What does Hebrews 4:2 mean?

A common claim of false teachers in the early church was that Jesus had already returned in His second coming (2 Thessalonians 2:1–3; 2 Timothy 2:17–18). As in verse 1, the writer of Hebrews seeks to dispel the suggestion that his readers have permanently lost out on their opportunity to enter into Christ's "rest."

In this context, the "rest" at stake is a saved believer's spiritual inheritance. The analogy of Israel's failure to immediately enter Canaan was not a metaphor for salvation, but of the consequences of faithlessness. Chapter 3 made a strong point about the need to "hold fast" to faith in God, lest this inheritance be lost. Later verses will give more details on this concept.

Here, the term "good news" is being used in a more general sense than simply that of the gospel. It's worth pointing out that the gospel of Jesus Christ is about much more than eternal salvation. It's also good news about freedom from the power of sin. The Bible mentions both the "rest" of salvation (Matthew 11:28) and the "rest" of submission (Matthew 11:29–30). It describes the blessing of finding both peace with God (Romans 5:1) and the peace of God (Philippians 4:6–8).

However, in this verse, the writer is reflecting back on the example of Israel, given in chapter 3. Those people had an opportunity to obtain the promised inheritance, but failed, since they didn't unite with others who had faith in God. The "rest" they were meant to obtain was not leisure, but a completion of the work God had assigned to them.