Hebrews 9:23 · Bible study
Hebrews 9:23 Commentary: Heavenly Things Purified by Better Sacrifice
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What are the 'heavenly things' that needed cleansing? Explore the meaning of Christ's better sacrifice for the heavenly sanctuary.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The earthly tabernacle copies required animal blood for purification; the heavenly realities require Christ’s superior sacrifice to consecrate them and make them accessible to believers.
- Key words: ὑποδείγματα (copies/representations); ἐπουράνια (heavenly things); κρείττοσιν θυσίαις (better sacrifices, plural for the singular all-sufficient offering).
- Main debate: What are “the heavenly things”? Options include heaven itself, Christ’s body (the true tabernacle), the church, or the spiritual blessings of the new covenant. Each view is supported by different commentators.
- Theological theme: Christ’s superior priesthood and sacrifice fulfill and surpass the Levitical system, restoring creation to fellowship with God.
- Best use: A key text for teaching the cosmic scope of Christ’s atonement and the ground for confident access to God.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
WEB World English Bible 2000
It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
KJV King James Version 1769
It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
It is necessary, therefore, the pattern indeed of the things in the heavens to be purified with these, and the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
[It was] necessary then that the figurative representations of the things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with sacrifices better than these.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
It is necessary therefore that the patterns of heavenly things should be cleansed with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Fué, pues, necesario que las figuras de las cosas celestiales|strong="G1722, G3772" fuesen purificadas con estas cosas; empero las mismas cosas celestiales con mejores sacrificios que éstos.
Portanto era necessário que os esboços das coisas que estão nos céus fossem purificados com esses sacrifícios ; mas as próprias coisas celestiais, com sacrifícios melhores que esses.
Il était donc nécessaire, puisque les images des choses qui sont dans les cieux devaient être purifiées de cette manière, que les choses célestes elles-mêmes le fussent par des sacrifices plus excellents que ceux-là.
So mußten nun der himmlischen Dinge Vorbilder mit solchem gereinigt werden; aber sie selbst, die himmlischen, müssen bessere Opfer haben, denn jene waren.
Zo was het dan noodzaak, dat wel de voorbeeldingen der dingen, die in de hemelen zijn, door deze dingen gereinigd werden, maar de hemelse dingen zelve door betere offeranden dan deze.
Era dunque necessario che le cose raffiguranti quelle nei cieli fossero purificate con questi mezzi, ma le cose celesti stesse doveano esserlo con sacrifici più eccellenti di questi.
A tak potrzeba było, aby kształty onych rzeczy, które są na niebie, temi rzeczami były oczyszczone, a same rzeczy niebieskie lepszemi ofiarami, niżeli te.
Итак образы небесного должны были очищаться сими, самое же небесное лучшими сих жертвами.
照著 天上 樣式 做的物件 必須 用這些 祭物去潔淨；但 那天上的本 物 自然當用 更美的 祭物去潔淨。
For this cause it was necessary to make the copies of the things in heaven clean with these offerings; but the things themselves are made clean with better offerings than these.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Hebrews 9:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators broadly agree that this verse draws a contrast between the earthly tabernacle and the heavenly realities it represents. The “copies of the things in the heavens” (ὑποδείγματα) refer to the tabernacle and its furnishings, which were purified with animal blood (the “these” of v. 19). The “heavenly things themselves” (τὰ ἐπουράνια) require a better sacrifice, Christ’s own blood. The purification of heaven is not because it is morally defiled; rather, as Barnes argues, it is made accessible to sinners. Vincent, citing Delitzsch, explains that the heavenly sanctuary had been defiled by human guilt and needed cleansing for the people to enter God’s presence. Gill lists several interpretations: heaven itself, Christ’s human nature, and the church militant and triumphant. Calvin sees the “heavenly things” as the whole kingdom of Christ, both in heaven and on earth. All agree that the plurality “better sacrifices” (κρείττοσιν θυσίαις) is a generic expression pointing to the singular, all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ. The verse stands as the logical conclusion of the argument from vv. 15, 22: the Levitical system required blood, and the new covenant required a better blood, Christ’s once-for-all offering.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Heaven itself as sanctuary: Needs purification from sin's pollution to become accessible for believers (Barnes, Gill, Vincent citing Delitzsch)
- Christ's body the true tabernacle: Consecrated by his own blood as the meeting place of God and man (Calvin, Clarke)
- The Church (earthly and heavenly): Purified by Christ's sacrifice to be presented without spot (Gill, Wesley)
What is clear: Christ's sacrifice is superior to all animal sacrifices and was necessary for the full realization of the new covenant's blessings.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of 'heavenly things' | They are real heavenly realities (the true sanctuary, heaven itself, or the Church) that stand in contrast to the earthly copies | Some identify them as the place of God's throne (Barnes, Cambridge Bible), others as Christ's body (Calvin, Clarke), others as the Church both militant and triumphant (Gill) |
| Nature of the purification needed | It is not a moral cleansing of a defiled heaven, but a consecration or making accessible for sinners | Whether it removes a legal barrier (Barnes), a symbolic defilement from human sin (Vincent/Delitzsch), or prepares a place for the saints (Gill) |
| The plural 'better sacrifices' | It is a generic expression referring to the one sacrifice of Christ, which surpasses all Levitical offerings | No substantive debate, commentators uniformly explain it as a rhetorical plural that encompasses the sacrifice's manifold efficacy (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Gill) |
| Is the purification of heaven a literal event? | It is a figurative or theological statement about the effect of Christ's atonement | Some see it as strictly symbolic (Vincent), others as a real but spiritual consecration of heaven for believers' reception (Barnes, Matthew Henry) |
Historical & Cultural Context
The author writes to a Jewish-Christian audience steeped in Levitical ritual. The tabernacle and its vessels were purified on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:16, 20) because the people’s sins had defiled even the sanctuary. The word “necessity” (Ἀνάγκη) reflects both the divine command and the logical coherence of type and antitype. The “copies” (ὑποδείγματα), the earthly tabernacle, were cleansed with blood, water, scarlet wool, and hyssop (v. 19).
Behind the contrast lies a Platonic-influenced cosmology common in Hellenistic Judaism: the earthly sanctuary is a copy (ὑπόδειγμα) of a heavenly reality (cf. Hebrews 8:5, referencing Exodus 25:40). The author does not use this to promote a dualism but to show the superiority of Christ’s priesthood. The “heavenly things” are not merely the place of God’s throne but everything that sin had disrupted: the relationship between God and his people, the angelic realm, and the coming kingdom. Vincent notes that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is a “rhetorical and figurative” extension of the Levitical principle. Clarke observes that every part of the tabernacle service pointed to celestial matters, though “how far and in what way we cannot now see fully.”
The context of the epistle emphasizes that Christ’s entry into heaven itself (v. 24) was necessary to put away sin (v. 26) and to prepare a place for believers (cf. John 14:3). The purification of heaven, then, is the consecration of that place as the meeting point between a holy God and redeemed sinners.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Greek text is stable across the major witnesses, with only minor differences in word order (e.g., the placement of οὖν) that do not affect meaning.
Reception History
Hebrews 9:23 has been central in discussions of the atonement’s cosmic reach. The early church fathers, including Chrysostom and Theodoret, read it as teaching that Christ’s blood opened heaven to humanity. Medieval commentators often applied it to the consecration of the Eucharist, seeing the heavenly things as the Church’s liturgy. During the Reformation, Calvin and others used it to argue that Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice renders repeated offerings obsolete. In both Catholic and Protestant traditions, the verse has been cited to affirm that the cross affects not only individual souls but the entire order of creation. Modern scholarship, represented by Vincent and Delitzsch, focuses on the typological and rhetorical structure, emphasizing that the purification language expresses the objective reality of access to God through Christ.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The earthly pattern required cleansing. The tabernacle and its utensils were purified with animal blood, showing that sin defiles even the place of worship (vv. 19, 22).
- The heavenly reality required a better sacrifice. Christ’s blood, not that of goats and calves, consecrates the heavenly sanctuary and makes it accessible to the guilty.
- Christ’s sacrifice is once for all and sufficient. The plural “sacrifices” highlights that his one offering accomplishes what countless Levitical offerings could not (v. 26).
Five-point outline
- Necessity: God’s appointment and the coherence of type/antitype demand purification.
- Contrast: “These” (animal blood) vs. “better sacrifices” (Christ’s blood).
- Identity of heavenly things: The heavenly sanctuary, Christ’s body, the church, each tradition sees a facet of the truth.
- Nature of purification: Not moral cleansing of heaven, but consecration and access for sinners.
- Efficacy: Christ’s blood cleanses the conscience and opens the way into God’s presence (v. 14; 10:19, 22).
Illustration hooks
- A courtroom after a verdict: The judge’s bench is not dirty, but a guilty person cannot approach until the penalty is paid. Christ’s blood prepares the place for the pardoned.
- Cleaning a home for a visit from a dignitary: The house is not filthy, but you want to make it ready. The heavenly sanctuary needed to be rendered fit for sinners to enter.
- A bridge with a broken section: The other side is fine, but the approach is impossible. Christ’s sacrifice builds the bridge.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If heaven is holy, why would it need to be purified? Didn’t God already live there?
- What does it mean that we now have “access” to the heavenly sanctuary? How does that change my prayer life?
- How is Christ’s single sacrifice “better” than all the Old Testament sacrifices put together?
Leading a Discussion
This verse telescopes the entire argument of Hebrews 9: the old covenant’s blood purification finds its ultimate meaning in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice. The author has built a case from the tabernacle copies to the heavenly archetypes, showing that what was shadow has become substance. As you discuss, pay attention to the logic of necessity (Ἀνάγκη), why must Christ die? What does his death accomplish that animal blood could not?
Discussion questions
- Observation: What are “the copies of the things in the heavens” (v. 23)? How does Hebrews 8:5 help answer this?
- Observation: What does the author mean by “these” in the phrase “cleansed with these”? (Look back at verses 19, 22.)
- Interpretation: In what sense did the heavenly things need to be “purified”? Why would heaven, God’s dwelling place, need any cleansing?
- Interpretation: The Greek uses a plural “better sacrifices” (κρείττοσιν θυσίαις) but the context speaks of one sacrifice. Why might the author use the plural?
- Interpretation: Compare verse 23 with verse 12. How does Christ’s entry into the holy place once for all relate to the purification of heavenly things?
- Application: If Christ’s sacrifice has “cleansed” the heavenly sanctuary, what does that mean for our confidence in approaching God (cf. Hebrews 4:16; 10:19, 22)?
- Application: How does this verse shape your understanding of the cross? What new gratitude or hope does it stir?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Luke 24:26 | Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” |
| Luke 24:46 | He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, |
| John 14:3 | If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. |
| Colossians 2:17 | which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s. |
| Hebrews 8:5 | who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.” |
| Hebrews 9:9 | This is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and sacrifices are offered that are incapable, concerning the conscience, of making the worshiper perfect, |
| Hebrews 9:12 | nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption. |
| Hebrews 9:14 | how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the earthly tabernacle and its utensils were purified by blood as patterns of heavenly realities, but their purification was ceremonial, not moral. He then lists several interpretations of what the heavenly things themselves might be: heaven as a place for redeemed souls, Christ's consecrated body, or the Church to be presented spotless.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes explains that applying purification to heaven does not imply it was ever unholy. It means Christ's blood now makes heaven accessible to sinners, where the old tabernacle's blood only made the earthly sanctuary approachable. Better sacrifices were needed because heaven's service is more holy and addresses the conscience.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin insists that the heavenly things mentioned here are not limited to heaven above but include the whole kingdom of Christ on earth. He argues the earthly tabernacle and its animal sacrifices were only figurative, so the true heavenly realities require a vastly superior cleansing through Christ's own blood.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible points out that "the heavenly things themselves" means the Ideal Tabernacle in heaven, not the Church or the New Covenant. The purification of that sanctuary is better understood as its dedication, since even heaven is not inherently clean before God. The plural "sacrifices" is a generic way of referring to Christ's one supreme sacrifice.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note draws a sharp contrast between earthly copies of heavenly things, which were purified with animal sacrifices, and the actual heavenly realities themselves. These require a better sacrifice — pointing to Christ's offering — because the copies were only shadows.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies the "heavenly things" that require purification as including heaven itself, Christ's human nature, the church militant and triumphant, and spiritual blessings. He also notes that "better sacrifices" appears in the plural to emphasize the one sacrifice's supreme excellence, not to suggest it was repeated.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry draws
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent explains the puzzling idea that heavenly things needed cleansing as a rhetorical extension of the Day of Atonement ritual. Just as the earthly sanctuary was defiled by Israel's sins, the heavenly sanctuary was conceived as contaminated by human guilt, requiring purification through Christ's superior sacrifice.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley identifies the heavenly things needing purification as our heaven-born spirits, a point he says we cannot yet fully understand. He also notes that the phrase "better sacrifices" is plural in form but refers to Christ's single sacrifice, which surpasses and includes the meaning of every Old Testament offering.