People are destined to die once
Hebrews 9:27-28 - Facing the judgment without a professed faith and without being transformed by Christ’s love is setting up an eternity separated from God.
Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV
On occasion you may read a verse or two in one of our devotionals and think “Haven’t I read that before?” You very well may have seen some verses once before. Barb writes her devotionals by selecting a book of the Bible, then going through it verse by verse, whereas I use a random bible verse website to point me to a daily verse and then cross-check against a lengthy list of devotionals to make sure I’m not writing it again!
Today’s verse is one of those that Barb covered during her exhaustive examination of Hebrews that began last October. Although we’ve been married for just about 47 years and know each other’s thoughts pretty well, I’m sure I will interpret these verses slightly differently than she did. Now, with that rather long-winded explanation out of the way, let’s look at Hebrews 9:27-28.
In Hebrews 9, the author (unknown, although Hebrews is traditionally attributed to Paul) breaks the chapter into four primary sections. In the first section, the author contrasts the Old and New Covenants with God through a description of the structure and rituals of the tabernacle (Old Testament/Old Covenant). The second section clarifies that Christ came as the High Priest to fulfill the symbolized act of the yearly ritual, while the third explains that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, and that all things are purified by blood and that without blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22)
That takes us to the fourth segment of the chapter, which shows that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross fulfilled once and for all time the “ritual purification” familiar to the Jewish followers of Christ who were the target audience for this epistle.
The verse starts with the words “Just as people are destined to die once,” which points out the impossibility of reincarnation (rebirth of a soul in a new human body) in Christianity. What happens after death? Judgment.
I liked this “short form” of these two verses on Precept Austin:
Just as all humans die once and then face judgment
So also Christ died once (to bear sins) and will appear again (for salvation).
Marvin Vincent, cited in the Precept Austin commentary, explained the importance of the beginning of verse 27:
That there is no place for a repeated offering of Christ is further shown by reference to the lot of men in general. The very idea is absurd; for men die once, and judgment follows. Christ was man, and Christ died. He will not come to earth to live and die again. Christ died, but judgment did not follow in His case. On the contrary, He became judge of all.
Unlike in the Old Covenant where the offering was required once a year, Christ died once to bear our sins. He will not come back to live and die again and again because there is no need.
I would be remiss if I didn’t provide at least one quote from a Charles H. Spurgeon devotional or sermon, and here’s what the Prince of Preachers had to say about verse 27:
A man dies once, and after that everything is fixed and settled, and he answers for his doings at the judgment. One life, one death—then everything is weighed, and the result declared: “after this, judgment.” So Christ comes, and dies once; after this, for Him also the result of what He has done, namely, the salvation of those who look for Him. He dies once, and then reaps the fixed result, according to the analogy of the human race, of which He became a member and representative. Men do not come back here to die twice. Men die once, and then the matter is decided, and there comes the judgment. So Christ dies; He does not come back here to die again, but He receives the result of His death—that is, the salvation of His own people.
One more commentary, this time from David Guzik of Enduring Word:
iii. Though it was not really the point of the writer to the Hebrews to discuss reincarnation, he certainly and completely denies it here. We do not die and live and die and live, facing an eternal reckoning some number of lives down the road. This life is it, and then we face judgment. This means that there are no second chances beyond the grave. Now is the time to choose for Jesus Christ, because when we die we simply face the judgment.
If only we could convince those who have no faith that “there are no second chances beyond the grave”! Facing the judgment without a professed faith and without being transformed by Christ’s love is setting up an eternity separated from God.
Verse 28 completes this couplet with the promise of the reappearance of Christ. The commentary on Precept Austin had a subtitle that describes the verse perfectly in six words:
ONCE FOR SIN
AGAIN FOR SALVATION
and there’s also commentary that wraps up the meaning of the verse quite well:
Hebrews 9:28 brings the sweeping argument of the chapter to its climax by drawing a parallel between human destiny (death) and Christ’s redemptive mission (deliverance). Just as every person is appointed to die once and then face judgment (Heb 9:27), so also Christ entered into death once—but not for His own sin. Instead, He was offered up as the sin-bearer for many, fulfilling the role of the suffering Servant foretold in Isaiah 53+. Unlike the Levitical priests whose offerings had to be repeated, Christ's sacrifice was final and complete. The verse also shifts our gaze forward from His first coming which was to deal with sin, to His second that will be apart from sin, and will bring the full salvation and deliverance longed for by those who eagerly await Him. This verse captures both appearings of Christ—His past accomplishment of atonement and His future return in consummation—anchoring the believer’s hope (not hope so, but hope sure - confidence) in Christ’s once-for-all work and promised return to take us home!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, we thank You for the truth revealed to us in these verses. We know that we shall all die once and face judgment, and are grateful for the one-time perfect sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ which cleansed us from sin. Build up our faith daily as we await His second coming, joyfully looking forward to the salvation He brings. May that hope shape our lives and bring us closer to You each day, AMEN.