Heaven Cleansed For Us

February 11th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 9:23-28 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 26 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 manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

The “copies of things in the heavens” (v. 23; cf. 8:5) refers to the earthly tabernacle and its furnishings that had to be cleansed and set apart by the sacrificial blood of animals. Likewise, the heavenly tabernacle needs to be cleansed but with better blood than animals. The heavenly realities require the perfect blood of the Messiah. But why would heaven itself need cleansing? It seems that in order for God’s covenant people to have eternal and perfect fellowship with Him, they would need to be purified by an eternal sacrifice—just like the people in the old covenant needed the blood of animals sprinkled on them. Man’s guilt has defiled not only the earthly copies of God’s dwelling place (tabernacle, Temple, the earth, etc.), it will also defile the heavenly places when man enters. To be sure, heaven, in and of itself, needs no cleansing. But when sinful humans enter into it, it demands cleansing. So, even man’s eternal existence with the holy and Almighty God will recall and require Christ’s once-for-all bloody sacrifice on the cross.

Christ, when offering Himself for the sins of all mankind, did not enter a holy place built by human hands like the high priest did on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle blood on the Ark in the tabernacle. Jesus entered heaven where God dwells. Jesus now intercedes face-to-face with His Father to prepare the way for His people—those united with Abraham’s faith prior to Christ (who looked forward to Christ) along with those who have placed their faith in Christ (looking backward at His finished work). Jesus did not have to offer an annual sacrifice for man’s sin like the high priest did. His one perfect sacrifice was sufficient, being offered once—for all.

One of the amazing things about Christ’s death is that it only had to occur once to bring God’s desired result: man’s eternal redemption. If Jesus’ sacrifice had not been perfect, then He would have to have suffered every year for man’s sins “since the foundation of the world.” That would mean that Christ would have had to die at least 6,000 times! Yet Christ only had to die once, and this occurred “at the consummation of the ages” (v. 26). In other words, when Christ appeared, all of the eras and ages came together in a climax of events that ushered in the final dispensation of God whereby man’s sin and sins are forgiven, granted that we place our faith in the Christ who manifested Himself in order to put away sin by sacrificing Himself on the cross.

Verse 27 reveals the absurdity of Christ offering Himself repeatedly for sacrifice. A man only dies once then faces judgment. Now Jesus was a man, and He died. He will not return to die again, but at His return, He will bring salvation to those who “eagerly await Him” (v. 28).

Food For Thought
Those eagerly awaiting Christ’s return are like Israel who eagerly awaited the high priest on Yom Kippur to bring atonement for their sins—the longed for forgiveness that came through his sacrifices in the Holy of Holies. So, true Christians also long for Christ’s return, eagerly awaiting it, so as to be ushered into our heavenly Home to be with God forever and ever and ever.