Daily Writing

Wednesday, 16 January 2019

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, Hebrews 9:27

The author, after speaking of Christ’s death which was “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” now states something which is considered a biblical axiom. He says, “And it is appointed for men to die once.” This was ordained in Genesis 3 after the fall of man. It is an appointment which will be met at the time determined by God, and its effects are final. Further, it is an appointment “for men.” Adam is the federal head of man, and all in Adam (male and female) are included in this appointment.

It is true that Scripture records several instances where someone dies and is brought back to life. And it is true that people die today, but they are resuscitated by CPR or in other ways. But what is stated here is no less true.

Those people who died and were brought back to life in the Bible were raised in order to glorify God. They are not exceptions, in the sense that God determined they would die in order for Him to demonstrate His power over death. When a prophet prayed for a dead child (for example, see 2 Kings 4:8-37), he did so in the name of the Lord. It is the Lord who healed. When Jesus came, he raised the dead under His own authority (for example: see John 11:1-44). And, when an apostle raised a dead person (for example: see Acts 4:36-43), he did so under the authority of Christ Jesus. Taken together, it is understood from such accounts that Jesus is the Lord (Yehovah) incarnate. This was the purpose of these displays of raising the dead. Each of these eventually went on to die again in the normal manner.

When a person dies today, and he is later brought back through medical procedures, it cannot be considered a resurrection, but rather a medical healing. There is a point where the body can no longer be resuscitated. At that point, the door is closed and it is final. The only exception in human history, outside of those miraculous restorations intended to bring light to the nature of Christ (to come or in Person), is the resurrection of Christ Himself. But it doesn’t change the fact that He died. After His death, His life was judged. God determined that His life was sinless, and He was resurrected. The wages of sin is death; He had no sin; and therefore, it was impossible for death to hold Him (see Acts 2:24).

The word, “once,” in this verse is in the emphatic position. The point of the emphasis, and the purpose of the entire thought, is to explain what has been previously submitted in the previous verses. Christ died once, and that death was sufficient for all sin ever committed. He does not have to suffer often, but has put away sin forever through His one all-sufficient atoning death.

Concerning the death of men (meaning all humans), the author continues with, “but after this the judgment.” This is another inescapable aspect of the existence of humanity. We are born, we live, we die, and then there will be a judgment. Christ’s life was judged and He was found without sin. There will be a similar judgment upon all humans. However, there is also the doctrine known as the rapture. That speaks of a time when believers in Christ will be translated to glory without actually physically dying. How can this be, and yet this verse here in Hebrews still be true? The answer to that is found in Paul’s words of Romans 6 –

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:5-11

The judgment spoken of by the author in Hebrews is that of judgment upon sin. It is one which leads to either condemnation or salvation. As believers in Christ have had their sins judged at the cross of Christ, we have “died to sin” through Christ who “died to sin.” We are positionally in Him, and thus we can never spiritually die again. We have died once, and though our body may die physically, we must – it is impossible for it not to happen – resurrect someday to eternal life. For those who are alive at the rapture, they will simply skip the physical death part and they will be translated to their glorified state. Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 15 and in 1 Thessalonians 4.

Another point which is tied into this verse concerning death and judgment is that Scripture records two people were translated to heaven without dying – Enoch, the seventh man from Adam, and Elijah the prophet. We can infer from several passages in the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) that it is probably these two men who will be back during the tribulation period to witness to the world as stated in Revelation 11:3 –

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

However, they will be killed as is recorded in verse 7 of the same chapter. After this, they will be raised to life and taken to heaven in the presence of an unbelieving world. One thing is for certain, neither of these men will be Moses. That would be contrary to the tenor of this verse in Hebrews, but it is still proposed by scholars who incorrectly analyze the verse in order to justify their presupposition that Moses is one of the two witnesses.

In the end, the verse does not bear complication in any of the scenarios above when taken in the context of Scripture, and in light of what God is doing in redemptive history. It is a verse which is absolute in the truths it conveys. The context of seeming exceptions (such as those who are “dead to sin” in Christ being raptured) dispels any thought of the verse being faulty in any way.

Life application: This is an often quoted verse during sermons – and rightfully so! We try our best to not think of death, but it is coming for each and every one of us. Death is awaiting all people and we need to be prepared to meet our Maker. And the duration of our stay, even if not cut short, is not a long one –

“The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10

In comparison to eternity, seventy or eighty years is utterly insignificant. Are you willing to step out in faith during these brief years and live a life of holiness and honor to Christ Jesus? He paid the greatest price imaginable to save you from condemnation. Consider this and determine today to bring credit and glory to His name during your brief and tenuous stay here! Call on Christ, and you will be – from that point on – dead to sin. Then live out the rest of your days acting as if it is true. May your life be in accord with the position which God has granted you in His beloved Son.

Lord, as the Psalm says, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Let us not fail You in our duties. Strengthen us to bring Your name the renown that it deserves. Praises, glory, and honor belong to You alone! Amen.

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 9:26

The previous verses said that Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, but heaven itself, and this was “not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another” (9:25). If this were so, “He then would have had to suffer often.” A repeated entry for purification from sin would necessitate a repeated sacrifice for sin. Thus, every time he entered for sin, he would have to suffer and die, even “since the foundation of the world.”

What this implies is that Christ’s sacrifice, which occurred four thousand years after the foundation of the world, was sufficient to cover the sins of those who anticipated Him in faith even back to the first sin committed since the world was founded. That is why Adam and Eve were covered by the Lord with the tunics of skin which He made for them (Genesis 3:21). It was a symbolic covering of Christ’s righteousness in anticipation of Christ’s coming.

Adam demonstrated faith through the naming of his wife Eve (in anticipation of the coming Messiah and the granting of life once again), and God covered Adam because of that act. Thus, even from the “foundation of the world,” faith in Christ was sufficient to atone for sin. This is then confirmed in the last book of the Bible where Jesus is called “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Peter states the same thing in his first epistle –

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you ²¹ who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:20, 21

This logic is confirmed, and it is explicitly stated, by the author next with the words, “but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” The author uses the term, “the end of the ages,” to signify the time “when the former ages had reached their moral consummation under the old Levitical economy. Comp. Hebrews 1:2” (Vincent’s Word Studies). This thought is explained by Paul in Galatians –

“Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, ² but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. ³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:1-5

In His coming in the fullness of time, Christ did not need to suffer repeatedly. God accepts the faith of those who anticipated the coming Messiah, and He accepts the faith of those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah who has come. His sacrifice on Calvary’s cross is a one time and for all time act. To think on what is being described, a review of several thoughts which led up to this verse would be helpful:

1) Blood must be shed before forgiveness can be granted; something must die for sin – the sinner because of his sin (this is implied), or a substitute in place of the sinner.
2) Blood was required to purify the people, the sanctuary, and all of the implements associated with the rites of the sanctuary.
3) Jesus’ sacrifice was not made to purify the earthly sanctuary, nor heaven (which is already pure). It was to provide proof of a substitutionary death on our behalf as a covering for man’s sin.
4) Jesus’ sacrifice is once for all time, and it provides eternal cleansing from sin.

All of this demonstrates the superiority of the New Covenant. It also clearly shows that salvation is eternal. No sin committed after salvation can separate the person from God because there is no imputation of sin for one who is in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19). Once a person is purified, he or she is eternally clean, and thus free from condemnation. Were this not so, as Arminianism teaches, then Christ’s blood would be insufficient for any sin.

Life application: Christ suffered once, the godly for the ungodly; the righteous for the unrighteous. There is nothing more that can add righteousness to an individual. His blood, therefore, is fully able to perfect those who have accepted God’s offer of peace through Him. As this verse makes abundantly clear, He has appeared “once at the end of the ages … to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” As Paul jubilantly proclaims –

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36

O God, from the first sin of man, and throughout all of human history, there has been one, and only one, true Sacrifice for sin – Jesus. Your word is written and proclaims that nothing else is sufficient. The types and shadows of the past are fulfilled in Him, and it is by faith in His coming, or in His having come, that all sin is atoned for. Thank You, O God, that Christ’s suffering and death has released us from the penalty of sin, once and forever. Thank You for Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Monday, 14 January 2019

…not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— Hebrews 9:25

The High Priest of Israel had to enter the Most Holy Place in the sanctuary once each year and follow the exacting details prescribed in Leviticus 16. Included in these rituals was the presentation of the blood of animals. One was to atone for his sin and one was to atone for the sins of the people. This ritual was absolutely necessary because, as verse 9:22 said, “without shedding of blood there is no remission.” As it says in this verse, He offered his own. This is the idea behind substitutionary atonement – one life is given on behalf of another.

With this understanding, the specific idea of this verse is that of entry into heaven. In other words, though not in the Greek, the idea is connected to the previous verse and should mentally bring to thought, “not that He should enter to offer Himself often.” The two verses, placed side by side, will show this –

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

…not that He should enter to offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—

Christ gave of Himself once on the cross of Calvary, and at that time He entered into heaven. However, every entry into the Most Holy Place (which was a foreshadowing of Christ’s entry into heaven) required that the blood of an individual sacrifice be presented by the high priest. Therefore, if Christ was required to offer Himself every time He entered into heaven, He would have to “offer Himself often.” This will be stated explicitly in the next verse to come. Such was not the case though. Unlike the high priest who “enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another,” Christ’s entry was a one time and for all time presentation.

Life application: In contrast to the annual ritual conducted by Israel’s High Priest, Jesus did not enter heaven through a repeated offering of Himself. Please remember that life is forfeit because of sin – either your life, or that of a Substitute. And that Substitute must be acceptable to God. It is by Jesus’ death alone that we are reconciled to our heavenly Father. Be sure to receive God’s offer of pardon through Christ!

Heavenly Father, Your word tells us that Christ Jesus entered into heaven once for the forgiveness of our sins. He did not need to suffer many times for us, coming again and again with the proof of another time of suffering. He died once for our sins, and that one entry into Your presence was sufficient for all of man’s sins from Adam until the end of the age. How powerful is the blood of Christ! May we not fail to receive the gift of eternal life, granted through His one great act on Calvary’s cross. Amen.

Sunday, 13 January 2019

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; Hebrews 9:24

The word, “For,” explains what was said in the previous verse concerning “the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these” being purified. The purification that Christ brought about will be explained through the end of the chapter, but the final point of it is found in verse 9:28 which says that “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” This is the ultimate point of the sacrificial system. Sin is the problem, shed blood (proving the death of the covenant-victim) was what was ordained to atone for sin. The types and shadows of the Levitical priesthood in regards to this only looked forward to the actual work of Christ.

The Levitical priests entered into an earthly sanctuary, but it says that “Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands.” Thus, the earthly, physical sacrifices which were conducted by the Levitical priests were an inferior type of sacrifice conducted in an inferior place. What they did simply prefigured Christ. Year by year, the anticipation was that the Messiah would come and fulfill these types and shadows. Finally, He did come. But in the fulfillment of His work, His blood wasn’t presented in these places made with hands, “which are copies of the true.”

Again, the author reveals (as he has already done) that the earthly sanctuary was a copy of something greater, something heavenly. As he says, it wasn’t into these copies, “but into heaven itself.” It shouldn’t be supposed that the physical structures that were made are physically seen again in heaven. Rather, the physical structures represented spiritual realities found in Christ. The colors, shapes, sizes, etc. of all of the things of the sanctuary pointed to spiritual realities.

For example, the type of wood chosen for the Ark of the Covenant pictured the incorruptible nature of Christ’s humanity. This doesn’t mean the physical nature of His body, but the spiritual incorruption of sinlessness. It is true that the spiritual incorruption then translates into an incorruptible physical body, but it is the spiritually incorrupt nature of Christ which is being conveyed to us. The same is true with all of these physical things. They represented spiritual truths, not corresponding physical things in heaven. The thought then continues in the next words, which say, “now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

God is Spirit; He does not have parts. God is. Therefore, Christ’s death, in fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant, conveyed a spiritual reality. The sins of those who anticipated Christ under the Mosaic Law were atoned for, once and forever. At the same time, a New Covenant was initiated for those who receive this atonement. All of this is done by Christ in the presence of God. As God is – without change of any kind – then this is a one time and for all time atonement; it is eternal. The author will continue to explain this in the coming verses.

Life application: Christ said during His ministry, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). People misinterpret this verse and teach that the law is still in effect for believers; it is not. The law is in effect for all persons until they come to Christ. When one comes to Christ in faith that He fulfilled the law on their behalf, the law is then set aside and a new law takes effect. This is the purpose of Jesus’ death. In one mighty act, Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant, set it aside for believers, and also established the New Covenant. The cross then is God’s glorious way of demonstrating His infinite grace, truth, mercy, love, holiness, righteousness, and justice. All of these eternal and unchanging attributes are reconciled at the cross of Jesus. Without this moment, a tension between these attributes remains between God and man, resulting in eternal separation and condemnation. Ensure you understand this! If you misinterpret Jesus’ statement concerning the law, you will feel bound to it when in fact you are not. If you misinterpret God’s eternal nature, then you will miss the point, and you will flounder in an ocean of uncertainty. Instead, have faith in Christ and be at peace with God!

What an amazing gift, O God! That you would unite with Your creation in the Person of Jesus in order to reconcile us to You. It’s beyond comprehension how glorious You are and we can only shout praises and thanks to You for sending Jesus to reveal that glory in a way in which we can comprehend! Hallelujah and Amen.

Saturday, 12 January 2019

Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Hebrews 9:23

The word, “Therefore,” is given based on everything mentioned in the previous seven verses concerning the shedding of the blood of the covenant-victim and the purification of the things associated with the tabernacle, its implements, and its rites. Those verses ended with, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” With that understood, he says, “Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens.”

Note: The archaic KJV incorrectly says “patterns” instead of “copies.” This is exactly the opposite of what is occurring. It is the heavenly which is the pattern, and it is the earthly which is a copy. See Exodus 25:9 and Hebrews 8:5. If you use this version, a margin note correcting the error is necessary.

These “copies of the things in the heavens,” meaning the earthly tabernacle and associated implements, “should be purified with these.” The word “these” is speaking of the blood of purification obtained from the covenant-victims. There was defilement in these earthly things, and they required a sacrifice of atonement to cover their defilement. However, this entire process was only typical of Christ’s greater work. As the author notes, “but the heavenly things.” That is referring to those things associated with the true and more perfect tabernacle in heaven which is the pattern for the earthly copies. These are purified “with better sacrifices than these.”

First, the word “sacrifices” is plural. Though Christ died once (see Romans 6:10 and Hebrews 9:26), the author’s intent is to show that His single sacrifice is the fulfillment of all of the various types of sacrifices found under the Old Covenant, and which were typical of His one-time sacrifice. Everything of the past which foreshadowed Christ is summed up in His one act. Secondly, this raises an obvious question – “Why would the heavenly things require sacrifices for purification?” Scholars debate this, and several interesting suggestions have been proposed, but which miss the fact that these are spiritual realities in heaven, not physical things.

Under the Old Covenant, the author has already said that all things were sprinkled with blood in order to purify them, including the people (9:19). As we are the purpose of Christ’s coming, meaning the redemption of man, then it is necessary that we be purified by Christ’s shed blood. Christ presented Himself before the Father to purify those things which will be accepted into His eternal realm – His people, who are being built into “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).

Though Ephesians is written to the Gentile led church and Hebrews is written to the Hebrew people, the same truth applies to both. A purification is being accomplished in us which was only prefigured in the earthly sanctuary of the Old Covenant.

Life application: The Bible tells of the heavenly dwelling – perfect in all ways, but entrance to it comes at a cost – “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27). In order to be accepted into God’s paradise, one must be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. To reject His gracious sacrifice is to remain outside of God’s favor and outside of His eternal dwelling. Come to Christ, be purified through His shed blood, and be reconciled to God once and for all eternity.

Glorious! O God, You are glorious. You have given us access to You once again through the blood of the Lamb. If we are willing to accept the truth of Your word, and to come to You through Christ Jesus, we shall be reconciled to You for all eternity. You have done it all, and You ask us to simply believe. How gracious You are to Your people! Thank You, O God! Amen.