The Two Deaths, and the Two Appearings After Death
W. Jones Hebrews 9:27, 28 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:… And as it is appointed unto men once to die, etc. The writer is still treating of the completeness of the sacrifice of our Savior. That sacrifice was offered once for all. Being perfect, it needed no repetition. And now he shows that its repetition was impossible. Notice - I. THE TWO DEATHS. The death of man, and the death of the Christ. They are mentioned together here to bring out the fact that Christ's offering of himself will not be repeated. Notice these two deaths in the order in which they are here mentioned. 1. The death of man. (1) The event itself. Seneca asks, "What is death, but a ceasing to be what we were before? We were kindled and put out; we die daily." "The cessation of the vital activities is death, which is simply another name for discontinuance," says Grindon. And Longfellow, "Tis the cessation of our breath." It is dissolution, the separation of the soul and body. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was," etc. (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It leads to great and momentous changes in the mode and conditions of our life. (2) The certainty of the event. "It is appointed unto men," etc. It is the lot assigned to us by the great Sovereign of being. God, says Gurnall, "to prevent all escape, hath sown the seeds of death in our very constitution and nature, so that we can as soon run from ourselves as run from death. We need no feller to come with a hand of violence and hew us down; there is in the tree a worm, which grows out of its own substance, that will destroy it; so in us, those infirmities of nature that will bring us down to the dust." "No man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit," etc. (Ecclesiastes 8:8; cf. Psalm 49:6-10). (3) The solitariness of the event. "It is appointed unto men once to die." This death occurs but once. It is an event which can never be repeated. In this fact we have a reason why we should pre- pare for it. Many actions are done often in a lifetime, and if their earliest performance be not satisfactory, we may do them better afterwards. Some of our experiences occur often, and if at first we were not prepared for them, and passed through them without advantage, or with disadvantage, we may prepare for their recurrence, and then pass through them with decided benefit. But death is an experience which never recurs; let us, then, prepare for it. It is a journey which we shall travel only once - " the way whence we shall not return;" therefore let us be in readiness for it. 2. The death of the Christ. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." (1) He died as a Sacrifice for sin. "Offered to bear the sins." He bore our sins in his feeling. In his heart he had such a deep sense of the wickedness of human sin as was possible only to a Being of perfect holiness. He mourned over sin with deepest sorrow; he condemned it as utterly wicked; and he sought to deliver men from it. He also bore our sins in his sufferings and in his death upon the cross. Here he was offered to bear the sins of many. "His own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). "He was wounded for our transgressions," etc. (Isaiah 53:5, 6, 12). (2) He died as a Sacrifice for the sins of all men. "To bear the sins of many." The "many" signifies men in general; all men, as in Hebrews 2:9: "By the grace of God he should taste death for every man." So also teaches St. Paul: "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." "And he died for all." "Who gave himself a Ransom for all." So also St. John (1 John 2:2). And our Lord himself (John 3:15, 16; John 12:32). (3) He died as a Sacrifice which is never to be repeated. (a) Its repetition is impossible. As man can die only once, so the Christ can only be offered in death once. (b) Its repetition is unnecessary. His offering was perfect in itself and in its efficacy; its efficacy, moreover, is perpetual, so that it need not be repeated. Heaven asks no more. Man needs no more. "His precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till the whole ransomed Church of God Be saved, to sin no more." (Cowper.) II. THE TWO APPEARINGS AFTER DEATH. 1. The appearing of man after death. "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, judgment." "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ," etc. (2 Corinthians 5:10). The fact of human responsibility to God suggests the coming of a great day of account. The Divine government of the world, and the inequalities between the characters and conditions and circumstances of men, which are so many and remarkable at present, point to the necessity of such a day. The holy Bible declares it as a certainty (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 25:31-46; Acts 17:31; Romans 14:10-12). How unutterably solemn the consideration that all the myriads of the dead shall appear again in the great day, and before the awful and holy tribunal of the Son of God and Son of man. 2. The appearing of the Christ after death. "The Christ, also, having been offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time," etc. (1) He will appear again. "The Christ shall appear a second time." "This Jesus, which was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner," etc. (Acts 1:11). He promised his disciples, "I will come again," etc. (John 14:3; and cf. Matthew 16:27; Matthew 24:30; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 1:7). (2) He will appear again "apart from sin. His first coming was distinctly related to sin. Him who knew no sin, God made to be sin on our behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:21). That relation and character is completed, fulfilled. "Having been once offered to bear the sin of many," his personal connection with it is ended. He has done with it. His next coming will be apart from sin, and in great glory. "The Son of man shall come in his glory," etc. (Matthew 25:31). "Looking for the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (3) He will appear to perfect the salvation of his people. "Unto salvation." Here are two points: (a) The attitude of his people in relation to his coming. "Them that wait for him" This implies: (α) Faith in his coming. "We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," etc. (Philippians 3:20, 21). (β) Desire for his coming. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (γ) Expectation of his coming. They "wait for God's Son from heaven," etc. (1 Thessalonians 1:10). (b) The object of his coming in relation to his people. "Unto salvation." To perfect their salvation. He will raise their bodies, reunite body and soul, receive them into his glory. He will say unto them, "Come, ye blessed of my Father," etc. They shall enter into the joy of their Lord. "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things," etc. (2 Peter 3:14). - W.J. Parallel Verses KJV: And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: WEB: Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,