This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

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In previous posts [read #1; read #2], we spent considerable time exploring John’s vision of New Jerusalem, which the writer of Hebrews describes as “Mount Zion … the city of the living God” (Heb. 12:22). Now, with this setting in view, we may better envision the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem.

First, we see “myriads of angels.” The Greek word translated “myriads” is myrios. It may mean “ten thousand,” as in Jesus’s parable of the unforgiving servant, who owed his master ten thousand talents (Matt. 18:24). It also may mean a large number, as in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, where he tells them, in exaggerated terms, they may have “countless instructors” (myrios paidagogos; 1 Cor. 4:15). Or it may mean a number so large, it cannot be counted; this seems to be the application in Hebrews. 

Angels are created spirit beings who dwell in the unseen realm. Holy angels surround God’s throne in heaven, battle fallen angels in the heavenlies, and come to earth at God’s command as “ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). In his vision of heaven, John sees a vast host of angels: “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands”(Rev. 5:11). Moses tells the Israelites that God came to him from Mount Sinai with “ten thousand holy ones” (Deut. 33:2).

The Bible leaves the total number of angels unspecified. It’s possible there are at least as many angels as there are people, based on Matthew 18:10. There, Jesus says, “See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven.” This seems to suggest that people, or at least children, have guardian angels to protect them. However, it’s possible Jesus is only speaking in general terms about angels’ special care for little ones.

Sometimes, Scripture likens angels to stars (Judg. 5:20; Job 38:7; Dan. 8:10; Rev. 9:1; 12:4). Perhaps, this description tells us both of angels’ brightness as reflectors of God’s glory, and of their vast number. If angels are like stars, they are too numerous to count. The psalmist writes, “God’s chariots are tens of thousands, thousands and thousands; the Lord is among them in the sanctuary as he was at Sinai” (Ps. 68:17). The context of this psalm makes it clear the “chariots” are angels, and there are too many to count.

So, on Mount Zion, we see a host of angels around the throne, engaged in “a festive gathering.” It is the delight of angels to worship God. And while angels often engage in spiritual warfare in the heavenlies, execute God’s judgment on earth, dispense divine messages, or deliver the righteous from danger, they find their greatest joy in standing before the throne in heaven and professing their eternal allegiance to the God who created them.

Perhaps this is one reason holy angels are quick to correct any person who tries to worship them. Twice in the book of Revelation, John falls at the feet of an angel to worship, and twice the angel rebukes him. “Don’t do that!” an angel scolds John. “I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). Later, the apostle again prostrates himself before a heavenly messenger, only to be told once again, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” (Rev. 22:9).

Next, the writer of Hebrews tells us about “the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven.” As noted earlier, this is a reference to the saints of all ages – Old and New Covenant believers. They are the assembly of Christ, who is the firstborn. They belong to him. They have been born again through the blood of Jesus and adopted as sons and daughters by the Holy Spirit into the Father’s family. 

Equally important, their names have been written in heaven. These are the words Jesus uses to encourage the disciples he sends out as lambs among wolves: “However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). 

The words “have been written” in Hebrews translate the Greek apographo, which means to enroll, or enter in a register or record. Specifically, it refers to the entry in public records the names of people, their property, and their income. In a similar manner, God has inscribed the names of believers of all ages into the registry of the heavenly commonwealth. 

Next, we see “a Judge, who is God of all.” The Greek text reads, “to a judge, who is God of all men.” Likely, this is God the Father, for Jesus is mentioned in the next verse. 

The stunning nature of this vision may be lost on 21^st-century Westerners. Ancient Jews knew only the God of Sinai, who descended from heaven in thick clouds, shrouding himself in lightning and thunder. But at Christ’s crucifixion, the veil of the temple is torn in two (Luke 23:45). Sinful men and women now have direct access to God through the blood of Jesus. As John MacArthur notes, “To come into God’s presence at Sinai was to die; to come into His presence at Zion is to live.”

This is not to deny that Jesus is the judge before whom all people will stand one day. Jesus himself claimed equality with the Father (John 5:18; 10:30); all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18); and the right to judge everyone, as he makes clear in the defense of his deity before Jewish unbelievers: “The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:22-23). Christ’s final judgment is in full agreement with the Father’s wise counsel, so that what Jesus rewards and punishes is exactly what the Father would reward and punish.

Ray Stedman writes:

Without exception, all humans must stand before God to be judged. But the glory of the gospel is that believers may stand before him without fear, since Jesus himself assures each one that he “has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). This relief from fear of judgment is an enormous blessing to those who know themselves to be sinners in word, thought, and deed.

Then, the writer of Hebrews tells us we have come to “the spirits of righteous people made perfect” (Heb. 12:23). This could be a second reference to all the redeemed, who make up the assembly of the firstborn. More likely, it looks back at Hebrews 11:40 and the Old Testament saints who “would not be made perfect without us.” 

Certainly, believers under the Old Covenant looked in faith to the day Messiah would come to earth and fulfill the types and shadows of the sacrificial system. Their offerings of spotless animals could only atone for sin; that is, the blood temporarily covered their iniquity and thus had to be offered again and again. But Jesus, on the cross, fulfilled the sacrificial system, not merely atoning for sins, but taking them away. “For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).

Lastly, we come to “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel” (Heb. 12:24). The Old Covenant is established at Mount Sinai. It declares the holiness of God, exposes the sinfulness of human beings, and makes clear that only the blood of a spotless sacrifice appeases God’s wrath. 

Mount Zion, however, expresses the mercy of God, reveals the way of restoration to God, and announces that, in the death of Jesus, “It is finished” (John 19:30). That is, the sin debt has been paid, the battle has been won, and the last bloody sacrifice to take away our sins has been offered and accepted. 

The sprinkled blood of Jesus is far superior to the animal sacrifice Abel offered (Gen. 4:4). The Lord accepted Abel’s sacrifice because it was offered in faith, and it foreshadowed the sacrifice of the promised seed of woman (Gen. 3:15). Even so, Abel’s sacrifice fell short of perfection because it could not permanently remove sin and its consequences: suffering, sorrow, pain, aging, and death. But Jesus’s blood, offered on the cross, takes awayour sins. It is sufficient to cleanse our sins for all time, and to make peace with God.

As Paul writes, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus], and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:19-20).  

We might also consider “the blood of Abel” to be Abel’s own blood, which Cain spilled in a violent fit of rage. The Lord tells Cain, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). In this sense, Abel’s blood calls out for vindication, but it can’t offer forgiveness. In contrast, the blood of Jesus satisfies the wrath of God toward sinners and extends to us God’s grace. We should always remember that we are redeemed, “not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb” (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

Warren Wiersbe notes:

Abel’s blood spoke from the earth and cried for justice (Gen. 4:10), while Christ’s blood speaks from heaven and announces mercy for sinners. Abel’s blood made Cain feel guilty (and rightly so) and drove him away in despair (Gen. 4:13-15); but Christ’s blood frees us from guilt and has opened the way into the presence of God. Were it not for the blood of the New Covenant, we could not enter this heavenly city!

Summary

Believers of all times may rest assured their names are written in heaven. This is the Lord’s guarantee that all the redeemed are welcome in Mount Zion – the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Old Testament saints stand there now, in the festive company of holy angels, the triune Godhead – the Father as judge, the Son as mediator, and the Spirit as the one who indwells and seals believers – and the blood of Jesus as a never-ending testimony to his finished work on the cross. 

New Testament saints have their citizenship in heaven as well. Their names are in the registry of the righteous, and they will join those who have gone before them in faith, having not seen God’s promises fulfilled in their lifetimes. All those gathered around the heavenly throne, and all those on earth who have passed from spiritual death into spiritual life, share this promise: the same Lord who foreknew, predestined, called, and justified them will also glorify them one day. 

The Lord then brings heaven down to earth, his throne into the realm of men and women. The breach in Eden is repaired; the cherubim stand down with their flaming swords; the tree of life and the river of life are once again accessible; and we may walk with our creator and redeemer in the cool of the evening.

But this promise is not for everyone. After contrasting Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, the writer of Hebrews warns: “See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven” (Heb. 12:25). If ancient Israelites were held accountable for heeding God when he warned them on earth, how much more will we be held accountable now that he warns us from heaven?

Next: I Will Never Erase His Name: Revelation 3:5