Ye Are Come

“I know that’s what it says, but that is not what it means,” said my red-faced father to my maternal grandfather.

Grandpa Smith had a second-grade education but loved God. I often saw him read the Bible and pray with tears streaming down his cheeks. He was also a died-in-the-wool Hardshell Baptist. He, unlike my father, took a difficult passage at face value: Paul said God loved Jacob and hated Esau before these twins were born (Rom. 9:9–13). His church believed this interpretation reinforces the ancient baptist doctrine of salvation by God’s sovereign and distinguishing grace.

That reasoning did not fit well within my well-educated dad’s views of salvation. He believed—at the time—in God’s equal and indiscriminate love for all men, Christ’s universal (potential) redemption, and the Holy Spirit’s uniform wooing of every individual person. Man held the final salvation card—an unfettered free will. Dad sometimes became frustrated while discussing these ideas with his father-in-law.

We can see why God’s love/hate relation to unborn twin boys might cause discomfort for a person with my father’s convictions. Even as a child, I remember thinking Grandpa’s position seemed unfair to Esau. I also remember that Dad did not provide a clear statement of what he thought Paul actually meant. He just knew the Apostle did not mean what the text says.

God later changed Dad’s (and my) views. He came to accept Paul’s apparent meaning and its implications. He quit raising objections to the doctrine of unconditional election and joined the Primitive Baptists. With a touch of divine irony, he joined my grandfather as a deacon in the denomination my grandfather had served for many years. The elder and the younger served God together.

Our concern in this post is with another of Paul’s difficult-to-digest statements. Here, it is a statement related to prophetic fulfillment in his letter to the Hebrews. The statement may elicit my father’s words from some. Here it is: “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, 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” (Heb. 12:22–23; emphasis added).

The verb is in the perfect tense: “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem . . .” (ESV). The apostle seems to emphasize the “already” nature of the Hebrews’ situation: “They ‘have come’ (the perfect tense points to an accomplished and continuing state) to Mount Zion.”¹ Paul does not refer here to a future event. He says, “Not merely, ye shall come, but, ye have already come.”²

Here is a dilemma similar to the one my dad faced with his doctrine of salvation. The common prophetic models teach us to conceive of ourselves as, at present, traveling to Zion. This is a mistake, however, if Paul means what he says. One cannot “go” to where he has already arrived.

Does “I know that is what Paul said, but that is not what he meant” cross your mind when you read “ye are come” in Heb. 12:22? If so, you are not alone. Let’s discuss how we can accept the plain meaning of his statement and, at the same time, see an even more glorious future for those who have already come to Mount Zion. Inmillennialism provides a structure that allows us to do this.

Common Explanations of “Ye are Come”

Many Christians would feel more comfortable had Paul said, “you will come to . . . the heavenly Jerusalem.” That future arrival could be at the death of the individual (2 Cor. 5:8) or at the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:22–26). The common tendency is to assume terms like Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the general assembly refer to the eternal state.

The impulse in this direction is strong. At least one textual tradition has taken drastic measures to make Paul’s statement more palatable to a “not yet” orientation. John Gill says, “The Alexandrian copy reads, as in ver. 18 for ye are not come; which may seem to favour that interpretation of this passage, which refers it to the heavenly state; to which saints, in this present life, are not, as yet, come.”³ An Alexandrian scribe, it seems, acted on his desire to make this passage refer to the future by inserting a “not” in the apostle’s statement.

A less presumptuous—yet still dangerous—approach is to ignore the problem altogether. Some commentators do not mention Paul’s “ye are come” in his passage.⁴ Then, in other contexts, they assert our future entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem.⁵ Those taking this approach to the Hebrews 12 text might claim—to use an expression neither Dad nor Grandpa would understand—“no harm, no foul”⁶ with respect to their omission. This borders on dishonesty regarding God’s revelation.

Most writers who wish to see a “not yet” element in Paul’s statement take a more sophisticated approach. They employ a figure of speech called “heterosis of tenses”⁷ in which one tense is used for another.

Commentators seldom mention this device by name. William L. Lane, for example, says: “Through faith that grasps the future as though it were the present (11:1), Christians in their pilgrimage come to that future reality that is not palpable to the senses, Mount Zion, the city of the living God.”⁸ He thinks Paul uses a perfect tense because faith assured him that the Hebrew Christians would come (future tense) to the heavenly Jerusalem.

In our passage, “heterosis of tenses” accounts for a “past used for a future.” This does not exhaust the application of this figure of speech. It can also include using a past for a present, a present for a past, a future for a past, etc.⁹ The list of possibilities is long.

This appears to be a dangerous interpretive weapon; we should use it with caution. It allows a writer to make any verb conform to whatever prophetic system he wishes to defend. Does a scriptural passage violate his framework by putting a present (or past) tense where he expected a future? An appeal to “heterosis of tenses” may provide an easy—but perhaps incorrect—explanation.

William Eyre mentions this danger in a seventeenth-century debate on justification. Regarding his opponent’s argument, he said:

If I should grant what he desires, that in all these places there were an Heterosis of Tenses, (for I acknowledge this Trope¹⁰ is frequent in Scripture;) yet: this great flourish will amount to nothing, unless he had shown by the circumstances of the Text, or the nature of the thing, that it must be so expounded here; for if Men had liberty to feign Analogies of Numbers, Cases and Tenses, at their pleasure, it were easy to elude the meaning of the plainest Texts.¹¹

Inmillennialism allows us to interpret Heb. 12:18–29 without resorting to heterosis of tenses. We can accept what Paul said and meant without becoming exasperated by our preconceptions. We feel no need to replace Paul’s “already” with a “not yet.”

“Ye are Come” in Paul’s Reasoning

Paul’s perfect tense—“ye are come” (Heb. 12:22)—supports his overall argument in his letter to the Hebrews. In this paragraph (Heb. 12:18–29), Paul continues to draw a contrast between the inferior Mosaic Age and the superior Messianic Age.

God established the Mosaic Age at Mount Sinai—“the mount that might be touched” (Heb. 12:18). There, he gave the law through “the disposition of angels (Acts 7:53). Moses delivered it to the people (Exod. 32:15). Aaron began the priesthood (Exod. 40:12–15).

Paul has argued throughout Hebrews that Christ surpasses all these: angels (Heb. 1:4 – 2:18), Moses (Heb. 3:1 – 4:13), and Aaron (Heb. 4:14 – 10:18).

The reign of Christ has already begun. He now occupies the throne “on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). Christ is already “a son over his own house” (Heb. 3:6). As High Priest, he now ministers in “the true tabernacle” (Heb. 8:1). The new covenant is already in force (Heb. 8:6–13; 10:7–18).

There is, we admit, a “not yet” element in Paul’s reasoning, but it is most often a “not yet” in the Hebrews’ immediate future. They were “about to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14, YLT). The Messianic Age was “about to come” (Heb. 6:5, Wuest). The Hebrews had reached “the full end of the ages” (Heb. 9:26, YLT). Christ would return in “a little, how very, very little!”¹² while. This would complete the age change. These were not in the distant future. The Messianic Age had already begun and the end of the Mosaic Age was at hand.

We should read Paul’s “ye are come” (Heb. 12:18) in light of this context. God was about to remove the Old Testament structures (Temple, priesthood, sacrifices, etc.). New Testament worship would remain. The Hebrews were receiving (present tense) the kingdom as they read Paul’s words (Heb. 12:27–29). They had come to the long-expected Messianic Age.

“Ye are Come” and Old Testament Prophecies 

The prophets had long taught the Hebrews to associate the coming of Mount Zion with the Messianic Age. Here are a few examples.

Isaiah associated the coming of “the branch of the Lord” with the washing away of the filth of the daughters of Zion (Isa. 4:1–4). He said, “And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence” (Isa. 4:5). This is a prophecy of the Messianic Age; in the eternal state, Zion will not require a defense.

Isaiah also saw a time when the righteousness of Jerusalem would go forth as salvation (Isa. 62:1). The Gentiles would see it and God would call his people by a new name (Isa. 62:2). God would “make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62:7). The people would go through her gates, “And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken” (Isa. 62:12; emphasis added). This vision portrays the daughter of Zion (Isa. 62:11) during the Messianic Age.

The Psalms make interesting observations about the Messianic Age. During that era, God would glorify Zion and a special people would be born there: “The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. . . .  And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her” (Psa. 87:2–3, 5). God is fulfilling this prophecy in the Messianic Age. His people have come to Mount Zion. This is the city of their nativity; God gives them the new birth (John 3:3f; 1 Pet. 2:2). Birthing—whether natural or spiritual—will not occur in the eternal state. Coming to Mount Zion must occur before the Messianic Age to allow these births to happen there.

Many other Old Testament passages teach the same lesson—God’s people come to Mount Zion and the glorified Jerusalem in order to dwell there during the Messianic Age.

Paul, in Heb. 12:22–23, tells his readers the time of which the prophets spoke had arrived. To conceive of this coming to Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem as a future event is to misunderstand both the prophets and Paul.

“Ye are Come” As a Practical Matter

The Apostle has something tangible in mind when he uses terms like Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the general assembly, etc. These ideas refer to the local church. The Hebrews (and we) should not neglect this assembly (Heb. 10:25). The church “is the location of Jesus’s visible kingdom,”¹³ and that kingdom “fully informs our lives socially, economically and politically.”¹⁴ Paul’s “ye are come” affects every aspect of our lives.

John Gill emphasizes the relevance of Paul’s statements to the everyday life of Christians in the Messianic Age.

By Mount Sion, and the other names here given, is meant the church of God, under the Gospel dispensation, to which the believing Hebrews were come; in distinction from the legal dispensation, signified by Mount Sinai, from which they were delivered: and this is called Mount Sion, because, like that, it is beloved of God; chosen by him; and is the place of his habitation; here his worship is, and his word and ordinances are administered; here he communes with his people, and distributes his blessings: and this, as Mount Sion, is a perfection of beauty; the joy of the whole earth; is strongly fortified by divine power, and is immovable; and is comparable to that mountain, for its height and holiness: and to come to Sion is to become a member of a Gospel church, and partake of the ordinances, enjoy the privileges, and perform the duties belonging to it: and unto the city of the living God; the Gospel church is a city, built on Christ, the foundation; and is full of inhabitants, true believers, at least it will be, in the latter day; it is pleasantly situated by the river of God’s love, and by the still waters of Gospel ordinances; it is governed by wholesome laws, of Christ’s enacting, and is under proper officers, of his appointing; and is well guarded by watchmen, which he has set upon the walls of it; and it is endowed with many privileges, as access to God, freedom from the arrests of justice, and from condemnation, adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance: and this may be called the city of God, because it is of his building, and here he dwells, and protects, and defends it; and who is styled the living God, to distinguish him from the idols of the Gentiles, which are lifeless and inanimate, no other than stocks and stones. The heavenly Jerusalem: the church of God goes by the name of Jerusalem often, both in the Old and in the New Testament; with which it agrees in its name, which signifies the vision of peace, or they shall see peace: Christ, the King of it, is the Prince of peace; the members of it are sons of peace, who enjoy a spiritual peace now, and an everlasting one hereafter: like that, it is compact together, consisting of saints, cemented together in love, in the order and fellowship of the Gospel; and is well fortified, God himself, and his power, being all around it, and having salvation, for walls and bulwarks, and being encamped about by angels; and it is a free city, being made so by Christ, and, through him, enjoying the liberty of grace now, and having a title to the liberty of glory in the world to come; as Jerusalem was, it is the object of God’s choice, the palace of the great King, and the place of divine worship: it is called heavenly, to distinguish it from the earthly Jerusalem; and to express the excellency of it, as well as to point out its original: the members of it are from heaven, being born from above; their conversation is now in heaven; and they are designed for that place; and its doctrines and ordinances are all from thence.¹⁵

We, the people of God, have come to Mount Zion and should give great attention to serving our King in our heavenly Jerusalem.

“Ye are Come” and Future Glory

That we, in the Messianic Age, already worship on Mount Zion, live in the heavenly Jerusalem, etc., should not lead us to think we have reached the ultimate state of redemption.

According to Paul, faith, hope, and love exist in the Messianic Age: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor. 13:13; emphasis added). Paul’s “now” is the period during which Christ reigns and overcomes his enemies (1 Cor. 15:25)—the Messianic Age.

The first two graces are temporal; they operate until the resurrection. Now, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). After the resurrection, we will not exercise faith; we will see the objects that now remain unseen to physical sight. The same is true of hope. At present, “we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” (Rom. 8:24). In Paul’s triad of graces, “the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13, ESV) because it will never cease. After faith and hope cease, love will remain.

So, there is coming a time when faith will become sight and hope will become a reality. Love will permeate every part of a fully redeemed creation. We will enjoy God’s immediate presence in our glorified bodies. Even in the Messianic Age, God has much more glory to give us through Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Our prophetic model emphasizes the glory of the Messianic Age over that of the Mosaic. The reason for this is simple: Scripture does this (cp. Matt. 11:11; 2 Cor. 3:18; et al.). Modern Christians sometimes under appreciate the “time of reformation” (Heb. 9:10) that effected this age change. Inmillennialism may help us correct this deficiency.

That said, we must not lose sight of what remains for the Lord’s people. We have yet to see “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14). The rising of our resurrection bodies awaits the final day (John 11:24). We long for the Lord’s ultimate judgment and the total banishment of sin from his creation (Matt. 25:41–46).

We “have come” to Mount Zion. The full outworking of that fact will be glorious.

Conclusion

Our preconceptions sometimes prevent us from accepting the plain meaning of Scripture. This is true regarding prophetic passages. We sometimes bypass inconvenient passages with a dismissive (often unspoken) statement like my dad’s: “I know that is what it says, but that is not what it means.”

Perhaps we should humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and consider whether our preconceived ideas are biblical (1 Pet. 5:6). I was thankful God gave my dad grace to change his mind about Jacob and Esau. He was willing to give up his long-cherished ideas about man’s free will and submit himself to the sovereign God of whom the Scriptures speak.

What about our travels to Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem? Does your prophetic paradigm incline you to put our arrival in the future? Paul put it in the present: “ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels” (Heb. 12:22). He conceived of it in practical, local church terms. The Hebrews were to run their race with patience (Heb. 12:1–2) because they had come to Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22).

If your prophetic system presents problems with this perspective, let me recommend the model we have constructed. We named it inmillennialism. You can see an overview here. It may allow you to believe Paul really meant what he said.

1. Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 142. Emphasis added.
2. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, A Commentary, Critical, Experimental and Practical on the Old and New Testaments, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976), 2:478. Emphasis in original.
3. John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, The Baptist Commentary Series (Paris, AR: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1989), 9:479. Emphasis added.
4. For example, Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 811.
5. Hodges, “Hebrews,” 808.
6. See here for one definition of this phrase.
7. Ethelbert William Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898), 520.
8. William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, vol. 47B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 465. Emphasis added.
9. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, 517f.
10. A trope is a figure of speech, “a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression” [New Oxford American Dictionary].
11. William Eyre, Vindicæ Justificationis Gratuitæ: Justification Without Conditions, (London: John Vousden, 1695), 180. I modernized the spelling, but left the capitals and punctuation to retain some of the Elizabethan flavor. This quote is not an endorsement or denial of Eyre’s doctrine of justification.
12. Carl Bernhard Moll, The Epistle to the Hebrews, vol. 12, Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1960), 180.
13. Michael E. Lewis, Church & State: A Defense of Nonresistance & Separation, (Hartville, OH: ΠΥΠ, 2014), 20.
14. Lewis, Church & State, 16.
15. Gill, Exposition, 9:479.