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Hebrews 12:26 (DRB):

26Whose voice then moved the earth; but now he promiseth, saying: Yet once more: and I will move, not only the earth, but heaven also.

Hebrews 9:28 (DRB):

28So also Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many. The second time he shall appear without sin to them that expect him unto salvation.

Is there a connection between Hebrews 12:26 and Hebrews 9:28 and the second coming of Christ?, If yes, then, what is this connection?

Did He appear the first time with Sin, hence, He moved the Earth, the second time He shall appear without Sin, hence, He shall move Heaven?. Just query.

The second coming will be for Judgement or Salvation or both, Judgement and Salvation?

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  • The two passages are unrelated. The former contrasts the revelation given at Sinai (as can be glimpsed from the preceding verses) with that of the New Testament, whereas the latter contrasts Christ's two comings.
    – Lucian
    May 14, 2020 at 15:00

3 Answers 3

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Hebrews 12:25-29, NKJV

“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, how much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’ Now this, ‘Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”

The writer is drawing from the words of Haggai 2:6-10, 21 and issuing an admonition to his readers who are believers, not to refuse to hear the word of God. This really has nothing to do with the second advent. The writer first equates the authority of the One who spoke on earth – Jesus, to that of the One who spoke in time past from heaven. This seems to refer to the giving of the law at Sinai. The admonition given by the Hebrew writer carries a warning – there will be no escape if we refuse to hear the word of God, not then and not now, not for them and not for us.

Haggai 2:6-10, 21, NKJV

“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

21-23

“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: ‘I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

The things shaken (heaven and earth), is metaphoric language to describe the shaking of nations. In other words, God was moving, overthrowing, and setting up nations throughout human history to fulfill his will for the coming of their Messiah. This is how the language is applied in Haggai. “I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms.” Throughout the course of human history, nations rose and fell according to the will of God. One need only read the book of Daniel to see how God said he was manipulating the nations of the world for his own purposes, and Haggai was one of the prophets during the time of the construction of Zerubbabel's temple while all of this history was in the process of taking shape. What this tells us is that human history does not just happen. Human history is not the product or human will or direction. Human history is the product of the will and direction of God for his own purposes.

Here, Haggai spoke of things yet to come from his perspective. The Hebrew writer quotes from Haggai confirming that the words of the prophet were been fulfilled in his time through “Him who spoke on earth.” The “Yet once more” is clearly defined by the Hebrew writer in verse 28 as the kingdom we “are receiving” that “cannot be shaken.” Παραλαμβάνοντες is an active present participle which means the Hebrew writer was making a present application, not a future application, of the prophets words. The end result of the shaking of heaven and earth was the redemption of people out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, Rev. 5:9.

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For Heb 12:26, and Heb 9:28, apart from the fact that both are discussing the second advent of Jesus, there is no direct literary connection between the two. That is, they do not share any significant phrases.

Heb 9:28 has been discussed quite capably in another question: Hebrews 9:28, what is the accurate translation of this phrase?

For Heb 12:26, the prominent feature is the earthquake. Certainly, an earthquake accompanied Jesus death (Matt 27:54) and Jesus' resurrection (Matt 28:2). Earthquakes are also prominent in Rev 6:12, 8:5, 11:13, 16:18 and appear to mirror their occurrence in the OT (eg, 1 Sam 14:15, 1 Kings 19:12, Isa 29:6, Eze 3:12, 13, etc); that earthquakes appear to accompany the personal presence and intervention of God.

Thus, Heb 12:26 describing both the shaking of the earth and the heavens is echoed in Rev 6:14, "The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place." This describes events around the time of Jesus (the Lamb) appearing on the throne. (See also Matt 24:27-31)

As to the question about the purpose of Jesus second Advent, whether for salvation or judgement or both - that should be the subject of another, separate question. Suffice to say here that there is Scriptural support for both.

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It appears that the question sees a possible connection:

Voice #1: "move earth" at the giving of Torah Voice #2: "move heaven" not accomplished

Appearance #1: "move earth" by making a new covenant Appearance #2: "move heaven" by rescuing Christians from their current persecution

I'm of the opinion that the scriptures are written in double speak. That is, the intention of every assertion made in the scriptures is, by honest readers, disputable and absolute certainty about anything within those pages belongs only to fools.

That being said, I think the parallel is reasonable, even if not "the right answer".

Now, this is metaphor. We're not talking about disturbing the orbs of space:

...Where Heaven and Earth Was for First-Century Jews

Jews did not always mean “the physical universe” when they spoke of heaven and earth together. In Jewish literature, the Temple was a portal connecting heaven and earth. They called it the “navel of the earth” and the “gateway to heaven” (Jub 8:19; 1 Enoch 26:1). Just like the Mesopotamian Tower in Genesis 11, the Temple connected God’s realm to where humans lived.

To reflect this belief, the Jerusalem Temple had been built to look like a microcosm of the universe. We typically overlook how literally true the Temple hymn preserved in Psalm 78:69 is: "He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded for ever." The actual holy place and most holy place inside the Temple building were constructed like earth and heaven. The courts outside represented the sea. I am not making this stuff up.

According to Josephus, two parts of the tabernacle were "approachable and open to all“ but one was not. He explains that in so doing Moses "signifies the earth and the sea, since these two are accessible to all; but the third portion he reserved for God alone because heaven is inaccessible to men" (Ant. 3:181, cf. 3:123). The veil between’ the accessible and inaccessible parts of the Temple was designed to represent the entire material world during Jesus’ day. Josephus and Philo agree that the veil was composed of four materials representing the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire (War 5:212-213; Ant. 3:138-144; Quaestiones in Exodum 2:85, cf. Mos 2:88). Heaven was beyond this material world. It was behind the curtain.

Outside the Temple’s microcosm of “heaven and earth,” the courts looked like the sea. Numbers Rabbah 13:19 records, "The court surrounds the temple just as the sea surrounds the world." In Talmudic tradition, Rabbis described how the inner walls of the Temple looked like waves of the sea (b. Sukk. 51b, b.B.Bat. 4a). From heaven and earth inside the temple, you looked out at the sea surrounding the world. Why? Ancients believed the earth had one giant land mass surrounded by sea. The temple reflected that cosmology. The accessible section of the Temple and the surrounding courts embodied both the land mass and sea believed to comprise the earth. The Most Holy Place was heaven where God's presence resided...

Jubilees 8:19: And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the Lord, and Mount Sinai the centre of the desert, and Mount Zion -the centre of the navel of the earth: these three were created as holy places facing each other.

Read in this context, the Hebrews comment is saying that Jesus' first coming was a very mundane effort, to regather the lost sheep of Israel into an earthly community while his second coming (which occurred circa 70ad in the form of a civil war with Rome) resulted in the destruction of the 2nd temple and severe covenantal changes (IE: the end of the age of the physical temple based Jewish specific theocracy and the establishment of the Kingdom of God aka the body of Christ aka the new Jerusalem aka the new creation aka the new humanity, etc.

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