Hebrews 12:27

And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain.

Many commentators on Hebrews refer repeatedly to the works of Philo, inferring in some cases that ideas in Hebrews are borrowed from him; but this verse refutes the so-called connection of Hebrews with the works of Philo. The eternity of matter is a theory rejected totally by the inspired author of Hebrews. The great earthquake that shall mark the dissolution of the earth and all that is in it is not merely a possibility, but a certainty; and the basis for that certainty is that it has "been made"! It is not eternal, but a THING, created by Almighty God to serve a purpose, and certain to be removed when that purpose is fulfilled. Thus, as he nears the end of his epistle, the author again emphasizes the great truth he stated in the first chapter (Hebrews 1:10-12), namely, that the world will wear out and be removed, like a garment, rolled up; it "shall perish."

Bruce said:

When, in accordance with the divine promise, this cosmic convulsion, takes place - when (in Dryden's words) the last and dreadful hour This crumbling pageant shall devour - the whole material universe will be shaken to pieces, and the only things to survive will be those that are unshakable.[17]

The doctrine of the world's end and the cataclysmic developments associated with it are so forcibly brought to view here, that a little further study of such a theme is due.

THE END OF THE WORLD

The end of the world and its replacement with new heavens and a new earth do not appear to be merely a peripheral concept but a central doctrine of Christianity. The doctrine of the end of the world was bluntly stated in the great commission itself, as enunciated by Jesus, who promised to be with his disciples, "even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Peter spoke at length on the subject, saying, "The earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10) and giving extensive attention to the doctrine of the last things and the fiery judgment of God that shall terminate them in the total dissolution of the material world.

Scientifically, the end of the world must be viewed as a foregone certainty. Whether from the failure of its energies when the sun is at last burned out, or by the cataclysmic engulfment of the earth by the sun, one or the other being certain to come eventually, the earth must be viewed as having a terminator at the end of its course. There can be no scientific projection of an eternity for our earth. The more likely termination of the earth would appear to be in the second contingency mentioned above, and seemingly suggested by the remarkable words of Peter. People cannot know with certainty, or even any degree of probability, what the final fate of the earth may be; but its eventual doom is a basic Christian teaching. It is brought forward here to establish the greater stability, certainty, and unshakableness of the kingdom of Christ which will survive whatever happens.

Projecting some possible understanding of Peter's fiery destruction of the earth as harmonized with the earthquake here connected with that event by the author of Hebrews, one gets the thought of some cosmic force that may shake our earth out of its orbit and bring it into the gravitational field of the sun, where it would be swallowed in fiery death. Regarding the theory of a sudden explosion or expansion of the size of the sun, see this writer's discussion of it in his commentary on Matthew.[18]

[17] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 383.

[18] James Burton Coffman, Commentary on Matthew, (Abilene, Texas: ACU Press, 1968), chapter 28.