A common “proof-text” against the Latter-day Saint belief in a Great Apostasy is that of Heb 12:28. The verse reads:
Therefore, since we
receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we
may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. (NASB)
Critics who use this verse against
Latter-day Saints assume a number of things, such as the “kingdom” being the
Church and that the reception thereof by believers was a present reality when
Hebrews was written (sometime in the 60s), among other things. However, such
assumptions are simply false.
A recent work on eschatology provides a
lot of meaningful exegetical insight into what the text is actually talking
about, including the passage's use of Hag 2:6 (LXX):
The Unshakeable Kingdom (Heb 12:28)
In Heb 12:28 the
writers infers what God's transformation of the cosmos means for believers and
exhorts them to respond appropriately. He writes, "Therefore, since we are
receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we
offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe" (διὸ βασιλείαν ἀσάλευτον
παραλαμβάνοντες ἔχωμεν χάριν, δι᾽ ἧς λατρεύωμεν εὐαρέστως τῷ θεῷ μετὰ εὐλαβείας
καὶ δέους).
Most interpreters
struggle to identify how the writer's flow of thought moves from 12:26-27 to
12:28a. As Lane comments, "It is not immediately apparent to a modern
reader that there is an allusion to the reception of 'an unshakable kingdom' in
the quotation of Hag 2:6 (LXX) or its interpretation in v. 27" (Lane, Hebrews,
2:484). As a result, scholars propose several OT texts as the background of
12:28a in order to explain this movement (Cff. Pss 46:4-7 [45:5-8 LXX]; 93:1
[92:1]; 95:9-10 [95:9-10]; 125:1-2 [124:1-2]; Dan 5:31; 7:14, 18, 27; Hag
2:21-23. For a discussion see Lane, Hebrews 2:484-86; Michael, Hebräer,
326; Vanhoye, "L'οικουμενη," 248-53.). Many of the suggestions
probably contribute to the writer's thought at some level. However, if we
attend to the underlying story of Hebrews, the connection becomes clear. The
writer has already spoken of God promising to give faithful humanity an
"unshakable kingdom" (without using those exact words) in 2:5-8b:
5 Now God did not
subject the coming world, about which we are speaking to angels. 6
But someone has testified elsewhere,
"What are human
beings that you are mindful of them,
or mortals, that you
care for them?
7 You have made them
for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them
with glory and honor,
8 subjecting all
things under their feet."
Now in subjecting all
things to them, God left nothing outside their control.
This, of course, is
primarily a citation of Ps 8:4-6 (8:5-7 LXX). It is important to recognize
that: (1) the writer of Hebrews reads Ps 8 as an unfulfilled prophecy
concerning the world to come, and (2) Heb 12:26-27 is the event that will bring
Ps 8 to fulfillment. Thus, Heb 12:26-27 not only depicts God's transformation
of the cosmos as all things are subjected to the Son, it also implies that the
Son will share his reign over the world to come with faithful humanity.
The fact that
believers "are receiving" (παραλαμβάνοντες) a kingdom does not
indicate that they actually possess the kingdom during this age (So
Montefiore, Hebrews, 236; Spicq, Hébreux, 2:413. Attridge seems
to think that believers already possess this kingdom in fullness (Hebrews,
382). But this does not take into account the promise-fulfillment dimension of
the kingdom). The writer concludes this very point when he states, "we do
not yet see all things in subjection to them" (2:8c). Instead, the present
continuous aspect of the participle παραλαμβάνοντες suggests that the faithful
are in the process of "receiving" their kingdom (So Lane, Hebrews,
2:484). This process has already begun because of the work of Jesus. The writer
continues, "but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower
than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of
death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone"
(2:9). Thus, Jesus is the one who has championed the cause of the faithful,
having gone before them as their "pioneer." He will ultimately lead
faithful humanity to glory, honor, and dominion over all things (2:10-18). When
the Son's "enemies" are finally overthrown (1:13; 10:13), then the
faithful will receive their kingdom as "brothers and sisters" of the
exalted Jesus, the heir of "all things" (1:2; 2:10-18).
With the promise of
an "unshakable kingdom" as a ground, the writer exhorts his readers
that the appropriate response is gratitude, "let us give thanks, by which
we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe" (12:28b).
This call to worship may allude to Ps 96:9-10 (95:9-10 LXX), "Do obeisance
[προσκυνησατε] to the Lord in his holy court; let all the earth shake
[σαλευθητω] from before him. Say among the nations, 'The Lord became king
[εβασιλευσεν]! Indeed, he set right the world [την οικουμενην], which shall not
be shaken [ου σαλευθηεσται]; he will judge the peoples with forthrightness.'".
This is the suitable response to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. (Ryan P.
Juza, The New Testament and the Future of the Cosmos [Eugene, Oreg.:
Pickwick Publications, 2020], location 6714-6757 of 13978 in the Kindle edition;
emphasis in bold added)