eijsin aujtou' koinw'", prwtovtokoi de; touvtwn oiJ pisteuvsante" kai; a[xioi th'" kata; provqesin ( al. proaivresin ) uiJoqesiva" . h] kai; pavnte" me;n aJplw'" oiJ pisteuvsante" uiJoiv, prwtovtokoi de; oiJ eujavrestoi kai; tw'n presbeivwn ejn lovgw/ kai; politeiva/ hjxiwmevnoi para; qew'/ (Theophlct.).
These firstborn are described as enrolled in heaven (Vulg. qui conscripti (d professi ) sunt in caelis ). The same image of the enrolment of citizens on the register of the city, as possessed of the full privileges of the position, is found in the O. T.: Ex. 32:32 f.; Ps. 69:28; Is. 4:3; Dan. 12:1. Compare Luke 10:20 ( ejngevgraptai ); Apoc. 13:8; 17:8 ( gevgraptai ); 3:5; Phil. 3:20 ( to; polivteuma ejn oujr. uJpavrcei ); Ps. 87:4 ff. Herm. Vis. 1.3 (with Gebhardt and Harnack's note); Sim. 2.9. For the word ajpogravfesqai see Luke 2:1 ff.
Herveius has a striking remark: cum pluribus major erit beatitudo, ubi unusquisque de alio gaudebit sicut de seipso.
The word prwtovtokoi appears to be wholly inapplicable to angels, nor could they be described as enrolled in heaven.
Heb. 12:23 b, 24. From the contemplation of the divine order in its ideal glory the Apostle goes on to describe it in relation to men and the conflicts of life, ( a ) when the struggle is over, and ( b ) while it is yet being maintained. Thus the point of sight now becomes human, and the two great ideas of judgment and redemption come into prominence. The Judge is the universal sovereign, and spirits of just men made perfect witness to His mercy. The Mediator is one truly man, Jesus, and His blood calls not for vengeance but for pardon.
( a ) The judgment when life is over. 12:23 b. krith'/ qew'/ pavntwn ] to the God of all as Judge. The order appears to be decisive against the common rendering God the Judge of all though the Greek Commentators take the words so; and on the other hand the simple phrase qeo;" pavntwn is unusual in place of oJ w]n ejpi; pavntwn , or pantokravtwr . But there is a certain parallelism between krithv", diaqhvkh" neva" mesivth" , and qeo;" pavntwn, jIhsou'" . He to Whom we draw near as Judge is God of all. His judgment is universal, not of one race only or of one order of being. It seems best to take pavntwn as neuter.
The word krithv" retains something of its widest meaning (Acts 13:20). The action of the Judge is not to be limited to punishment only. The Divine Judgment is the manifestation of right, the vindication of truth, an object of desire for believers, though the light in which it is revealed (John 3:19) is fire also (comp. Heb. 12:29). Dikasthv" strictly has reference to a legal and technical process: Acts 7:27, 35 (not Lk. 12:14); 1 Sam. 8:1; Wisd. 9:7. Christians in Christ can draw near to the Judge. kai; pneuvmasi dik. tetel. ] The judgmentthe revelation of that which ishas been in part triumphantly accomplished. We realise the presence of the Judge, and also of those for whom His work has been fulfilled in righteousness. These are spoken of as spirits, for in this passage the thought is no longer, as in the former clauses, of the complete glory of the divine commonwealth, but of spiritual relations only; not of the assembly in its august array, but of the several members of it in their essential being.
The departed saints are therefore spoken of now as spirits, not yet clothed upon (2 Cor. 5:4). Comp. 1 Pet. 3:19 toi'" ejn fulakh'/ pneuvmasin . The