Hebrews Chapter 9 – Key Themes and Points

SUMMARY: Heb9 contrasts the old covenant tabernacle and its sacrificial system with the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice and the new covenant, showing that the former were shadows pointing to the heavenly reality found in Jesus. Christ, as the ultimate High Priest, entered the heavenly sanctuary once with his own blood, achieving eternal redemption and providing a way for all believers to approach God, thus ending the need for repeated animal sacrifices. 

THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE AND ITS SERVICES:  The tabernacle had a “holy place” accessible to priests and a “holy of holies” (the most holy place) only accessible to the High Priest once a year to make a sacrifice for sin.  Inside the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant, containing a golden jar of manna, Aaron’s rod, and the Ten Commandments, all under the cherubim symbolizing God’s presence.  The tabernacle’s rituals and laws, including the sprinkling of blood, were external regulations designed to point to Christ. The Old Testament required blood for cleansing and the forgiveness of sins. 

CHRIST’S SUPERIOR WORK AND THE NEW COVENANT: Jesus is the High Priest of a new, superior covenant who entered the heavenly sanctuary, not an earthly one, with his own blood. By offering himself once for all time, Jesus achieved eternal redemption for humanity. His sacrifice and shed blood cleanse both the conscience and the believer from sin, opening the way to God. The physical veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was a symbol of Christ’s flesh; when it was torn at his death, the path to God was revealed. Unlike the repeated animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant, Christ’s single, perfect sacrifice is a permanent and completely effective solution to sin. 

IMPLICATIONS FOR BELIEVERS: Believers in Christ are freed from the need for endless animal sacrifices. His one sacrifice secures eternal redemption, allowing believers to serve the living God. Christ will appear a second time, not as a sacrifice for sin, but for the salvation of those who are waiting for him. 

Once again I have quoted Google’s Artificial Intelligence generated overview of a chapter from Hebrews [The NASB text is available HERE ]. In the context of what these posts are about, this can be a useful exercise regarding the vexatious but necessary negative dimension to this task; that is to identify where and how I believe many Christians have misinterpreted Scripture, particularly that which impacts or obscures the vastly broader (3 soteriological category) divine providence to which I have been testifying. The AI sources are not quoted on this occasion but last time (re Heb8) they were broadly Evangelical and I suspect that is the case here. I have highlighted in underlined green where I believe some clarification or qualification  is required.

QUOTE: “The Old Testament required blood for cleansing and the forgiveness of sins”. RESPONSE: – to which I would add “as in a sense does the New Testament”. I say “in a sense” for unlike the Old Covenant, the physical shedding of blood is indeed no longer required, but a continual and repeated offering pertaining to Christ’s shed blood is provided in Heaven and required on earth. In terms of heaven, “every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that (Christ) also has something to offer” (Heb8:3). So have having suffered on the Cross, Christ still offers up sacrifices pertaining to that Sacrifice, otherwise He would no longer be a High Priest. As to what is required on earth, Luther and his followers came to reject the established teaching of both the Western and Eastern Church that the Eucharist/Mass/Divine Liturgy to be a sacrifice.  And most of Luther’s followers outside the Lutheran Church also rejected the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the bread and wine that is offered. For the first 28 years of my Christian life I did the same, although how I ever squared that with John chapter six, especially verses 51-58, I cannot imagine . What finally affirmed the matter for me was a more detailed study of the early Church Fathers’ writings.

QUOTE: “By offering himself once for all time, Jesus achieved eternal redemption for humanity”.  RESPONSE: “Redemption” in the sense of being “bought back” from the power of sin and its consequence is not provided to all humanity but only to those “foreknown by God and predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom8:29). However Scripture also affirms that “(Christ) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world “(1Jn2:2). For in that act of atonement Christ became sin (2Cor5:21 check Greek). Quoting from my book:

 “If He became sin, it must be human sin in its totality, not an act of substitutionary atonement for select individuals or groupings. Jesus had come in the likeness of sinful flesh so that sin in the flesh should be condemned (Rom8:3). Yet through His resurrection His chosen people can also be set free from the domination and bondage of sin by sharing in Christ’s life. “If the Son shall make you free then you shall be free indeed”. So for the many, including those living before its historical occurrence the benefit of the atonement is expiatory, annulling the penalty of universal sin. For the few (proportionately speaking) it is both expiatory and cathartic through sacramental participation. For the latter it cleanses from sin’s guilt and power by being able to purify the soul and unite it with the life of Christ”  [Excerpt Little Book of Providence ch.3).

QUOTE: “His sacrifice and shed blood cleanse both the conscience and the believer from sin”. RESPONSE: The above quote from my book distinguishes between those who “merely” benefit forensically from the Atonement (1Jn2:2) and those for whom “the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb9:14).

QUOTE: “Christ will appear a second time… for the salvation of those who are waiting for Him.  RESPONSE: In terms of to whom “those who are waiting” refers, I will leave it to Paul to provide some amplification:  “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive; but everyone in his own class ^{[Greek: hekastos de en to idio tagmata]}: Christ the first fruits; afterwards those who are Christ’s at His coming [1Cor25:22-23]. The key to that statement being – who is, or rather who are “Christ the first fruits”? An earlier post provides the solution which reinforces the broader benign providence I have been adducing. Such is also inferred from the universal dimension to Christ’s atonement referred to above (re: 1Jn2:2 cf. 2Cor5:19).

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