Hebrews 9:26
Hebrews 9:2626Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Jehovah's Witnesses agree that Jesus appeared to "put sin away through the sacrifice of himself." However, they interpret this as the ransom being a provision that must be applied individually — each person must meet Jehovah's requirements (knowledge, obedience, organisational loyalty, preaching work) to benefit from it. The ransom opened the door; walking through it requires ongoing works. The phrase "conclusion of the systems of things" is connected to their eschatological framework of the last days beginning in 1914.
says Jesus appeared "once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to put sin away through the sacrifice of himself" (NWT). The phrase "once for all time" (Greek hapax) establishes the finality and sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. This is not a provision that needs supplementing — it is a completed act that "put sin away." Combined with (Jesus "sat down" because his work is finished — OT priests never sat because their work was never done) and ("where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin"), the passage teaches that the atoning work is complete. Adding organisational requirements to a completed sacrifice does not supplement it — it denies its sufficiency. puts it starkly: "If righteousness is through law, Christ actually died for nothing."