Hebrews 9:26
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.
Study Note
Study Note
The logic of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice is argued against the impossibility of a repeated offering: if Christ had to offer repeatedly, 'he must often have suffered since the foundation of the world.' The reductio ad absurdum — repeated suffering from creation onward — exposes the temporal and quantitative limits of any sacrificial system that must be repeated. The phrase 'once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself' concentrates the entire Old Testament's sacrificial economy into a single eschatological event. The 'once for all' (ephapax) argument in Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10, and here forms one of the letter's central theological pillars, establishing Christ's offering's permanent sufficiency.
Other Translations
else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
since it had behoved him many times to suffer from the foundation of the world, but now once, at the full end of the ages, for putting away of sin through his sacrifice, he hath been manifested;
For then he would have undergone a number of deaths from the time of the making of the world: but now he has come to us at the end of the old order, to put away sin by the offering of himself.
Cross References
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the …
And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go …
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath …
And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have …
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the …
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established …
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an …
Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the …
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall …
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom …