Heb. 9.24
It is generally
agreed that Heb. 9.23-28 returns to the argument left off at 9.11-14 by again
considering the contrasting earthly and heavenly spheres. The relationship
between 9.24-28 and 9.11-14 is seen from the inclusio formed by the two
sections around 9.15-22. In this sense 9.23 serves as a transitional verse which
reintroduces the context of the heavenly realm and yet which continues to rely
on the material content of what immediately precedes it in 9.21-22 (e.g. ουν, 9.23). The ritual
purification of the tent and its appurtenances, described in 9.21-22, leads
directly to the consideration of the earthly things as ‘copies’ (τα υποδειγματα) of a heavenly
original (8.2, 5; 9.11, 12), and from there the discussion proceeds immediately
to a consideration of Christ who ‘entered’ εις αυτον τον ουρανον (9.24) in the performance
of his ‘better sacrifice’.
In keeping with our
understanding of an earthly sanctuary and its heavenly counterpart, the
heavenly sanctuary being referred to here as ‘heaven itself’ (9.24), Heb 9.23a
expresses this parallelism by referring to the copies of the things which are
in (the) heaven(s), i.e. the heavenly sanctuary. Thus the ‘copies of the things
in heaven’ are the earthly sanctuary and its accoutrements, already introduced
at 9.1-10, 21, which require purification by ‘these’ (τουτοις) rites (9.21-22).
Contrasting with the material purification (cf. μεν . . . δε) is that cleansing
performed by ‘better sacrifices’, the blood of Christ (e.g., 9.14, 26; 10.10,
12; 13.12), on αυτα τα επουρανια.
A general consensus
regarding the precise meaning of τα επουρανια has proved elusive in the history of
investigation, primarily because ‘our author has not expressed himself with his
usual felicity, and hence the contortions of commentators at this point’ (Montefiore,
p. 160). Authorial style aside, in Heb, is not nearly so obscure as the number
of explanations would seem to suggest. The ‘things’ requiring a ‘better
sacrifice’, the blood of Christ, are made explicit in Heb. The blood of Christ
serves to purify the συνειδησις (9.14; 10.2, 22) of the worshiper, or the
worshiper κατα συνειδησιν (9.9). It is precisely this ‘inner spiritual condition’ of the worshiper
that has a direct access to heaven, i.e. this is the ‘heavenly’ thing, since it
is ‘perfected’ and has direct access to God. (John M. Scholer, Proleptic
Priests: Priesthood in the Epistle to the Hebrews [Journal for the Study of
the New Testament Supplement Series 49; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991], 169-71)
