Hebrews 9:19  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20  Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26  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.
27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28  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.

In our opening verses God reminded the readers that blood was required to seal the testament. Moses spoke all the words that God wanted him to speak. It was all there. However, it was necessary to demonstrate the authenticity of those words with blood. Moses did not kill someone, or cut himself to provide that blood. God told him to kill animals and use their blood with water and wool and hyssop to seal the book and the people.
In verse 20 Moses explained to the people what this was all about. The law of God cannot be changed. It is preserved and sealed by Him. In verse 21 we read further that the tabernacle and the vessels in it also needed to be sprinkled with the blood of the animals. The tabernacle and the vessels in it were made with things from this world. They were made with the hands of human beings. They needed to be purged with blood. They needed to be prepared for the service that God intended them for.
In verse 22 we read that almost all things are by the law purged with blood. Almost all things. Some things were not purged with blood, but most things were. We also know that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. There could be no forgiveness, pardon without the shedding of blood. The shedding of blood was necessary to authenticate the law and the shedding of blood was necessary to purge the person guilty before the law.
In verse 23 we are reminded that all the things that Moses was told to make were a pattern of things in heaven. They were not the real thing, but they were patterned after the real thing. They were not counterfeits. They were not frauds. They were exactly what God intended for that timeframe.
The heavenly things needed a better sacrifice than that of animals. Animal blood could not take away sin. Yet we need to be purged of sin in order to receive the gift of eternal life. We cannot enter heaven unless we have been purged of our sin.
In verse 24 Jesus Christ is again spoken of as that better sacrifice. He did not enter into the holy places made with mens’ hands. He never went into the holiest in the Temple. He was not recognized as a High Priest by the people. He was not of the tribe of Levi. Jesus did not follow the pattern that had been established for hundreds of years. God established that pattern and He gave very precise commands in how to keep that pattern pure. However, that pattern had its limitations, as set by God.
In verse 25 we are reminded that Jesus Christ was not required to offer up Himself often. He was not like those Old Testament priests. They were all sinners in need of forgiveness. Jesus Christ had no sin. He did not need to offer sacrifices for His sins.
In verse 26 we are reminded further of the absurdity of trying to degrade Jesus to some earthly priest. The Catholic try to do that. They claim that their pope is the “vicar” of Christ. They claim that the priests have the authority to forgive sins. They claim that the priests can get a sinner into heaven. They are liars. They deliberately choose to deceive people.
Jesus Christ offered up Himself once in the end of the world. He is the finality of all the typology. He came at the right time and He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He is the second person of the Godhead and because He has no sin, He can take away our sin. He shed His own spotless blood. He died on the cross for you and I. He was buried and three days later He rose again proving His power over sin and death. He ascended back up to heaven and is seated on the right hand of His Father now.
In verse 27 we are reminded that death is a surety for all people. Adam was told that if he would eat of the forbidden fruit, he would surely die. He defied God and ate of that forbidden fruit and he died. We are all descendants of Adam and we will all die one day. There are people who are looking for the fountain of youth, but there is no such place. There are people who believe they are in charge of how long they will live. Some years back I was at the bed side of a dying man. Another man interrupted that very sober time by stepping up beside the bed of this dying man and “rebuking the devil”, telling him to leave the man alone. That dying man died that day. The evil man who tried to prove his power, did not wait around to see if the dying man would live or die. He did not want to be there to face reality.
We do not seek death. We must understand that death is certain, and the key is to be prepared to die. Verse 27 not only tells us that we will die, but there is also a judgment after death. That judgment is declared by what a person does with Jesus Christ now, in this short time we have.
In verse 28 we are reminded that Christ once offered Himself to bear the sins of many. Who are the many? It tells us in that verse. It says that “them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Any person who is willing to believe what God says:

Acts 20:21  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

All those people will be forgiven and saved. Does that include you? You cannot earn you way into God’s favour. You cannot do any works to impress God. Jesus Christ did the needed work. He came as a man, even a servant obedient unto death. He laid down His life for the sheep.
If you have trusted in Him, praise the Lord! Serve Him with joy and seek to help others to know Him as well. If you think you are saved, but still bound in your sin, stop deceiving yourself. Turn to God today and be forgiven and then you will see what true salvation truly is.

Galatians 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

God’s salvation is better than anything that man can dream up. God’s salvation is life changing. It is an amazing thing. It is something that only God can do. We need His gift of salvation. I have that gift. I know there are others reading this that also have that gift. There could well be some reading this who do not have that gift. You can have it today! Turn to God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for His gift of salvation and eternal life. Then you can look forward with anticipation to Jesus Christ’s soon return.
Pastor Bartel