HEBREWS
9:28 – FOR SALVATION AND THE COMING OF THE LORD
Did you know the phrase "Second Coming" is not found
anywhere in the Bible? It is a man made term used to describe what
Hebrews 9:28 actually says, but most people misunderstand the verse
by reading it through a futurist lens. Let's examine the context
carefully. HEBREWS 9:26-28 (NASB): "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 revealed to put away sin by
the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is destined for people to
die once, and after this comes judgment, so Christ, having been
offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time,
without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him, for
salvation." KEY POINTS FROM THIS PASSAGE: In verse 26, Jesus "has been
revealed once to put away sin." The Greek word for "once"
is hapax (G530), meaning "once for all time."
This same word is used in: Jude 3: "...the faith which
was once for all time handed down to the saints." 1 Peter 3:18: "Christ also
suffered for sins once for all time..." In verse 28, Jesus is said to
"appear a second time for salvation." The word "second" in
Greek is deuteros, simply meaning the second in a
sequence. The point is that He appeared once to deal with sin and
would appear again not multiple times, to bring salvation to those
eagerly waiting. THE RETURN WAS FOR SALVATION –
NOT JUST JUDGMENT Most scholars agree Jesus came in judgment in AD 70 upon
Jerusalem, as seen in: Matthew 24:29-31
– "Immediately after the tribulation of those days... they
will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power
and great glory..." This was not the end of the physical world but the end of
the Old Covenant system. But Jesus' coming was not only for judgment. It was also for
redemption: Luke 21:27-28 –
"Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place,
straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near." The word for "redemption"
is apolutrosis, used in: Romans 3:24 Romans 8:23 1 Corinthians 1:30 Ephesians 1:7 and 1:14 In Luke 21:32, Jesus
said this redemption would occur within "this generation." DRAWING THE BIBLICAL CONCLUSION Hebrews 9:28 says Christ would
appear a second time for salvation. Luke 21 says He would return at
the fall of Jerusalem for redemption. These are the same event. Hebrews 10:37 confirms this when
it says: "For yet in a very little
while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay." Yet most Christians today say He has delayed. That directly
contradicts the writer of Hebrews. CROSS REFERENCES THAT CONFIRM THIS: Hebrews 9:28 –
He will appear a second time for salvation. Luke 21:28 –
Your redemption is drawing near. Hebrews 10:33-39 – Persecution, judgment,
and imminent return for salvation. A CHALLENGE TO FUTURISTS How can anyone claim a future coming of Christ when: He said He would come a second
time (not a third or fourth), He said it would be in that
generation, And He said it would be for redemption? If you are still waiting for His coming, then are you
truly born again? Salvation comes when we
receive Christ. Hebrews 9:28 says He would come
for salvation. So if you are still waiting, do you have Him? 1 JOHN 5:12 – "The
one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son
of God does not have the life." If Christ comes with salvation, and
you do not believe He has come, then do you have salvation? GALATIANS 2:20 – "Christ lives in me." If Christ lives in you now, then
why are you still waiting for Him? He has already come to save, to
redeem, and to dwell in His people. Hebrews 9:28 is not about a distant event. It is about what
happened at the consummation of the ages. THE TABERNACLE AND THE TRANSITIONAL AGE Hebrews 9:8 –
"The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the
holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is
still standing." The first tabernacle had to fall. That happened in AD 70 when the
temple was destroyed. The fall of the Old Covenant allowed full access into the
true Holy of Holies, the Body of Christ. THE TRUE HOLY OF HOLIES IS THE BODY OF CHRIST Hebrews 10:19-20 – "Therefore,
brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy
place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He
inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh..." 1 Corinthians 3:16 – "Do
you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of
God dwells in you?" Ephesians 2:21-22 – "...in
whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a
holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together
into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Revelation 21:22 – "I saw no temple in it, for the
Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." The true Holy of Holies is no longer a
room hidden behind a veil, but the Body of Christ, the spiritual
temple made up of God's people. EPHESIANS 4:30 –
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption." That day came when the Temple fell and
the Old Covenant ended. FINAL THOUGHTS: Jesus said He would come once
more for salvation. He did exactly that within the
generation He promised. Those who wait for a future coming of Christ are unknowingly
denying the fulfillment of what He already accomplished. IF HEBREWS 9:28 IS FULFILLED, THEN... We already have salvation. We are already in the Kingdom. We are already in Christ. He already reigns. To say otherwise is to deny the very
promise He kept. QUESTION FOR THOSE WHO SAY: "HE CAME TO REDEEM US
FROM SIN" If you believe He died for our
sins and gave us salvation, then why would you still be waiting for
His coming? Was it not when we received Him
as Savior that He came to us? Hebrews 9:28
shows His second appearance was for salvation. If you have salvation, then you
have experienced His coming. So how can you be waiting for what you already have?
By Dan Maines
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