That the alternatives Israel faced in the wilderness are the same ones believers face today is demonstrated by the use of the terms “promise” (4:1; cf. 6:12; 9:15; 10:36; 11:39–40) and “good news” (4:2; see also the verbal formin 4:6, euangelizō, “to evangelize”; cf. Rom. 10:16; Gal. 3:8) and by the striking inversion of order—not “they also,” but “we also” (Heb. 4:2). This serves as an impressive verification of the author’s consistent assumption that the gospel and its demands have remained unchanged from the beginning and that the spiritual world of the ancient people of God with its conditions, blessings, and powers is identical to that in which his readers now live. He commands them to take care (literally “fear”) and together to take care on each other’s behalf (Heb. 10:24–25). Eter…