Hebrews 9:23-28--Redemption Through the Blood of Christ (Part 2)

​23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

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Wrapping up the last section we talked about.  I left off these verses this morning, because it was already getting long.  Not really much here that we haven't said, but eh author is putting a fine point on some of the current ministry of Christ as our Great High Priest and how this ministry is more excellent than that of the priests that mediated between God and man according to the Old Covenant.

Christ now mediates for us in the very presence of God within a temple not made by man's hands which the earthly temple was just a "shadow" of.  He offers His blood once....not over and over again.  He died once to present His blood once for all the elect through all history.

The author then reminds us that Christ's first coming will have a different purpose than His second coming.  His first coming was to bring peace and forgiveness but His second coming will be to judge the living and the dead and free us not just from the power and penalty of sin, but from the very presence of sin.  At that point in time every knee will bow and every tongue confess in heaven,and on earth and under the earth that Jesus Christ Lord to the glory of God the Father.  At that time there will be no second chances as it is appointment man once to die and after that the judgement.  Remember the admonishment from chapter 3:12-15

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”