Hebrews 9

Chapter 9

Old Rules about Worship

1 That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth.2 There were two rooms in that Tabernacle.t In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place.3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second roomt called the Most Holy Place.4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.
6 When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first roomt as they performed their religious duties.7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernaclet and the system it represented were still in use.
9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come.t He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.

12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deedst so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
16 Now when someone leaves a will,t it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.t

17 The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.
18 That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.19 For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats,t along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool.20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”t21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship.

22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.

26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the aget to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

28 so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

HEBREWS 9

The Tent in Heaven

1 The first promise included rules for worship and a tent for worship here on earth.

2 t The first part of the tent was called the holy place, and a lampstand, a table, and the sacred loaves of bread were kept there.
3  t Behind the curtain was the most holy place. 4 t The gold altar for burning incense was in this holy place. The gold-covered sacred chest was also there, and inside it were three things. First, there was a gold jar filled with manna.t Then there was Aaron's walking stick that sprouted.t Finally, there were the flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them.

5 t On top of the chest were the glorious creatures with wingst opened out above the place of mercy.t
Now isn't the time to go into detail about these things. 6 t But this is how everything was when the priests went each day into the first part of the tent to do their duties.

7 t However, only the high priest could go into the second part of the tent, and he went in only once a year. Each time he carried blood to offer for his sins and for any sins that the people had committed without meaning to.
8 All of this is the Holy Spirit's way of saying no one could enter the most holy place while the tent was still the place of worship. 9 This also has a meaning for today. It shows we cannot make our consciences clear by offering gifts and sacrifices.

10 These rules are merely about such things as eating and drinking and ceremonies for washing ourselves. And rules about physical things will last only until the time comes to change them for something better.
11  tChrist came as the high priest of the good things that are now here.t He also went into a much better tent that wasn't made by humans and that doesn't belong to this world.

12 Then Christ went once for all into the most holy place and freed us from sin forever. He did this by offering his own blood instead of the blood of goats and bulls.
13  tAccording to the Law of Moses, those people who become unclean are not fit to worship God. Yet they will be considered clean, if they are sprinkled with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a sacrificed calf.

14 But Christ was sinless, and he offered himself as an eternal and spiritual sacrifice to God. This is why his blood is much more powerful and makes ourt consciences clear. Now we can serve the living God and no longer do things that lead to death.
15 Christ died to rescue those who had sinned and broken the old agreement. Now he brings his chosen ones a new agreement with its guarantee of God's eternal blessings! 16 In fact, making an agreement of this kind is like writing a will. This is because the one who makes the will must die before it is of any use.

17 In other words, a will doesn't go into effect as long as the one who made it is still alive.
18 Blood was also usedt to put the first agreement into effect. 19 t Moses told the people all the Law said they must do. Then he used red wool and a hyssop plant to sprinkle the people and the book of the Law with the blood of bulls and goatst and with water. 20 He told the people, “With this blood God makes his agreement with you.” 21 t Moses also sprinkled blood on the tent and on everything else used in worship.

22 t The Law says that almost everything must be sprinkled with blood, and no sins can be forgiven unless blood is offered.

Christ's Great Sacrifice

24 This is why Christ did not go into a tent made by humans and was only a copy of the real one. Instead, he went into heaven and is now there with God to help us.
25 Christ did not have to offer himself many times. He wasn't like a high priest who goes into the most holy place each year to offer the blood of an animal.

26 If he had offered himself every year, he would have suffered many times since the creation of the world. But instead, near the end of time he offered himself once and for all, so he could be a sacrifice that does away with sin.
27 We die only once, and then we are judged. 28 t So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him.