Question:
Did Lazarus die the second time after having died and being risen from the dead by Christ, since Hebrews 9:27 says: “It is appointed unto men once to die?”

Answer:
For the believer, death is to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. He is “asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). This is also what Jesus said of Lazarus: “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11). So we might ask the question this way: “Did Lazarus sleep twice?” The raising of Lazarus was to bring glory to God. After he was raised, Lazarus continued to live in Bethany, ate with the Lord, and was visited by many of the Jews. He appears to be just as he was before his sickness. It would seem, then, that Lazarus lived out the rest of his life and ultimately slept again. But since we are not told, this is only a conjecture.

From the original question, the first part of Hebrews 9:27 might seem to be a contradiction. But this verse applies generally to men, and it does not limit God. We know, for example, that Enoch did not see death even once. Also, looking at the second part of the verse, we see that after death there is the judgment. But the next verse shows that God has intervened: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” For the believer, the sin question has been settled, and he looks for Christ and salvation, rather than death and judgment.