There's a moment in a long journey when you cross from the map into the real thing. You've studied the map for weeks, but the map was never the mountain. The writer says the whole old system was the map. Christ entered the mountain itself, not a copy made with hands, but heaven itself, appearing in God's presence on our behalf. And unlike the high priest who entered year after year, Christ appeared once, at the end of the ages, to put away sin by offering himself. Then the writer maps the pattern of every human life onto Christ: just as we die once and then face judgment, Christ was offered once to bear sin. But his second appearance is different. He will come again, not to deal with sin, because sin is already settled, but to save those eagerly waiting for him. The second coming is not a reckoning. It's a homecoming.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit start2finish.substack.com