It is therefore folly to point to the fact that the word epouranios

occurs both in Hebrews and in Ephesians, and to deduce from this that there

is nothing distinctive about the Ephesian sphere.  In Hebrews it is Christ,

and Christ alone, Who sits in the heavenly place.  In Ephesians, the essence

of the Mystery is that an elect company of the redeemed sit there potentially

with Him.  It is this fact that makes this new sphere of blessing unique; a

fact which an indiscriminate list of the occurrences of epouranios can

neither establish nor overthrow.

While Hebrews speaks of a `heavenly calling' and a `heavenly gift', we

are not left in doubt as to `where' this calling is to be enjoyed.  The

sphere of blessing connected with the `heavenly calling' is the `heavenly

country' or the `heavenly Jerusalem' which filled the vision of Abraham, and

for which those who walked by faith in the Old Testament days suffered the

loss of all things.

`Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things

not seen ... These all died in faith, not having received the promises,

but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced

them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth

... wherefore God ... hath prepared for them a city' (Heb. 11:1,13,16).

This calling differs from the one that is associated with Mount Sinai.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all `before the law' (see Gal. 3:17,18), and

the inclusion of Abel, Noah and Enoch shows that it is not essentially

connected with the Abrahamic covenant.  Moreover the inclusion of Rahab,

after the law, reveals that it is of wider scope than the covenant of Sinai,

and the presence of such names as Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and

Samuel (Heb. 11:32) shows that after the law of Moses had been given, there

were still those who reached out for this higher and heavenly sphere.

In contrast with Sinai and its terrors, we have Sion with its

`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 to a church of firstborn ones, which are written

in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of perfected

righteous ones, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to

the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than Abel' (Heb.

12:22 -24).

The reader will notice a slight departure from the A.V. here.  The

`general assembly' should be linked, not with the `church of the firstborn',

but with the `innumerable company'.  The church of the firstborn is made up

of `the spirits of perfected righteous ones' (Heb. 12:23), or `the spirits of

righteous ones having been perfected'.  This `perfecting' is the key to

Hebrews and is the basis of its exhortation.  Either those to whom the

apostle wrote would leave the things that were connected with the beginning

and go on unto perfection (Heb. 6:1), or, failing to endure, would draw back

unto `loss' and `waste' (Heb. 10:32 -39).  The word `perdition' is translated

`destruction' in Philippians 3:19, and is put in contrast there, as in

Hebrews, with `attaining' and a `better resurrection' (Phil. 3:11; Heb.

11:35).  The word is also seen in Matthew 26:8, where it is translated