What does it mean that it is appointed unto men once to die (Hebrews 9:27)?

Death is here viewed in immediate connexion with its procuring cause. "It is appointed unto men to die." Death is, indeed, "the way of all the earth." But the feet which find reluctantly the passage out of life, are guided by a stronger will than that of nature. Man's death is a judicial ordinance of God. It entered at His bidding as the unwelcome consequent of sin. Yet it is not in this natural decease of life that God declares His judgment on the ways of men. For death is the term and limit of corrupted human life, without all reference to personal transgressions. Mankind are born to die, because of sinful origin and birth. By a general appointment men die once. Judgment comes after this. Death, to the natural man, is but the closing of a life, the quality and ultimate results of which have yet to be determined. Eternal judgment will award, in righteousness, a worthy sentence to the man who meets death's stroke with no acknowledgment of Him who has appointed it, and who turns away his ear, while mortal breath remains, from the word of reconciliation and eternal life. To such as close their earthly days in willing ignorance of Christ, another death remains (Rev. 20) to be encountered in that day of fear, when Christ shall search the pages of the book of life, and find no names there but of those who knew Him, and confessed Him, ere their former life was passed.

It is wonderful to think that the death of Jesus, when He is confided in, really delivers the believer from the necessity — I say not the possibility — of death. Let me quote in full the verses in Hebrews 9 already alluded to: "And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin, to salvation" (Heb. 9:27-28). Ponder, my dear reader, the "as and the "so" in these scriptures. "As" what? As it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment," — i.e., that to die and bear God's judgment of sin is the lot of man by nature. "So" what? "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many," — i.e., that Christ has taken on the cross these two consequences of sin, death and judgment. What is the result? The believer is delivered from the common lot of man. The believer in Christ is connected and identified with Christ, who is on the resurrection — the heavenly — side of death and judgment; and inasmuch as Scripture says, "As he is, so are we, in this world," the believer knows now that he has death and judgment behind him at the cross, instead of before him.

I have dwelt the longer on this passage, because it is so deeply interesting and important: it occupies so central a place with regard to the subject, not only of the resurrection, but of the hope of the church. What is the church's hope? It is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to raise his sleeping and to change his living saints: it is the hope of being thus all caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and so of being ever with the Lord. I say, to change his living saints as well as to raise those who are asleep; and for further instruction as to this, let us turn again to 1 Cor. 15: "Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (ver. 51, 52.) Men take upon themselves to say that we shall all sleep. How often do we hear Christians say, "We must all pay the debt of nature." "There are many things uncertain," you will hear it said, "but one thing is certain; we must all die." There is nothing more common than to hear such affirmations as these. In support of them Scripture itself is misquoted. "It is appointed unto men once to die," says the Apostle, in Heb. 9:27. But how many improve on this, and quote the passage as though it had been written, "It is appointed unto all men once to die." Not only is this an addition to the text, but a contradiction of the context. "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; 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." So far from its being appointed unto all men to die, the passage speaks of a class of persons who will not die. To them that look for him, Christ will appear. And they will not die. "Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." The Apostle styles himself and others, "stewards of the mysteries of God," and says, "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." Alas! what an account have some of us to give of our stewardship in this respect! What unfaithful stewards have we been! Even in respect to this mystery here unfolded — "Behold, I show you a mystery" — how small a place has it had in our esteem and in our ministrations! Every word used by the Holy Spirit in revealing it is precious. There is a sweetness, for instance, in this word, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," which cannot be adequately expressed. Were it possible for any interval to elapse between the coming of Christ and the change which we are to undergo; were we in unchanged bodies left for ever so short an interval in the presence of the glory in which Christ will appear; who is there amongst us that would not, like John, fall at his feet as dead! But there is no such interval. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." Nothing so rapid as the twinkling of an eye, and it is thus we shall be changed at the coming of the Lord. One moment here in our bodies of flesh and blood, in these tabernacles of clay — one moment here, I say — the next moment in glory. As we are told again in Philippians 3:20-21, "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Would that the prospect of this change might be ever before our eyes.

The meaning of the word (κριμα) in 1 Corinthians 11 is closely akin to that in John 5 (κρισις). What our Lord is teaching in the gospel is that men must have one or the other thing from Christ — either life or judgment. The main difference is, that in John 5 the judgment is the final and eternal act of judging; whereas 1 Corinthians 11 speaks of a disciplinary process in this world. But the right word is "judgment," not "condemnation." Our Lord shows Himself to be the giver of life in communion with the Father, and the exclusive executor of judgment. He is giving life now: whoever believes in Him, has life; whoever refuses Him must come into judgment. For no person can be the object of both life and judgment. The reason why people shall come into judgment, is because they reject the Son of God and eternal life in Him. "He that hath the Son hath life." This is the point of our Lord's words. They might ask, How is this life everlasting to be had? Is it by obedience? or by an ordinance? Neither the one nor the other. "Verily I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life." He that so hears and believes, knows that God is interested about souls — that He wishes to have them happy and without sin through the Lord Jesus Christ. But further, "he shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life." It is the very same thing in Heb. 9:27. "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." It is the same word. This is man's portion, from which he cannot escape. Man as such must die, and must be judged. But mark, it is he who lives and dies as a mere natural man. It is not said that it is so appointed for the Christian. On the contrary, there are many Christians that will never die; and no saint will ever be judged eternally.

Death does not enter then into the final judgment. That is expressly stated to be "AFTER death." It is appointed unto men ONCE to die, but AFTER this the judgment." There are men we wot of who say it is appointed unto men twice to die, — that the second death is of the same nature as the first, — and that death thus is the judgment. Let us examine carefully then this text also.

There is one fruitful cause of misapprehension of it on all sides. The sentence produced is not understood to be, what upon the face of it it is, part of a larger sentence in, which the portion of the saved is distinguished from the general lot of men. Now once in the end of the world hath He [Christ] appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And AS it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, 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" (Heb. 9:26-28).

Thus we can see what a striking analogy exists between the actions of Aaron on the day of atonement and the great work of Christ; only with this complete contrast, that whereas Aaron's actions were typical and confined to the patterns of heavenly things, and oft repeated, Christ has to do with the heavenly realities and His work in offering for sin has been accomplished once and for ever. It is the lot of sinful men once to die, and then to face the judgment of God. In keeping with that, Christ has once been offered to bear the sins of many, and therefore those that await Him look forward not to judgment but to salvation.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Death is like the policeman to bring us up to the judgment. Then (v. 28) we have the counterpart of this in grace. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many," "and to them that look for him," all believers, "will he appear … without sin." What does that mean? As to His own Person, He was without sin the first time; but now the same One comes back - what for? To deal about the sins? No! That He has done the first time: and now, apart from that entirely, He comes to receive them to Himself. For those who trust in His first coming, and look for His second, there is nothing but blessing. There is a work done in us to make us sharers in that which has been done outside us; but this is the question of the work done for us, outside of ourselves altogether. What had I to do with the cross of Christ? The hatred that killed Him, and the sins that He bore, are all that sinners had to do in it. Therefore there can never come a shade upon the love of God in the cross of Christ. It is perfect.

The last verse is little understood in general. There is a striking contrast between "men" as such and believers. Hence "judgment" is necessarily to be taken as destruction to the false hopes of nature. Compare John 5:22-29, where it will "be apparent that anarthrous or not makes no difference in respect of its unutterable solemnity to the unbeliever. Not to see the opposition between "men" as they are now naturally, and "those that await him" is to be wholly unintelligent of the context. For it sets the portion of "men," with death and judgment before them, in the most forcible comparison with those who have Christ once for all offered to bear the sins of many, and about to appear a second time apart from sin to those that await Him for salvation.

In the application of all this, I see that not merely God has been glorified, but also that my case has been met as a sinner. At the close of this chapter, we read, "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." Sin has brought in both death and judgment. Death has actually come in, and judgment is before man. So that, in this passage, I see that not merely the great general basis and foundation has been laid in God's work on the cross (not on man's responsibility, for the eternal glory rests upon the finished work of the "second Man," and it can therefore never fail), but also that conscience has been dealt with. "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" - that is where we are as sinners - "so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." Death came in by sin, and judgment also comes by sin. Judgment applies to my works. But I find here that God having come in, not only has Christ glorified God, but He has also confessed, as it were, my sins, my evil works, upon the head of the scapegoat, and thus they are gone for ever.

"It is appointed unto men once to die" — that is only half the solemn truth. Equally appointed, equally certain: "After death, the judgment." Death, instead of being the end of all, is rather the beginning. This present time is but the ante-chamber of eternity. No one can deny the certainty of death for the human race; and after that comes the judgment. No one can deny that, either. The very God who declares the one and who witnesses to it in countless deaths, witnesses and declares the certainty of that judgment which is also coming, solemn realities for every one to face!

But I want to call your attention to one word which sheds the light of grace over the whole statement: "As." What then? "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." In the very scene where death witnesses of sin and where judgment hangs in the future, darkly threatening and certain to come, Christ was offered, to bear the very judgment and death which we deserved for our sins. Man gets death first, and after death the judgment. Christ, our blessed Lord, bore the judgment first, going to the cross, bearing wrath. Look at that scene upon Calvary; think of, ponder upon those cries which came from the cross. Hear that cry of forsaken anguish when all was darkness about Him, for you will never fully understand the reality of the cross until you have entered into the meaning of those words: "My God, My God, why Nast Thou forsaken Me?" That is the very thing that the ungodly will realize in the judgment. The word will be to them: "Depart from Me ye cursed, into everlasting fire." We read that Christ was made a curse for us, the very thing the sinner deserves. The sinner will be cast away from God; so Christ was in that outer darkness. He bore the judgment of God inflicted upon Him as the full penalty upon the whole world of His creatures.