Do Not Refuse The Admonition Of The Lord!

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: 26 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. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.”

This reference in Hebrews 12 is looking back to a prophecy given by the prophet Haggai in 2:6-9. 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; 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. 8The 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.”

God's promise was for a shaking of all things that can be shaken, all things earthly so that things eternal shall remain. Both point to a yet future time when all things created will be separated from those things eternal.

Haggai was the first prophetic voice to be heard following the exile of God's people in Babylon. His mission was to call the people to finish the Temple. Work on the Temple had faltered and the people turned inward to their own perceived needs. Haggai chided the people for living in their “ceiled houses” while the Temple was left unfinished. His call was “consider your ways.” God's warning was that He would bring their prosperity to naught because His house laid waste. The Lord stirred them up and they finished the Temple. This restored Temple was nothing compared to the Temple that Solomon built and the elders were reminded of that when they looked upon the new structure.

However, God reiterated His covenant with Israel in Haggai 2:5, “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 He is looking into the future in v6-9 when He will fully restore the nation in their promised land given to their father Abraham. The Hebrews writer gives greater clarity to this passage in Heb. 12:27, “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.” Once again “...I will shake the heavens, and the earth..,” Haggai 2:6. 

This prophecy points to the future fulfillment and restoration of Israel at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Haggai 2:7, “...I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come:..” Jesus Christ is the desire of all nations that should come. At the Second Advent, Jesus Christ will establish the Kingdom of God on the earth and rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem. and “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former..,” Haggai 2:9. Then, the prophecy of Haggai will be fulfilled. Former things will pass away and ALL things will become new in Him.

The shaking referred to by Haggai and the writer of Hebrews refers to a time of separation. A time when the earthly will be separated from the eternal, the good from the bad, the wheat and tares, the harvest and the chaff. The end result being the establishment of the literal, eternal Kingdom of God to be ever-present with the redeemed of God. 

Make sure that you have built upon the rock. When this shaking comes, only the redeemed of Christ will survive! Matthew 7:24, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Do Not Refuse The Admonition Of God!