Hebrews 12:26

26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. ^[a]

Hebrews 12:26 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 12:26

Whose voice then shook the earth
That is, at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai: Christ was then present; his voice was then heard; which was either the voice of thunder, or the voice of the trumpet, or rather the voice of words: this shook the earth, Sinai, and the land about it, and the people on it; which made them quake and tremble, even Moses himself; see ( Exodus 19:18 ) ( Psalms 68:8 )

but now he hath promised, saying
in ( Haggai 2:6 )

yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven;
not only the land of Judea, and particularly Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of it, who were all shaken, and moved, and troubled at the news of the birth of the Messiah, the desire of all nations, the prophet Haggai speaks of, ( Matthew 2:2 Matthew 2:3 ) but the heaven also; by prodigies in it, as the appearance of a wonderful star, which guided the wise men from the east; and by the motions of the heavenly inhabitants, the angels, who descended in great numbers, and made the heavens resound with their songs of praise, on account of Christ's incarnation, ( Matthew 2:2 ) ( Luke 2:10 Luke 2:13 Luke 2:14 ) . How the apostle explains and applies this, may be seen in the next verse.

Hebrews 12:26 In-Context

24 to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the [blood] of Abel.

25 See that you do not reject the One who speaks; for if they did not escape when they rejected Him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven.

26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.

27 Now this expression, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what is not shaken might remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe;

Footnotes

• [a]. Hg 2:6