In my opinion, it is a grave error to read “going to heaven” or “going to hell” into the book of Hebrews. The author of Hebrews is encouraging his first century audience to persevere in their confidence that Jesus will soon1Heb. 10:37
lead them into “the world to come” ( Heb. 2:5). In fact, he says that “the world to come,” is the subject of his message – “the world to come, whereof we speak “( Heb. 2:5). Dr. Kenneth Wuest says that, “The word ‘world’ is the translation of Oikoumene, literally, ‘the inhabited earth,’ here the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah.”2 Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, p. 54). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Dr. Thomas Constable agrees with this understanding and says, “‘The world to come’ refers to the inhabited earth under Jesus Christ’s reign (during the Millennium and from then on; cf. Heb. 1:8-9, 1:11-13).”3Constable So the focus of the book of Hebrews is “the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah.” It is Christ’s earthly rule, in His Millennial Kingdom, and not heaven or hell that is in authors mind as he encourages his readers to “go on unto perfection”4completeness – Vincent says refers to, “full Christian manhood.” (Heb. 6:1).5It is important to note that unregenerate non-Christians cannot mature in Christ. The Millennial Kingdom is also the, “so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us [i.e. the author and his audience.] by them that heard him” (Heb. 2:3). More specifically, “The great salvation means lordship of the world to be.”6Word Studies in the New Testament by Marvin R. Vincent, D.D. Hebrews 2:5 We now have an added dimension to the authors vision. It is his the author’s desire that his audience might have a lordship role in the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah. The author warns the Hebrews not to neglect this so great salvation (2:3). It is important to note that, “The neglected salvation is not our final deliverance from hell, that is not the salvation ‘about which we are speaking’ [2:5] Rather, it is the opportunity to enter into the final destiny of man, to reign with Christ over the works of God’s hands (Heb. 2:8-9).”7Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, p, 131. George N. H. Peters adds this: “Salvation includes far more than moral and bodily regeneration, for it embraces the covenanted kingdom of God, the inheritance of David’s Son, the joint-heirship and reign with Christ.”8George N. H. Peters, 3:451 It is this “joint-heirship and reign with Christ” in His Kingdom [“the inheritance of David’s Son”] is what is at risk if the Hebrews “draw back unto perdition” (Heb. 10:39). What does it mean to draw back unto perdition? Dr. Thomas Constable says that to draw back unto perdition does “not result in the loss of eternal salvation but the loss of some eternal reward [emphasis mine].9Notes on Hebrews 2021 Edition Dr. Thomas L. Constable. https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/hebrews/hebrews.htm. That eternal reward is the “joint-heirship and reign with Christ” in His Kingdom. There is more at stake but we can see where the book of Hebrews is headed at this point.
Dr. Marvin R. Vincent says that, “The writer’s object is to show that the salvation, the new order of things inaugurated by Christ, is in pursuance of the original purpose of creation, to wit, that universal dominion was to pertain to man, and not to angels. The great salvation means lordship of the world to be.”10Word Studies in the New Testament (M. R. Vincent). Hebrews 2:5
Charles Welch says that, “Reaching maturity or the goal, through trial and discipline, or missing it, is the essence of this letter. For the Israel redeemed from Egypt, the goal was Canaan; for the Hebrew believer to whom the Hebrew epistle was addressed, it was the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 11:10,14-16; 12:22), which finally finds its location on the new earth (Rev. 21:10).”
We look for such a habitation as well, namely, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1; Rev_21:9-27).
“The writer of Hebrews uses seven eschatological passages in Heb. 1:5-14 to demonstrate Jesus’ right to rule in the coming millennial kingdom. Because of this extensive quoting from six psalms and 2 Samuel 7, the term soteria (‘salvation’) in Heb. 1:14 is best understood in the Old Testament sense as deliverance from the enemies of Yahweh and participation in His kingdom.” [Note: T. Kem Oberholtzer, “The Warning Passages in Hebrews,” Bibliotheca Sacra 145:577 (January-March 1988):96-97.]
Eschatological references include ‘the world to come’ (2:5); ‘the age to come’ (6:5); ‘the good things to come’ (9:11; 10:1); ‘the consummation of the ages’ (9:26); Christ’s ‘appear[ance] a second time’ (9:28); ‘the day drawing near’ (10:25); and the repeated exhortations to hold firmly to ‘our hope’ and ‘assurance … until the end’ (3:6,14; 6:1;10:23).11The Eschatology of the Warning in Hebrews 10:26–31 Randall C. Gleason
References