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Dear Friends in Christ:
Let’s take a look at a portion of Scripture in
Hebrews chapter 9 and verses 24-28. It reads, “For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made without
hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high
priest entereth into the holy place every year with
blood of others; For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world: but now once in the
end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto
them that look for him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation.”
There are many rich truths that we can gather from
these verses but I want us to notice that three times
the writer mentions an appearance of Jesus and each
time these appearances result in something for our benefit.
The first mention is in verse 24 where we see that Christ
is appearing in heaven right now for us. This means
that Jesus is standing as our mediator and our advocate
in the very presence of the Heavenly Father. We have
been granted the privilege of access to heaven and all
that it contains through the intercession of Jesus Christ.
The work of Christ continues beyond the cross and the
resurrection as He now is seated at God’s right
hand and serves as our heavenly high priest. We partake
of His righteousness and therefore partake of His reward,
to dwell in the presence of God blameless and holy.
A second time the writer mentions an appearance of
Jesus. In verse 26 we read that Jesus also appeared
in this world to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
When Jesus came to this planet as God in the flesh,
He came so that He could destroy the work of the devil
by becoming a perfect sacrifice.
No longer would sin and the curse that it causes have
to reign mercilessly in the lives of men. There has
been given to mankind a way of escape from the evil
corruption and enslaving nature of sin. Jesus has become
for us the way of salvation so that we may overcome
the world and all that is in it. His precious blood
has been poured out on the judgment seat and has turned
it into the mercy seat. We are no longer children of
darkness but now have become children of the light.
The third mention of Jesus’ appearance is in
verse 28 where we seen that He is coming to this earth
a second time to appear on behalf of those who are anticipating
His return. This time He is not going to deal with sin
since He has already put that under His feet. The sacrifice
was made once and for all. This time He is going to
receive His saints unto Himself so that we can enjoy
eternity together away from this world that is headed
for destruction. This will be His victory lap as He
returns in glory and power to show His rightful place
as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
His first appearing was at the cross and saved us from
the penalty of our sins, giving access to heaven to
those who were doomed to spend eternity in hell. His
second appearing was in heaven where He presented His
blood as the eternal sacrifice for sin and where He
was seated at God’s right hand to become our mediator
and advocate sending us the promised Holy Spirit to
be our helper in this life. This saves us from the power
of sin. The third appearing is coming soon. Jesus will
return to take those that are His so that we can be
together forever. We will live a better life in a better
place. This saves us from the presence of sin. Let us
rejoice and be glad in God’s great mercy and goodness.
Let’s never forget what He has made available
for us and let’s be sure to tell the world that
Jesus is the answer.
For His Name,
John Merola
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