Haggai 2:6, commentary and pictures

Spoken to Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest, and the remnant about building a house for God, it urges them to be strong and work because God is with them by His covenant from Egypt and His Spirit remains among them so they need not fear. In a little while God will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land with the coming of the Desire of all nations, filling the temple with glory that is divine presence rather than outward splendor. The shaking of heaven means the heavenly powers, the sun, moon, and stars, are moved from their places by God's voice but do not pass away, while rulers on earth are first shaken by turmoil among nations with war, famine, and pestilence, which is distinct from and comes before the later shaking of the heavenly bodies and the earth itself. The shaking removes created things that can be shaken so that what cannot be shaken remains, calling those who receive God's unshakable kingdom to serve Him with reverence and godly fear, and it shakes out those unwilling to stand firmly for truth and to sacrifice freely. It is applied to the end of the world at Christ's second coming, when God's voice penetrates graves and opens tombs amid a great earthquake, Christ appears with the heavenly angels, the trumpet sounds, and His call raises the righteous dead to immortal life, including those who died in faith under the third angel's message.

Setting and First Coming

The message belongs to the twenty-first day of the seventh month, addressed to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Josedech the high priest, and to the residue of the people concerning the building of a house for God. It urges them to build, and is to be read together with Haggai 1 and Ezra 3. In parables it sets forth what God endorses and what He condemns.

Those addressed are commanded to be strong and to work, because God is with them according to the word He covenanted with them when they came out of Egypt. His Spirit remains among them, so they are not to fear. Yet once, in a little while, He will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.

That shaking accompanies the coming of the Desire of all nations and the filling of the temple with glory. It begins the prophecy of Christ's first advent, which Israel awaited with longing. The greater glory of the temple is the divine presence, not its outward splendor. Its restoration in plainer form was to turn the people from reliance on ceremony and display, for Christ's coming itself was the promised glory.

Meaning of the Shaking

The shaking of the heavens means the powers of heaven are moved from their places at the voice of God. Those heavenly powers are the sun, the moon, and the stars. They are moved out of their places but they do not pass away.

The shaking of the powers of earth means those who rule on earth are shaken by turmoil among the nations. That turmoil is war and rumors of war, followed by sword, famine, and pestilence. This shaking of earthly powers comes first and is distinct from the later shaking of the heavenly bodies and of the earth itself at God's voice. Political upheavals and unrest among the nations, including unrest among European nations, are not themselves the shaking of heaven.

The shaking is a physical upheaval in which the sky is in commotion. At God's voice the mountains shake and cast out rocks. The sea boils like a pot and throws stones up onto the land.

The verse foretells a mighty shaking that has begun and will continue. It shakes out those who are unwilling to stand firmly for the truth. It shakes out those unwilling to sacrifice for God and His cause, and that sacrifice must be freely given rather than compelled. Both physical strength used in labor and property used to support the cause bring accountability.

The future shaking removes created things that can be shaken, so that what cannot be shaken remains. Those who receive God's unshakable kingdom are therefore to serve Him with reverence and godly fear.

Final Shaking and Resurrection

The shaking of the heavens and the earth belongs to the end of the world at Christ's second coming. Then God's voice penetrates the graves and opens the tombs. A great earthquake makes the world reel, Christ appears with the heavenly angels, the trumpet sounds, and His call raises the righteous dead to immortal life.

The mighty upheaval accompanies the voice of God, like many waters, with an earthquake that opens graves. Those who died in faith under the third angel's message, keeping the Sabbath, are raised glorified. Thus raised, they hear God make a covenant of peace with those who have kept His law.

Christ's own resurrection is a vivid picture of the general resurrection at that shaking. Then the dead will hear Christ's voice and rise to immortal life while earth and heaven are shaken. The earth reels and the heavens are rolled together. That shaking is part of the upheaval of that day, accompanying Christ's second coming and the resurrection of the righteous, when the earth reels and is removed and the elements burn.

Only a little while remains before this shaking of heaven and earth and sea and land, so the time to act is now. The message is to be carried at once, beginning in the important cities. The work in and about Nashville is to be put on a solid basis in a simple way that recommends the truth, while many places in the South stand open.