The Mystery of Godliness

¹⁴ I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, ¹⁵ if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. ¹⁶ Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest ^(A)of the good things that have come,^[a] then through ^(B)the greater and more perfect tent (^(C)not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹² he ^(D)entered ^(E)once for all into the holy places, not by means of ^(F)the blood of goats and calves but ^(G)by means of his own blood, ^(H)thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³ For if ^(I)the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with ^(J)the ashes of a heifer, sanctify^[b] for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will ^(K)the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit ^(L)offered himself without blemish to God, ^(M)purify our^[c] conscience ^(N)from dead works ^(O)to serve the living God.

¹⁵ Therefore he is ^(P)the mediator of a new covenant, so that ^(Q)those who are called may ^(R)receive the promised eternal inheritance, ^(S)since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.^{[d] 16} For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷ For ^(T)a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸ Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated ^(U)without blood. ¹⁹ For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took ^(V)the blood of calves and goats, ^(W)with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, ^(X)“This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” ²¹ And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both ^(Y)the tent and all the vessels used in worship. ²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and ^(Z)without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

²³ Thus it was necessary for ^(AA)the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ has entered, not into holy places ^(AB)made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God ^(AC)on our behalf. ²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as ^(AD)the high priest enters ^(AE)the holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, ^(AF)he has appeared ^(AG)once for all ^(AH)at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as ^(AI)it is appointed for man to die once, and ^(AJ)after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once ^(AK)to bear the sins of ^(AL)many, will appear ^(AM)a second time, ^(AN)not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly ^(AO)waiting for him.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence ^(A)earth and sky fled away, and ^(B)no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and ^(C)books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is ^(D)the book of life. And ^(E)the dead were judged by what was written in the books, ^(F)according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, ^(G)Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, ^(H)according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then ^(I)Death and Hades ^(J)were thrown into the lake of fire. This is ^(K)the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, ^(L)he was thrown into the lake of fire.