorious second coming. It is a work both of God’s wrath upon those who refuse to hear his Word, upon those who despise his Gospel, and of his great mercy, love and grace upon his elect, whom he causes to hear his Word, whom he makes willing to receive, believe, and delight in his gospel.

 

The Lord our God will shake and remove every thing that is natural, transitory, temporal and perishable, not merely the old Mosaic dispensation, but also every human thought and power that is opposed to Christ, his Gospel, his Church, his Kingdom, and his dominion. This shaking is the thrice repeated overturning of all things in his creation that are opposed to God our Savior and his people.

 

(Ezek. 21:27)  I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

 

(Isa. 13:13)  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

 

(Joel 3:16)  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

 

(Mt. 24:29)  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

 

But that which that which cannot be shaken, the church and kingdom of God, the faith of God’s elect, the blessed hope of the Gospel, shall remain.

 

Let’s go back to the Book of Haggai (the third from the last in the Old Testament), and see what the Lord teaches us from this ancient prophecy, a prophecy written more than 500 years before Christ came into the world (about 520 BC), about what we should expect him to do in our day.

Haggai was, from all accounts, born in Babylon during the time of the Babylonian Captivity. He came to Jerusalem as an old man. The Temple at Jerusalem, the House of God, laid in utter ruin, and the people were in utter despair. Though the Lord had brought them out of Babylon, they were reluctant to go to work rebuilding the Temple. Cyrus, their deliverer (a type of Christ) had told them to do it. But they didn’t believe God.

They were content just to be out of Babylon. They had lost all hope of God visiting them again. Oh, they looked for him to visit the earth again and make his house glorious again, just not in their day. (Sound like anyone you know?)We see this in the opening words of Haggai’s prophecy.

(Haggai 1:2)  "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built."

So the Lord God sent his prophet Haggai to his people. Haggai’s name comes from a word that means “Merry,” or “Feasting.” It might even be translating “Time of Feasting,” or “The Feasts of the Lord.”

Proposition: God sent Haggai to his people to encourage them to believe him and build his house, assuring them that he would make it glorious.

He rebukes them by telling them twice in chapter 1, “Consider your ways! Consider your ways!” Then, we read in verse 8…

(Haggai 1:8)  "Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD."

 

In other words—Put your shoulder to the work!

Then (vv. 12-14) God raised up Zerubbababel (another type of Christ), who inspired “the remnant of the people to obey the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.” Before, while looking at themselves, they feared to believe God. Now, looking away from themselves to him, they feared not to believe him! And, we read in verse 14, “They came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” They put their shoulders to the work.

Still, there were some old, old people in their midst who had seen the Temple in its former glory. In their eyes, this new Temple was “nothing in comparison” (2:3). Lest they should give up, God sent Haggai to them again with words of gracious encouragement.

(Haggai 2:4-5)  "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not."

 

Now, against this backdrop, the Lord God gave the promise to his ancient people which he has repeated to us in Hebrews 12:26-27.

 

(Haggai 2:6-9)  "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. (9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts."

 

(Hebrews 12:26-27)  "Whose voice then (at the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai) shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. (27) And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

 

Let us not despise the days of small things. God’s hand is not short. His ear is not heavy. So long as the Lord our King on his holy, sovereign throne, he will both sustain us in our work for him and make our work effectual and fruitful for the building of his true Temple, his true House, and the glory of it!

So long as Christ is King and Shepherd upon his throne we will lack nothing in the service of his Kingdom. He will provide the means of building his house and filling His temple with the splendor and glory of his grace.

I. First, the Lord speaks of the shaking of the nations (v. 6).

(Haggai 2:6)  "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land"

Here, as in Hebrews 12, the Lord is reminding the people of the time when He shook the world when He descended upon Mt. Sinai and gave the law to Moses (Exodus 19:16-20; Heb. 12:26). But the Lord here speaks of a time when the shaking of the world would be far more violent and would affect the heavens and the earth. All nations would be affected and even the islands of the sea by this shaking. This is a prophecy of Christ’s coming into the world. Yet, it reaches beyond his incarnation, spans all  time, from the time of his first advent to the time of his glorious second advent. This “shaking” is a herald, a prophecy of the coming of the Lord to judge the nations of the earth. It is talking about the whole gospel age.

(Isaiah 24:18-23)  "And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. (19) The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. (20) The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. (21) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. (22) And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. (23) Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously."

 

(Isaiah 13:13)  "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger."

 

(Ezekiel 33:19-33)  "But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. (20) Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. (21) And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. (22) Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. (23) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (24) Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. (25) Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? (26) Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? (27) Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. (28) For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. (29) Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. (30) Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. (31) And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. (32) And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. (33) And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them."

 

(Joel 3:15-21)  "The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. (16) The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (17) So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. (18) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. (19) Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. (20) But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. (21) For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion."

 

Haggai seems to see the whole universe in convulsions that effect every nation. Peter speaks of the same thing in 2 Peter 3:10-13.

 

(2 Peter 3:10-13)  "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (11) Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, (12) Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

When God shakes the heavens and the earth, nothing in the universe will ever be the same again. He will break the power of the nations. The ultimate fulfillment of this passage will be, as I have said repeatedly, at the second Coming of Christ. Look at Haggai 2:21-23.

(Haggai 2:21-23)  "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; (22) And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. (23) In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts."

 

II. But, it is terribly erroneous to look upon this as only a prophecy of our Lord’s second advent. This is a promise and prophecy of God’s work today by the gospel.

Our great God is the absolute sovereign of the universe. He establishes, uses and overthrows all the powers and kingdoms of the universe, at his will, for the building of his House, for the salvation of his people. He is sovereign over the nations. Wars and revolutions are nothing but His shaking of the Gentiles. The Lord God reigns. He uses these cosmic events to accomplish His redemptive purpose.

(Haggai 2:7)  "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts."

 

A. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that One of Whom the prophet here speaks.—He is “the Desire of all nations.”

 

(Genesis 49:10)  "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."

 

(Malachi 3:1)  "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."

B. Coming to Christ, God’s elect from the four corners of the earth, the whole Israel of God, come together as one.

Thus, as Calvin suggested, “the nations will come, bringing with them all their riches, that they might offer themselves and all their possessions as a sacrifice to God.”

The word “desire” could be translated “consolation.” The Gentile nations will come to Christ, the Desire of all nations, the Messiah. He is the object of desire in the renewed heart, that in which a man finds pleasure, joy, consolation and value.

Both Isaiah and Micah speak of all nations flowing to the mountain of God to worship him and hear His Word. Christ is the one in whom the nations find their treasure and riches. He is the “Pearl of Great Price.”

That shaking spoken of in Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12 is followed by this result, or produces this effect, God’s elect are gathered from all nations, tongues, and peoples to fill his house and make it glorious, far more glorious than the Temple of old.

(Isaiah 40:9-11)  "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! (10) Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. (11) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

 

(Micah 4:1-2)  "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. (2) And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."

III. Third, the Lord God speaks of the great glory of his house (vv. 8-9). The result of all this shaking of the universe will be the filling of the Temple with the glory of the Lord.

(Haggai 2:8-9)  "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. (9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts."

A. The silver and the gold of the entire world belongs to our God.

What is the significance of that statement?

·        Our God is the Possessor of all things.

·        God’s Church and Kingdom shall never lack anything. His cause, his Church, his Gospel is never in lack of supply and is never dependent upon anything outside himself.

·        When God saves his people, they sell all they have for the Pearl of Great Price. They bring all they possess into his house (Acts 5).

B. The glory of God’s house since the coming of Christ far exceeds and forever shall exceed, by infinite measure, the glory of the former house.—That house was shaken and destroyed. This house cannot be shaken.

Haggai’s prophecy began to be fulfilled when Christ was brought into the Temple after his birth (Luke 2:21-38). It was more fully fulfilled when he came into the Temple and cleansed it. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple when they were dedicated. The type began to be fulfilled when the Lord God came to His temple in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Malachi spoke of in Malachi 3:1.

The prophet Malachi wrote in 3:1, “Behold I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.”

Christ himself, as the incarnate Word, in whom the “glory of the Lord” was and is beheld, in whom the glory of the Lord is, fulfilled Haggai’s prophecy, when came into the temple. He brought a greater glory to the Temple with His divine presence, not in symbolic form, but true divine glory.

B. The glorification of the house of God commenced with the Incarnate Son of God and will reach it consummation when He returns.

(Hebrews 12:26-27)  "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. (27) And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

 

(Revelation 21:10-11)  "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (11) Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;"

 

(Revelation 21:22-24)  "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (23) And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (24) And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it."

C. Now, look at the last sentence of Haggai 2:9.—“In this place I will give peace.”

(Psalms 72:17)  "His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed."

 

(Isaiah 9:7)  "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

 

(Isaiah 66:12)  "For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees."

 

(Luke 2:14)  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Christ is the glory of God. He is the Prince of Peace. In him alone sinners find peace.

·        The Peace of Pardon.

·        The Peace of Reconciliation.

·        The Peace of God’s Approval.

·        The Peace of God’s Blessing.

·        The Peace of Glory!

The Prince of Peace is one who brings peace to Jerusalem. When He reigns as sovereign the world will know true peace. Note the parallel passages (Mic. 5:4; Joel 4:17; Isa. 60:18). Jesus came to give us perfect peace. Cf. Isa. 9:7; 66:12; Ps. 72:17; Lk. 2:14.

Haggai makes an astonishing promise: “The glory of the latter house shall be greater than that of the former one” (v. 9). At the second coming of Christ Haggai’s will be fully accomplished and fully realized. Jesus Christ will be the desire of all the nations of the world. He alone can change the hearts of men. His is a kingdom that will not be shaken (Heb. 12:26-28). The glory and honor of the Gentile nations will be brought into it (Rev. 21:24, 26). The promise will be fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, where “the dwelling of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3; 22). And this shall be God’s work alone.

(Zechariah 4:6-7)  "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it."

IV. Still, there is more. Between the first and second advents of Christ, throughout this Gospel Age, the Lord God continually shakes the nations.

Christ, “the Desire of all nations,” comes. He fills his house with glory. In this place, here, in the house of God, in the Temple of God, here, he has promised, “In this place will I give peace!

 

·        Pentecost

·        Reformation

·        Great Awakening

·        The Conversion of a Sinner.

 

It is my prayer that he will be pleased, now, to come, fill his house with glory, the very glory of God, gathering sinners to himself, and give peace!

 

(Psalms 80:1)  "To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth."

 

(Psalms 80:3-4)  "Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. (4) O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?"

 

(Psalms 80:7)  "Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved."

 

(Psalms 80:14)  "Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;"

 

(Psalms 80:17-19)  "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. (18) So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. (19) Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved."

 

(Isaiah 64:1-2)  "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. (2) As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!"

 

(Zechariah 4:6-7)  "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it."

 

Once more, O Lord, once more, shake heaven and earth! Once more, O Lord, once more, come and fill your house with glory!

 

Amen.