A Christ-less Heaven

Today in church our pastor was in Hebrews 9 again and we were dealing with Christ entering into heaven itself and Pastor David pointed out what was right there in verse 23:

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

That's right. Christ died to purify not only the earthly manifestations of the "holy place" in which we would offer sacrifices, but also died to purify heaven itself. I have to be honest that that question had NEVER jumped out at me before.

It says just this in verse 24:

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Christ purified heaven itself--now, at first blush that would seem to say that there was something in God that needed to be purified, but remember: God made the heavens too. He is above it! And it is His presence that made the earthly copy of heavenly things holy! He was before time and before the heavens. 1 Peter mentions the promise of the new heavens and new earth that we look forward to in the time coming when Christ shall return--and Isaiah prophesies this in Ch. 65 and 66.

The union of Christ with the Father purified the heavens because perhaps in a way there was a peace--even an appeasement?--that occurred with Christ's entrance into the heavens. Christ was the Lamb who was slain for all time--taking away the iniquity once for all for God's people, whom He had chosen before time began. No longer did God have act as He did in the Old Testament time and again for His name's sake (due perhaps to the inferior nature of the sacrifices made and the unfaithfulness of His people)--Christ, His Son, offered Himself as a sacrifice once. And in this sacrifice, His work corresponds to the promise that God made in Ezekiel 36, when He speaks of putting a His spirit within us, giving us a new heart--this could not be done without Christ's sacrifice, because His holiness CANNOT be compromised (in the same chapter, several verses show God's concern for His holy name). Without Christ's sacrifice and the eternal effect of his life, death and resurrection, we would still be making continuous sacrifices.

Christ, in purifying the heavens, offers himself as sacrifice and as our mediator between us and the Father, forever interceding for us. Praise His Holy Name.

The other point that David also made is that we often may look to heaven as the end rather than Christ--when we are suffering and in a hard place, how often do we not say, "Lord, take me now!" But this type of escapism is exactly the attitude Christ does not want us to have, but rather we would say with Paul that I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the future glory that is to be revealed to us. And this glory is Christ! Do you dream simply about the streets of gold and the absence of suffering rather than being with Christ, your Savior? Remember that heaven without Christ, to quote my pastor, is just another word for hell--separation from Christ is no heaven at all! The Trinity is 3 in 1! Christ's entrance into heaven made it the "promised land" for us, because without His sacrifice we have no audience or standing before the Father!

No matter the storm, flee to Christ and fling yourself at His feet, hearing His Word for your life today.