LEARNING ACTIVITY #67

The "Second Coming" of Hebrews Nine

Some time ago I forwarded a copy of an informative book on the Scriptures to a close Christian friend. I recently received a communication back from this person who took exception to a statement made by the author of the book. The book author had stated that "the Bible actually says nothing about a second coming." The comment my Christian friend made about this author's statement was that "this is a lie! See Hebrews 9:28."

1. Hebrews 9:28

The part of the verse above that my Christian friend refers to is the part that states "and unto them that look for him [Christ] shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." A superficial reading of these words might indicate that my friend is justified in making the statement that the author in question has lied. But let us look further at this scripture.

The first fact I notice is that although the majority of translators include the word "time" in the verse above, no such word exists in the original Greek text! The word "time" has been added by the translators to help us to understand what the writer of Hebrews is saying. This is not a terrible thing to do if, in fact, the added word helps us to understand the truth, but if the word is added because of the translators preconceived doctrine of a second coming, then it is not helpful at all.

The next word in the Hebrews nine scripture that we need to look at is the word "appear." The word "appear" in the Greek text is the word "optanomai" which is properly translated as "appear." What is worthy to note about this word is that it is not the Greek word that is used in the Scriptures to describe Jesus appearing back on earth after His ascension! That Greek word is "parousia" (See Learning Activity #34 for the details of the Parousia). It is logical that the word "parousia" would have been used in the Hebrews nine verse if that verse was describing that particular event. Since the word "optanomai" is used we should have a suspicion that the verse is not describing the Parousia event at all but some other event.

An additional key word in our Hebrews verse is the Greek word "deuteros" which is translated "second." This Greek word has the meanings of "a numerical word," "of a series" or "of place." With these possibilities, it would appear that "second" is not a bad translation, however, the question that must be asked is that if this is the "second" then it follows that there must also be a "first" event that will tell us more about the "second" event. We shall, however, delay exploring this aspect of the verse until we establish other facts about this passage.

In order to proceed with our understanding of Hebrews 9:28, what is needed is to establish the context of the verse. This is always an important step in interpreting Bible passages.

2. Hebrews 9:1

3. Although the word "covenant" does not appear in the Greek text of this verse, it is not misleading to add that word into this verse as we shall see as we study Hebrews chapter nine. What context is the writer of Hebrews attempting to establish with this verse?

4. Hebrews 9:2

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Although it is not identified by name, what is being described here is the Mosaic Tabernacle which Moses was instructed by God to build in Exodus Chapter 25 through Chapter 31. A basic line drawing of the Mosaic Tabernacle appears in Figure 49.

This arrangement was used by the Children of Israel during their desert wanderings, being a portable tent-like structure with certain articles of furniture. It consisted of three major areas.

Area 1 was known as the Outer Court and was a place of common access to the people and the priesthood. Here the priests performed animal sacrifices on the Altar of Burnt Offerings for the sins of the people. A Laver was also present for cleansing with water.

Area 2 was known as the Holy Place and only the priests were permitted to enter. This compartment contained a lighted Golden Candlestick, an Altar of Incense, and a table on which loaves of bread were placed. This compartment is also called "The First Tabernacle."

Area 3 was known as the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place and is also referred to as The Second Tabernacle. Only the high priest was allowed into this compartment once each year on the Day of Atonement to atone for the sins of the people and the high priest himself. To enter the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place the high priest had to pass through a veil or curtain. In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant inside of which was a pot of manna from Israel's desert wanderings, Aaron's rod that budded, and the two tablets of stone upon which God had given the Ten Commandments (See Hebrews 9:4). Every aspect and article of furniture in the Mosaic Tabernacle was a type of Jesus Christ! (See Learning Activity #66 on Types, Shadows and Signs).

5. Hebrews 9:7 ________________________

6. What is the name for the second tabernacle mentioned in the verse above?

7. Who went into this area of the tabernacle once each year?

8. What did the high priest take with him when he entered this area of the tabernacle?

9. Why did this event take place? _

The verse above is describing the actions that the high priest took once each year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The observance of this day was established in Leviticus 23:26–28. The high priest entered the Holy of Holies of the Mosaic Tabernacle to offer ceremonial activities for the forgiveness of the sins of the people and himself. This Old Testament activity was a type of Jesus Christ, our high priest, who also had to take His blood sacrifice (in the fourth dimensional spirit realm) into the heavenly Holy of Holies after His ascension. More about this later.

10. Hebrews 9:11

11. What does the first phrase in the verse above tell us about Jesus Christ?

12. Hebrews 9:12

13. What activity does the verse above describe as having been accomplished by Christ?

NOTE: As you read this section of scripture you should be made aware that the word translated "testament" in verses 15, 16, 17, and 20 should properly be translated "covenant" in the King James Bible. Additionally, where the word "testament" appears in verse 18, there is no such word in the Greek text at all.

14. Hebrews 9:22

15. What great understanding about salvation is seen in the verse above?

16. Hebrews 9:23

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17. Rewrite the verse above in your own words. _
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18. Hebrews 9:24

19. What do you see as the main point the writer of Hebrews makes in the verse above?

The above establishes the context for verse 28 of Hebrews 9. A contrast is being made between the high priestly activities in the Mosaic Tabernacle (the type) and the high priestly work of Jesus Christ (the antitype). Once the context for verse 28 has been established its meaning becomes irrefutably clear. The second appearing of Christ in verse 28 is the antitype of the Old Testament high priest (the type) when he came out of the Holy of Holies of the Mosaic Tabernacle. Our earlier question of what is the "first" part of this activity is understood as the type of the Old Testament high priest entering into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. This would coincide with Jesus entering into the heavenly Holy of Holies after His resurrection with His blood to complete the salvation of mankind (the antitype).

With reference to the phrase "and unto them that look for him" in verse 28, this also requires understanding. Once again the key to understanding is context. This time we turn to one of the main themes of the book of Hebrews to find context.

20. Hebrews 3:14

21. What is the main message of the verse above?

22. Hebrews 6:4–6 _

23. The writer of Hebrews is writing to his audience and giving an exhortation. From the three verses above what is the exhortation he is giving them?

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In this context, the phrase "and unto them that look for him" can be understood as meaning that anyone who believed in Christ, and continued to trust in Him alone, ("that look to him") would not be disappointed in their salvation. The Hebrews writer is cautioning them, as we saw in #20 through #23 above, not to go back to the Old Covenant as there were consequences to doing so.

You may note that I have changed the word "for" to "to." I cite The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament from the Nestle Greek Text, Zondervan, 1976, as a highly reliable support document for my changing of this word.

In conclusion, Hebrews 9:28 has absolutely nothing to do with the Parousia event of Christ which we have explained in Learning Activity #34.

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