The next item is the whirlwind (v. 18). A whirlwind is a type of wind that has no direction or peace. In my background in Christianity, there was no direction or peace. Neither was there any direction or peace with the Judaizers. With them there was just the whirlwind.
In the sight of the old covenant there is also the sound of a trumpet (v. 19; Exo. 19:13, 16, 19; 20:18). The sound of a trumpet indicates a warning. Religion is filled with warnings, such as, “Don’t do this or you will go to hell,” or, “Be careful or you will lose your salvation.” In religion, they sound the warning trumpet much more often than they deliver a positive message. Religion always says, “Be careful—don’t do that,” for in religion there are always many more “don’ts” than “do’s.” The sound of the trumpet is a sign of the poverty of religion. Religion has nothing positive to afford us; it can only warn us negatively. Every religion, including Buddhism, Catholicism, and Protestantism, is the same in principle, sounding warnings and telling us what we should not do.
The sixth item in the sight of the old covenant is the terrifying voice of words (v. 19; Deut. 4:12; Exo. 19:19). What people finally have in religion is the terrifying voice of words, not the jubilant praise to the Lord. However, in the church we always hear the praises to the Lord.
Because all the items in the sight of the old covenant were of the old dispensation they were temporal, not permanent. Just as the old creation will one day pass away, so all the items of the old covenant, belonging to the old creation, have been terminated.
Now we come to the scene of the new covenant on the side of grace (vv. 22-24). This scene comprises eight items in four pairs. That these items are arranged in pairs is very meaningful. The six items of the old covenant are presented singly, while the six items of the word of foundation in Hebrews 6 are arranged in three pairs. Here, in chapter twelve, we have the eight items of the new covenant arranged in four pairs.
The first pair consists of Mount Zion (v. 22; Psa. 2:6; Rev. 14:1) and the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem (v. 22; 11:10, 16; Rev. 22:2). Here there is no fire but a beautiful mountain with a glorious city, the heavenly Jerusalem, which is God’s habitation and the center of His universal administration.