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Selected Verse: Hebrews 12:22 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Heb 12:22 |
King James |
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
are come--Greek, "have come near unto" (compare Deu 4:11). Not merely, ye shall come, but, ye have already come.
Mount Sion--antitypical Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, of which the spiritual invisible Church (of which the first foundation was laid in literal Zion, Joh 12:15; Pe1 2:6) is now the earnest; and of which the restored literal Jerusalem hereafter shall be the earthly representative, to be succeeded by the everlasting and "new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven" (Rev. 21:2-27; compare Heb 11:10).
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church--The city of God having been mentioned, the mention of its citizens follows. Believers being like the angels (Job 1:6; Job 38:7), "sons of God," are so their "equals" (Luk 20:36); and being reconciled through Christ, are adopted into God's great and blessed family. For the full completion of this we pray (Mat 6:10). English Version arrangement is opposed: (1) by "and" always beginning each new member of the whole sentence; (2) "general assembly and Church," form a kind of tautology; (3) "general assembly," or rather, "festal full assembly," "the jubilant full company" (such as were the Olympic games, celebrated with joyous singing, dancing, &c.), applies better to the angels above, ever hymning God's praises, than to the Church, of which a considerable part is now militant on earth. Translate therefore, "to myriads (ten thousands, compare Deu 33:2; Psa 68:17; Dan 7:10; Jde 1:14; namely), the full festal assembly of angels, and the Church of the first-born." Angels and saints together constitute the ten thousands. Compare "all angels, all nations" Mat 25:31-32. Messiah is pre-eminently "the First-born," or "First-begotten" (Heb 1:6), and all believers become so by adoption. Compare the type, Num 3:12, Num 3:45, Num 3:50; Pe1 1:18. As the kingly and priestly succession was in the first-born, and as Israel was God's "first-born" (Exo 4:22; compare Exo 13:2), and a "kingdom of priests" to God (Exo 19:6), so believers (Rev 1:6). |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
But ye are come unto Mount Sion - You who are Christians; all who are under the new dispensation. The design is to "contrast" the Christian dispensation with the Jewish. and to show that its excellencies and advantages were far superior to the religion of their fathers. It had more to win the affections; more to elevate the soul; more to inspire with hope. It had less that was terrific and alarming; it appealed less to the fears and more to the tropes of mankind; but still apostasy from this religion could not be less terrible in its consequences than apostasy from the religion of Moses. In the passage before us, the apostle evidently contrasts Sinai with Mount Zion, and means to say that there was more about the latter that was adapted to win the heart and to preserve allegiance than there was about the former. Mount Zion literally denoted the Southern hill in Jerusalem, on which a part of the city was built.
That part of the city was made by David and his successors the residence of the court, and soon the name Zion, was given familiarly to the whole city. Jerusalem was the center of religion in the land; the place where the temple stood, and where the worship of God was celebrated, and where God dwelt by a visible symbol, and it became the type and emblem of the holy abode where He dwells in heaven. It cannot be literally meant here that they had come to the Mount Zion in Jerusalem, for that was as true of the whole Jewish people as of those whom the apostle addressed, but it must mean that they had come to the Mount Zion of which the holy city was an emblem; to the glorious mount which is revealed as the dwelling-place of God, of angels, of saints. That is, they had "come" to this by the revelations and hopes of the gospel. They were not indeed literally in heaven, nor was that glorious city literally on earth, but the dispensation to which they had been brought was what conducted them directly up to the city of the living God, and to the holy mount where he dwelt above. The view was not confined to an earthly mountain enveloped in smoke and flame, but opened at once on the holy place where God abides. By the phrase, "ye are come," the apostle means that this was the characteristic of the new dispensation that it conducted them there, and that they were already in fact inhabitants of that glorious city. They were citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (compare note, Phi 3:20), and were entitled to its privileges.
And unto the city of the living God - The city where the living God dwells - the heavenly Jerusalem; compare notes on Heb 11:10. God dwelt by a visible symbol in the temple at Jerusalem - and to that his people came under the old dispensation. In a more literal and glorious sense his abode is in heaven, and to that his people have now come.
The heavenly Jerusalem - Heaven is not unfrequently represented as a magnificent city where God and angels dwelt; and the Christian revelation discloses this to Christians as certainly their final home. They should regard themselves already as dwellers in that city, and live and act as if they saw its splendor and partook of its joy. In regard to this representation of heaven as a city where God dwells, the following places may be consulted: Heb 11:10, Heb 11:14-16; Heb 12:28; Heb 13:14; Gal 4:26; Rev 3:12; Rev 21:2, 10-27. It is true that Christians have not yet seen that city by the physical eye, but they look to it with the eye of faith. It is revealed to them; they are permitted by anticipation to contemplate its glories, and to feel that it is to be their eternal home. They are permitted to live and act as if they saw the glorious God whose dwelling is there, and were already surrounded by the angels and the redeemed. The apostle does not represent them as if they were expecting that it would be visibly set up on the earth, but as being now actually dwellers in that city, and bound to live and act as if they were amidst its splendors.
And to an innumerable company of angels - The Greek here is, "to myriads (or ten thousands) of angels in an assembly or joyful convocation." The phrase "tens of thousands" is often used to denote a great and indefinite number. The word rendered "general assembly," Heb 12:22 - πανήγυρις panēguris - refers properly to an "assembly, or convocation of the whole people in order to celebrate any public festival or solemnity, as the public games or sacrifices; Robinson's Lexicon. It occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and refers here to the angels viewed as assembled around the throne of God and celebrating his praises. It should be regarded as connected with the word "angels," referring to "their" convocation in heaven, and not to the church of the first-born. This construction is demanded by the Greek. Our common translation renders it as if it were to be united with the church - "to the general assembly and church of the first-born;" but the Greek will not admit of this construction.
The interpretation which unites it with the angels is adopted now by almost all critics, and in almost all the editions of the New Testament. On the convocation of angels, see the notes on Job 1:6. The writer intends, doubtless, to contrast that joyful assemblage of the angels in heaven with those who appeared in the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. God is always represented as surrounded by hosts of angels in heaven; see Deu 33:2; Kg1 22:19; Dan 7:10; Psa 68:17; compare notes, Heb 12:1; see also Rev 5:11; Mat 26:53; Luk 2:13. The meaning is, that under the Christian dispensation Christians in their feelings and worship become united to this vast host of holy angelic beings. it is, of course, not meant that they are "visible," but they are seen by the eye of faith. The "argument" here is, that as, in virtue of the Christian revelation, we become associated with those pure and happy spirits, we should not apostatize from such a religion, for we should regard it as honorable and glorious to be identified with them. |
The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917] |
angels
(See Scofield) - (Heb 1:4). |
Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
The heavenly Jerusalem
See on Gal 4:26. The spiritual mountain and city where God dwells and reigns. Comp. Dante Inf. i. 128:
"Quivi e la sua cittade, e l'alto seggio."
Comp. Psa 2:6; Psa 48:2, Psa 48:3; Psa 50:2; Psa 78:68; Psa 110:2; Isa 18:7; Joe 2:32; Mic 4:1, Mic 4:2; Amo 1:2.
To an innumerable company of angels (μυριάσιν ἀγγέλων)
On this whole passage (Heb 12:22-24) it is to be observed that it is arranged in a series of clauses connected by καὶ. Accordingly μυριάσιν to myriads or tens of thousands stands by itself, and πανηγύρει festal assembly goes with ἀγγέλων angels. Μυριάς (see Luk 12:1; Act 19:19; Rev 5:11; quite often in lxx) is strictly the number ten thousand. In the plural, an innumerable multitude. So A.V. here. Rend. "to an innumerable multitude," placing a comma after μυριάσιν, and connecting of angels with the next clause. This use of μυριάσιν without a qualifying genitive is justified by numerous examples. See Gen 24:60; Deu 32:30; Deu 33:2; Sa1 18:7, Sa1 18:8; Psa 90:7; Sol 5:10; Dan 7:10; Dan 11:12; Sir. 47:6; 2 Macc. 8:20; Jde 1:14. Χιλιάδες thousands is used in the same way. See Isaiah 70:22; Dan 7:10. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
But ye - Who believe in Christ. Are come - The apostle does not here speak of their coming to the church militant, but of that glorious privilege of New Testament believers, their communion with the church triumphant. But this is far more apparent to the eyes of celestial spirits than to ours which are yet veiled. St. Paul here shows an excellent knowledge of the heavenly economy, worthy of him who had been caught up into the third heaven. To mount Sion - A spiritual mountain. To the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem - All these glorious titles belong to the New Testament church. And to an innumerable company - Including all that are afterwards mentioned. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
But ye are come unto mount Sion - In order to enter fully into the apostle's meaning, we must observe,
1. That the Church, which is called here the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and mount Sion, is represented under the notion of a City.
2. That the great assembly of believers in Christ is here opposed to the congregation of the Israelites assembled at Mount Sinai.
3. That the innumerable company of angels is here opposed to, those angels by whom the law was ushered in, Act 7:53; Gal 3:19.
4. That the Gospel first-born, whose names are written in heaven, are here opposed to the enrolled first-born among the Israelites, Exo 24:5, Exo 19:22.
5. That the mediator of the new covenant, the Lord Jesus, is here opposed to Moses, the mediator of the old.
6. And that the blood of sprinkling, of Christ, our High Priest, refers to the act of Moses, Exo 24:8 : "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words."
1. The description in these verses does not refer to a heavenly state; for the terrible nature of the Mosaic dispensation is never opposed to heaven or life eternal, but to the economy of the New Testament.
2. In heaven there is no need of a mediator, or sprinkling of blood; but these are mentioned in the state which the apostle describes.
The heavenly Jerusalem - This phrase means the Church of the New Testament, as Schoettgen has amply proved in his dissertation on this subject.
To an innumerable company of angels - Μυριασιν αγγελων· To myriads, tens of thousands, of angels. These are represented as the attendants upon God, when he manifests himself in any external manner to mankind. When he gave the law at Mount Sinai, it is intimated that myriads of these holy beings attended him. "The chariots of the Lord are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place;" Psa 68:17. And when he shall come to judge the world, he will be attended with a similar company. "Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;" Dan 7:10. In both these cases, as in several others, these seem to be, speaking after the manner of men, the body guard of the Almighty. Though angels make a part of the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem, yet they belong also to the Church below. Christ has in some sort incorporated them with his followers, for "they are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation," and they are all ever considered as making a part of God's subjects. |
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
50 Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.
12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.
11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
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:
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
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.
1 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.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
22 And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.