According to Paul, Christ has come as a High Priest of good things to come (Hebrews 9:11). Some important ancient texts read mellonton (G3195), which means about to come, and the NASB, NKJV, NJB and the NET follow these texts. The word has the idea of ‘expectation, according to Strong’s Concordance, and means about to be, or about to do… Other equally important texts read genomenon (G1096), meaning that are come, and the RSV, NEB, TEV and the NIV follow these. So, from our point of view, it doesn’t seem to matter which is correct. If the ‘good things’ were about to come then they would have come in the first century AD. On the other hand, if Paul wrote the ‘good things’ are come then they were already present when he wrote his epistle in the first century AD. It is for us, therefore, to simply enjoy those good things.
It is for us to search the Scriptures, especially Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews in order to find out what ‘good things’ he had in mind. One of the first things Paul has made clear is that, since we have Jesus as our High Priest, we have access to the Mercy Seat or the Presence of God (Hebrews 4:14-16). We are also able to understand that, because Christ is our High Priest, we have obtained a better covenant, established upon better promises through his more excellent ministry (Hebrews 8:1-6). Moreover, through the offering of a better Sacrifice, our High Priest has not only cleansed our consciences of sin, so that we are now able to serve the living God, but he has also gained for us an eternal inheritance, i.e. life (Hebrews 9:14-15). Finally, Hebrews 6:4 tells us that those of us who belong to Christ (Romans 8:9) have tasted the heavenly gift, meaning we are influenced by the Holy Spirit, which we have from Christ, himself (John 14:15-20), and his Spirit in us is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
According to Paul’s logic, if Jesus is our High Priest, and he is the minister of ‘good things’ that were given to believers beginning in the first century AD, then those ‘good things’ have come to us through the ‘more perfect’ Tabernacle that is not made with hands. In other words, the perfect Tabernacle was not made by men and certainly not of the building (G2937) that was located in Jerusalem during the first century AD. Nevertheless, what does Paul mean by this more perfect Tabernacle?
We need to keep in mind how Christ had come (G3854) to man (Hebrews 9:1) in the first place. The Greek word means has come or has arrived, and, according to the Gospel of John, the Word, who is God (John 1:1) became flesh and dwelt with men (John 1:14). In other words, the Word, who is God, became Jesus, who was man. Therefore, Jesus is that Tabernacle, more specifically, the Most Holy Place or the Presence of God (John 2:19, 21). God in the Person of Jesus came out of his place to dwell with men, and the veil between God and man was Jesus’ flesh (Hebrews 10:20)
If the new Tabernacle is not made with human hands, i.e. not of this building (G2937), logic tells us that it must be a Tabernacle that is either not made at all, but is eternal or that its builder is God, himself. In either case that Tabernacle must be of the spiritual kind. The Greek word that Paul uses may point to the eternal God who became man and so was not made at all (John 1:1, 14; 2:19, 21) or more than likely points to the new creation (G2937 – 2Corinthians 5:17), whereby we are being built up as a Temple for God to dwell in (Ephesians 2:19-21). Peter says we are living stones (1Peter 2:5), showing that, although we are flesh, the Temple, which we are collectively, is spiritual.
Moreover, this same Greek word (G2937) is used by Peter to point to the ordinances of men. Notice that Hebrews 9:11 is placed between two verses (10 and 12) that point to the ordinances of the old creation or building. These ordinances were ineffective (Hebrews 7:11-12), and the Scripture labels them unprofitable (Hebrews 7:18). However, we are called to offer up ourselves, just as Jesus offered himself, as living sacrifices to God, which is pleasing to God and is, in fact, our reasonable service (Romans 12:1-2).
Finally, Paul tells us in Hebrews 9:23-24 that the Temple at Jerusalem with all its furniture and its ordinances was patterned after what was in heaven. Therefore, the Tabernacle or Temple of God must be in heaven. On the other hand, Jesus who is God come to earth in the flesh (John 1:1, 14) said he was the Temple of God (John 2:19, 21), and later said he would build his church (Matthew 16:18), which Paul says is the Temple of God (1Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), and we dwell on earth. In other words, just as in the beginning heaven (the Garden of Eden) met the earth (Eden), and this was played out in the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place of the Tabernacle / Temple, so is the spiritual Temple. Christ (the Most Holy Place / heaven) meets the earth (the Holy Place / the Church of God) in us! The idea is that heaven is not someplace far away. In Genesis 2 and 3 the Most Holy Place was the Garden of Eden. It was where God dwelt and met with Adam. When Adam rebelled he was cast out into Eden, which was the Holy Place. Heaven and earth meet there, but after the rebellion they were separated by a veil (2Corinthians 3:13). Nevertheless, that veil is done away in Christ (2Corinthians 3:14, 16; Hebrews 10:20), and we dwell in his Presence today, and bring him to the world through the Gospel.
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