“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.” NASB
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” NIV
This portion to which we give our attention today is full and rich in its teaching which makes the distinction between the earthly sanctuary where the men appointed by God served, and the Heavenly, where Christ as our High Priest entered for us. The distinction is also made in these verses between the blood of bulls and calves and other creatures that were offered for the sins of the people and the blood of our Lord, the shedding of which obtained our eternal redemption and was shed once for all.
There is teaching here about the new covenant mediated by Christ which made obsolete the old, as though a contract had been fulfilled and the promissory note burned having served its usefulness.
There is something that stood out for me as I read and reread these verses in my study that I would like to share with you today. It occurred to me as I read and pondered what is said here, that the writer brought out several instances in which Christ has manifested Himself and the various reasons for which He did so; and the more I meditated on these words the more significance I found in them.
Let’s go right to them then, asking the Lord of the Word to give us light.
CHRIST BEFORE US – As High Priest
In verse 11, having discussed the earthly ordinances for worship that were of a temporal value only, the writer transitions to Christ who is his primary focus and says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come…”
Now I will jump ahead just a little and tell you now so that you can be listening for it, that this word ‘appeared’, and in verse 24 ‘appear’ and again in verse 28 ‘appear’, are three different words in the Greek language. So we’ll want to be careful to get the full meaning from each as we come to them. There is also another word in verse 24 that we’ll look at as we go by.
This one in verse 11 has to do with someone becoming present; making a public appearance.
Here is something we have talked about as we’ve studied some other passages of scripture that teach about the coming of Christ into the world. It all bears repeating.
Mankind is born into the world in the timing of God, of course, but also by the will of men and women. But when we are born that is our beginning and it is all done entirely apart from our aid or cooperation. In fact, time must go by and we must grow and begin to understand certain things about the way of physical life before we can be taught and begin to comprehend just how we came to be.
The Bible tells us, in fact Jesus Himself during His earthly life told us, that He came into the world having existed before hand, and in order to engage and complete a prior plan that no man had any part in.
Whenever in the Bible there is any reference to the birth of Jesus or prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah, it is always worded this way. I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the latter day He will take His stand on the earth, says Job.
John the Apostle opens his Gospel declaring that the Word existed eternally with God and is Himself God and goes on to clarify that this ‘Word’ incarnate is Jesus the Christ.
Jesus at His interview with Pilate declared that He came into the world for a purpose and that this purpose was being fulfilled.
Again, the Apostle John employs this term in his first letter to the church, declaring in his exhortation to the believer to abstain from sin, the purpose of Christ coming to the world. He writes:
“You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”
So the writer to the HEBREWS is simply confirming this truth. He has said in chapter 8 verse 3 that every high priest is appointed to his office in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices. But when he turns again to his favorite topic of conversation – his favorite Person to talk about – he says ‘But when Christ appeared…’
And he uses this very specific word. We know that the languages of the scriptures are very specific and since they are God-breathed, as Paul said to Timothy, every word is precisely the word that God intended. That is why we often need a paragraph in our language to define a word used in one of the original languages; it’s why we so often have to spend all this time explaining words.
‘But when Christ became present’ ‘But when Christ came on the scene’ ‘But when Christ arrived’. This implies deliberateness. When we show up in one place we have come from another, haven’t we?
And unless we’re lost or our consciousness is for some reason diminished, we’ve done it on purpose…with a purpose.
Now what makes this so important to make clear? Why am I spending so much time emphasizing this? Because of what the writer says next! But when Christ appeared, came on the scene, arrived from whence He came, as a high priest of the good things to come…
This is the significance, beloved! His arrival was in order to perform the function of our High Priest in ushering in the ‘good things to come’.
And that term, ‘the good things to come’ is a reference to our salvation which as our High Priest He purchased for us in the sacrifice of Himself, entering then into the Heavenly sanctuary with His own blood to secure our eternal redemption!
This is a truth that we must always hold dear, Christians. This is something that can only be said of Jesus and no one else. History has its heroes and its martyrs who lived and died courageously. We think of names like William Wallace and Dietrich Bonhoffer and the men and women who died to preserve the truth of God’s Word through the ages. They are innumerable. But they all rose to the occasion through their circumstances and of course by the leading and help of God.
None of them, none of us, came to this world with the foreknowledge that we would be rejected and deserted and mocked publicly and beaten and spit upon and whipped mercilessly and crucified.
Jesus did. He purposely appeared on the scene to endure the cross, paying no mind to the shame of it, but enduring all, suffering the Father’s wrath against sin in His own body, for you and me.
Folks, that makes Him so much more than any hero of the world who has found himself in a position of choice and gives all for his friends. This is what Paul was teaching us when he said that for a good man some might even give their lives and die, but Christ, while we were helpless, sinful, enemies of God, gave Himself for us. And here in HEBREWS we have the further teaching that in doing so He was acting as our High Priest; and this takes us to our next instance of a reference to His appearing.
CHRIST BEFORE THE FATHER – For us
In verse 24 the writer of this letter says, “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;”
This word is very much like the first, the difference being that it is a perpetual appearance. It is a coming before – a remaining before.
The writer says ‘now’ to appear. Christ is our High Priest forever. Remember, He is declared a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Remember that He ever lives to make intercession for us.
You may be thinking, ‘but what of His finished work on the cross? Don’t we believe and teach that our salvation is complete in His death and resurrection?’ The answer would be ‘yes’. But we still sojourn in this devil-filled world. We are still on our journey, and while He continues to perfect the work He has begun in us, He remains before the Father as our High Priest in all things pertaining to God and He intercedes for us – not for our salvation which is fixed and sure forever in Him, but for our sanctification, for our help in our daily walk. We are pilgrims, fellow Christ-followers, and it should come as a great comfort to our hearts and minds and spirits that our High Priest intercedes for us perpetually which means we are in His thoughts without interruption. Every day when you wake, whatever you face, whatever comes across your path, however the day ends, during your sleep, keeping you until you wake again, there is never a moment that you are not on His mind. You are not abandoned, you are never alone, you are never neglected or forsaken. This is what Jesus meant when He repeated His promise from Deuteronomy 31:6 and said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you”. And He keeps that promise even now, appearing before the presence of God for us, not ashamed to call us brethren.
CHRIST MANIFESTED FOR SALVATION – His true character
Now there is another place in this passage where reference is made to the appearance of Christ, but the word is generally translated, ‘manifested’.
In verse 26 we read, ‘…but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.’
Before I talk more about the more literal definition of the term, let’s talk about what is being said in this phrase, ‘now once at the consummation of the ages’.
To understand it, we have to look at the last part of the verse. “…He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
The central focus of all history is Christ and the cross. Sin was introduced into the world and death through sin. Now we aren’t given a time element of when sin itself began to exist. We know that Lucifer rebelled and was cast from Heaven with his minions and it was later, whether a short or long time, that he tempted the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden.
But so far as the created universe and this world are concerned, the ages, or the eons which have been characterized by sin and rebellion against God find their consummation in the manifestation of Christ to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
What Paul in Galatians 1:4 calls ‘this present evil age’ finds it’s consummation in the cross. All of history led up to it and all that has come since is governed by it. The death and resurrection of Christ is the consummation of the ages.
In verse 25 the writer has established that if Christ’s ministry was like that of the earthly priests He would have had to suffer constantly since the foundation of the world. But since He is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, once, one day in time and history, He sacrificed Himself and His one sacrifice was sufficient to put away sin.
Now let’s talk about that word ‘manifested’. It means to be revealed, to be shown in fullness, to be revealed in true character. If a man was playing a role and pretending to be something he was not, then suddenly began to act his true self and according to his true character, this word would apply.
When Christ appeared in fulfillment of all the prophets had spoken, in fulfillment of God’s promise to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15, in fulfillment of the determination of the Triune God before the foundation of the world, the true character of God was made manifest as He dealt with sin by one act that was sufficient for all and for all time and eternity.
In the death and resurrection of Christ God’s holiness and justice and mercy and grace were demonstrated; were made manifest. Calvary’s cross vindicated for eternity all who believe in Him and suffer for His name’s sake. ‘It is finished’, were His words, and those words held a meaning that is everlasting.
CHRIST BEFORE THE WORLD – In His glory
The final mention of Christ’s appearing in our text is in verse 28.
Let’s put 27 and 28 together.
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 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.”
Verse 27 is a familiar one to most of us, isn’t it? It is the first thing we think of when confronted with the notion of reincarnation. So when someone tells us that they believe we have more than one chance at life, we pluck out Hebrews 9:27 and say ‘No, but the Bible says this’.
My wife heard someone say that people who don’t believe in reincarnation are going around for their first time. Pause here to let that sink in.
Preacher Alistair Begg quips that problem people in the church reincarnate themselves. He is from Scotland and now pastors a church in Cleveland, Ohio, and he says some of them even followed him across the Atlantic. He’s joking, of course, to make a point to pastors that they are not alone in their misery.
What we really believe because the Bible says so, is that it is appointed for men to die once and then stand in judgment. There is no second go-around.
And let me point out here that the Bible says that men are appointed to die. Appointed. But of Christ it says He appeared. Of Him, it says He was manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
But here is where we have to move on from verse 27 and see that it is only the first part of the point that the writer is making. So if we only know and only repeat verse 27 as our sword against the error of reincarnation, we’ve missed the really vital message.
The author isn’t trying to convince anyone here against reincarnation. This was not written by him to discourage a particular teaching in the church or that was coming into the church.
He states a fact as though it is a widely understood and accepted fact. Inasmuch. Inasmuch. It sounds like three words but it’s put together here as one. In truth, it is actually two words in the Greek language which roughly translates, ‘according to how much’. I think it would equal a phrase we more commonly use, which would be, ‘by the same token’.
So he states his fact upon which to build his assertion.
Remember that a few verses back he has said that Christ did not have to suffer over and over from the foundation of the world, because His priesthood is according to an eternal order, therefore He has been manifested once at the consummation of the ages in order to put sin away by the sacrifice of Himself.
By the same token that man is appointed to die once and then face the judgment, so Christ also has died once and His one death was sufficient to bear the sins of many.
So the next time you find yourself debating with a Hindu or anyone who has adopted and believed the lie concerning reincarnation, be sure to tell them that God has appointed men to die only once and then stand before Him in judgment for what they have done in the flesh, whether good or bad. But don’t stop there.
Tell them that by the same token, Christ appeared in order to die once to put away sin for all who believe, and His one death was efficacious, that means powerful, and it was sufficient for them if only they will turn from sin to serve the Living God.
But don’t wait until you find a Hindu or another misguided wanderer. Tell anyone who does not yet belong to Christ that He has appeared once in the consummation of the ages to put away sin by the death of Himself on the cross and that He did it for them. Once was enough, and once will be enough for them to come to Him in the obedience of faith, and they will be with Him for eternity.
Now in closing look at the second part of verse 28.
He…”shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him”.
In this case, the word ‘appear’ means to be seen with the eye. Another way it is put is ‘to become acquainted by experience’.
Let’s not miss this though. The writer says, ‘without reference to sin’. Sin has been dealt with finally and forever at the cross of Christ, my friends. The Law could not put away sin. Man’s acts of righteousness cannot put away sin. The passing of time cannot put away sin, and man’s refusal to acknowledge sin does not make it go away either.
Sin was judged and punished in the body of God’s Son on the cross, and when He returns it will not be in reference to sin, because He will appear again for all whose sins He has already put away forever.
If you go to chapter 10 for a moment and read starting from verse 14 you will see further confirmation of what I’m saying.
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them,’ He then says, ‘And their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
So we learn two things from what is said here. One is that there is no other offering for sin. When people aren’t busy excusing their sinful behavior, or pointing at someone they deem worse in order to get the attention off themselves, then they look for ways to improve themselves. They make resolutions. They go to counselors. They read books. They take up a religion that is usually chosen for its pious lifestyle and strict rules, so that as they adhere to the practices of their adopted belief system they can rest with confidence that they are ‘doing better’ and that they are ‘ok’.
But the Bible says there is no offering for sin, there is no hope of forgiveness apart from the offering Christ made of Himself for sin once for all and for all time.
The second thing we get, and the writer’s main point, is that for those who have been perfected by this one offering – and by perfected the writer is making reference to the doctrine of justification, which says that God reckons the believer as perfected in Christ’s righteousness alone – the forgiveness granted is full and complete and no further sacrifice is required or accepted. It is done. For the one in Christ there is nothing to be done but to live to the praise and glory of the One who died and rose again.
His coming then, will be to complete the salvation He has already purchased for the believer; to take them to the place He has prepared so that where He is, there they may be also.
Who are they? They are the ones who eagerly await Him. Friends and family, no one who has not believed in Jesus for their salvation and been born again and declared right with God by faith should ever consider themselves eager for His coming. They most certainly will not be, because the sin nature in them hates God and hates Christ and they don’t want to see Him at all.
Yet in their silliness there might be some who say they’re eager for Him to come, if indeed He really is going to come, because if He is who He said He was, well then, He’s going to solve the world’s problems including their own. They should not be eager. Because for them He only comes to judge and since they are still dead in their sins there is only judgment for them; judgment and eternal separation from God and Heaven.
But for you who believe, there is only reward.
We now believe in what we cannot see; our reward will be finally seeing what we have believed.
That will only be the beginning of our reward, but oh, what a beginning, as we shall see Him as He is!
Said Job…
“Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another.” Job 19:26-27
This is the great and sure hope of the Christian. This is why we wait, eagerly watching, expectant and confident, willing now to undergo persecution if we must, deprivation if necessary, rejection when it comes, treatment as wanderers, vagabonds, aliens, unwelcome in this unfriendly and ungodly world. Because He comes. He shall appear a second time for salvation – not our initial salvation, but the end of our salvation, which is glorification – for those who eagerly await Him.
And the whole world will finally see Him; but He comes for His believing ones!
He comes in His Glory to bring us to Glory for the Glory of the Father – we who know Him by faith will become instantly acquainted with Him by experience – we will see Him with the eye!
• Christ manifested for us!
