Hebrews 9:23-28
23: Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24: For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
25: nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.
26: Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27: And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28: so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
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Paul said the copies—or the tabernacle and all the vessels in the tabernacle—which were patterned after the true heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5) were cleansed by the blood of the animals which were sacrificed under the old covenant—the Law of the Levitical priesthood. Yet the heavenly things—the true and eternal tabernacle—had to be cleansed with better sacrifices than that.
Christ wasn’t a Levitical priest who functioned in the earthly tabernacle. His tabernacle was the true, heavenly one where He presented Himself to God the Father for us. From His position as a man who carried the sin of the world, He entered the presence of God to be cleansed of that sin through the sacrifice of Himself. This was the door, the veil, through which He passed into the Holy of Holies. He is the door (John 10:9).
Because He was unblemished, Jesus didn’t have to sacrifice Himself every year as the Levitical high priests did. They did that with blood that wasn’t their own. Yet Jesus only had to do it once at the consummation of the ages—the merging of the old and establishment of the new. The new covenant was one that put away sin’s power over mankind—its power to condemn people eternally.
Just as people only die once, Christ too only had to die once to bear our sins. Not once for each person or each generation, but once for all. His sacrifice paid the price for all, but we each will stand before His judgement seat to be recompensed for what we’ve done in our body here on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Jesus will appear a second time for salvation to those who eagerly await Him. We will see Him as He truly is, in His glory, not as the previous suffering servant. He will not still be bearing that sin when He comes, but in His glorified state will bring the completion of our salvation—the redemption of our body—to those who wait for Him. At this point, the full realization of our freedom from the grasp of sin and the victory He bought for us will be evident to all.
Christ wasn’t a Levitical priest who functioned in the earthly tabernacle. His tabernacle was the true, heavenly one where He presented Himself to God the Father for us. From His position as a man who carried the sin of the world, He entered the presence of God to be cleansed of that sin through the sacrifice of Himself. This was the door, the veil, through which He passed into the Holy of Holies. He is the door (John 10:9).
Because He was unblemished, Jesus didn’t have to sacrifice Himself every year as the Levitical high priests did. They did that with blood that wasn’t their own. Yet Jesus only had to do it once at the consummation of the ages—the merging of the old and establishment of the new. The new covenant was one that put away sin’s power over mankind—its power to condemn people eternally.
Just as people only die once, Christ too only had to die once to bear our sins. Not once for each person or each generation, but once for all. His sacrifice paid the price for all, but we each will stand before His judgement seat to be recompensed for what we’ve done in our body here on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Jesus will appear a second time for salvation to those who eagerly await Him. We will see Him as He truly is, in His glory, not as the previous suffering servant. He will not still be bearing that sin when He comes, but in His glorified state will bring the completion of our salvation—the redemption of our body—to those who wait for Him. At this point, the full realization of our freedom from the grasp of sin and the victory He bought for us will be evident to all.
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