Luke Woo. <i>The Spatiotemporal Eschatology of Hebrews: Priestly Participation in the Heavenly Tabernacle</i>

In this revised Westminster Theological Seminary dissertation, Luke Woo argues that “the author of Hebrews presents the heavenly tabernacle along with all its high priestly activity, to eschatologically situate, orient, and ground believers both spatially and temporally. This enables believers to actualize in practice their heavenly, priestly identity by serving as priests on earth” (p. 6). To establish this thesis, Woo studies Christ’s and believers’ relationship to the heavenly tabernacle using the distinctions between Firstspace, Secondspace, and Thirdspace from Edward Soja’s critical spatial theory. The first major part (chapters 1–3) surveys understandings of the heavenly tabernacle in Hebrews scholarship, introduces critical spatial theory, and outlines the context in Hebrews for understanding the heavenly tabernacle. In Woo’s application of Soja’s framework, Firstspace refers to the tabernacle structure in heaven, Secondspace concerns one’s self-understanding as spiritually present in the heavenly tabernacle while physically on earth, and Thirdspace concerns believers’ lived practices as they undertake priestly action on earth (pp. 48–52).The second part of the book (chapters 4–6) considers Firstspace and Secondspace, outlining the nature of the heavenly tabernacle, Christ’s ministry in it, and the implications of Christ’s heavenly ministry for believers’ location. Discussion centers on four primary texts. First, Heb 4:14 shows that Christ, “in his physical, glorified state, passed through the created heavens to arrive at his destination, the heavenly tabernacle” (p. 75). Second, Heb 6:19–20 portrays Jesus’s embodied entry into the heavenly tabernacle as that which opens the way for believers to enter now, in a Secondspace sense, and in the future, in a Firstspace sense (pp. 88–90). Third, Heb 8:5 supports the view that the heavenly tabernacle is an actual structure in heaven, not merely a blueprint (pp. 91–114). Fourth, Heb 9:1–14 presents the heavenly tabernacle as a bicameral structure in heaven whose outer chamber is the greater and more perfect tent that Jesus passed through after his ascension (pp. 119–35). While Woo emphasizes Christ’s ascension and physical presence in the heavenly tabernacle, he does not limit Christ’s priestly activity to heaven, instead arguing that “Christ completes his self-sacrifice outside of the holy space spatially (i.e., on the cross), and before his entrance into the heavenly sanctuary temporally” (pp. 139–40, italics original). Nonetheless, Christ’s physical entry into the heavenly tabernacle is necessary to purify it so that believers may dwell there (p. 136). Thus, the exalted Christ’s presence in the heavenly tabernacle (Firstspace) serves as the basis for believers’ presence there (Secondspace) by virtue of their union with him (see p. 119).The third and final part of the book (chapters 7–9) takes up Thirdspace, that is, believers’ priestly activity that is grounded in their Secondspace location in the heavenly tabernacle. Woo extensively treats the language of approaching or drawing near (προσέρχομαι), entry (εἰσέρχομαι, εἴσοδος), and service (λειτουργέω, λατρεύω, διακονέω), arguing that these are cultic terms that implicitly identify believers as priests (pp. 175–90). A key distinctive of Woo’s interpretation is that he holds that Hebrews portrays believers as always already spiritually located in the heavenly tabernacle because they are united with Christ through the Spirit (see pp. 153, 157–61, 184). Believers are thus exhorted to draw near based on the presupposition that they are already inside the heavenly tabernacle (pp. 155, 182). Finally, Woo argues that the priestly acts of drawing near and serving are not limited to prayer, praise, and worship, since Hebrews also portrays ethical service toward one’s neighbor as a form of priestly action (pp. 199–210). Woo’s recognition of both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of priestly service enables him to argue that believers are called to serve pagan society “outside the camp” (Heb 13:13), not just God and the church community (pp. 208–10).Woo’s work advances discussion of several key issues in Hebrews scholarship, including the heavenly tabernacle, participation in Christ, approach and entry language, and Hebrews’s ethical vision. The central question for evaluating Woo’s proposal is whether critical spatial theory indeed makes it plausible that persons who are physically on earth may simultaneously be present in and act in the heavenly sanctuary in the precise ways that Hebrews envisions. Woo may be right that Eph 2:6 lends biblical support to this idea of dual locality (see pp. 11n33, 145, 153). Nonetheless, his overall argument would be strengthened through clearer evidence that believers’ location in the heavenly sanctuary is constantly actualized rather than a constant possibility. In contrast to Ephesians, Hebrews repeatedly speaks of Christ sitting down without making the further claim that believers are seated with him (see Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). Thus, Hebrews’s dynamic, priestly portrayal of believers may center more on ongoing ritual and moral status than ongoing positional location (see Heb 2:11; 9:14; 10:1–2, 14, 22, 29; 13:12). With that said, Woo is right to emphasize that the throne of grace (Heb 4:16) is located within the inner sanctuary (p. 182), making it plausible that one must enter the heavenly sanctuary prior to or during the act of drawing near to God while one is physically on earth.A significant area where Woo’s work would benefit from greater clarity and development concerns the relationship of a tabernacle structure in heaven to other eschatological and cosmological realities. For example, Woo affirms some kind of discontinuity between the heavenly tabernacle that exists now and the heavenly temple that will exist at the eschatological consummation (see pp. 169–70). Nonetheless, he seems to imply that the entirety of resurrected humanity will dwell in a physical sanctuary structure in the eschaton (see pp. 167, 171), which may conflict with his claim that the heavenly sanctuary and heavenly city are alternative descriptions of the same reality (p. 180n32).In conclusion, Woo’s monograph offers several innovative proposals regarding how to relate diverse theological themes in Hebrews in relation to the heavenly tabernacle. Given its distinctive methodology and significance for Hebrews’s Christology, eschatology, and vision of the Christian life, it merits careful study and discussion.