H
Hap
Guest
At what point in time does the Bible tell us that Jesus entered into Heaven.
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Daniel_Marsh
Guest
John 20:17 (King James Version)
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Based on the above, I think he entered heaven twice, just after the resurrection to place his blood on the altar in heaven. And, the second time at his ascension.
Hebrews 9
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here,** he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
16In the case of a will,[d] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”[e] 21In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation 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. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Ephesians 4:8-13 (King James Version)
8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
It was between his two trips to heaven that he did the following, where he gave the apostles authority,
John 20:21-23 (King James Version)
21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
And, after his second trip to heaven there was an outpouring on the whole church in Acts 2.**
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Based on the above, I think he entered heaven twice, just after the resurrection to place his blood on the altar in heaven. And, the second time at his ascension.
Hebrews 9
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here,** he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
16In the case of a will,[d] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”[e] 21In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation 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. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Ephesians 4:8-13 (King James Version)
8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
It was between his two trips to heaven that he did the following, where he gave the apostles authority,
John 20:21-23 (King James Version)
21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
And, after his second trip to heaven there was an outpouring on the whole church in Acts 2.**
V
Verbum
Guest
Hi Hap,
Jesus never ceased being in heaven, since heaven is the enjoyment of the beatific vision (God as He is) and Jesus never stopped having it.
The “ascension” of Jesus into heaven was the way Jesus took to tell us that the ball was now in our court until he comes back to judge the living and the dead.
Heaven cannot be a place until there are bodies to occupy it. Jesus and Mary being resurrected, are they in that place? Revelation tells us that after the final victory of good over evil, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. It’s all very speculative, and we should concentrate on earning our ticket there, wherever and whatever that will be.
Verbum
Jesus never ceased being in heaven, since heaven is the enjoyment of the beatific vision (God as He is) and Jesus never stopped having it.
The “ascension” of Jesus into heaven was the way Jesus took to tell us that the ball was now in our court until he comes back to judge the living and the dead.
Heaven cannot be a place until there are bodies to occupy it. Jesus and Mary being resurrected, are they in that place? Revelation tells us that after the final victory of good over evil, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. It’s all very speculative, and we should concentrate on earning our ticket there, wherever and whatever that will be.
Verbum
L
lak611
Guest
He returned to heaven 40 days after His resurrection. From Acts (KJV): “1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
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Hap
Guest
So then if Jesus did not enter into heaven until 40 days after he rose from the dead, I understand that God was always in heaven but please bear with me on this. So when Jesus was on the cross and he told the good thief that this day you will be with me in paradise. Then Jesus was talking more on the lines of purgatory since the gates of Heaven had not been open?
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Gamera
Guest
“Paradise” as Jesus said on the cross is not heaven. We know from Scripture that between death and resurrection, Jesus went to preach to the souls of the dead who were just (1 Peter 3:19). That “paradise” was not heaven, but a state commonly called Abraham’s Bosom.
Jesus did not ascend into heaven until 40 days after the resurrection.
D
DRIVING_BEAR
Guest
Jesus did enter heaven right after the cross and we know this from the book of Hebrews, because Jesus still had one last task to complete before “salvation” could be avable to all
see the following verses from hebrews chapter 9
(Heb 9:11) But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
(Heb 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.
(Heb 9:13) For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh:
(Heb 9:14) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Heb 9:15) And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
(Heb 9:16) For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it.
(Heb 9:17) For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth.
(Heb 9:18) Wherefore even the first covenant hath not been dedicated without blood.
(Heb 9:19) For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
(Heb 9:20) saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward.
(Heb 9:21) Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood.
(Heb 9:22) And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
(Heb 9:23) 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.
(Heb 9:24) For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:
(Heb 9:25) nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own;
(Heb 9:26) else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(Heb 9:27) And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;
(Heb 9:28) so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation.
see the following verses from hebrews chapter 9
(Heb 9:11) But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
(Heb 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.
(Heb 9:13) For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh:
(Heb 9:14) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Heb 9:15) And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
(Heb 9:16) For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it.
(Heb 9:17) For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth.
(Heb 9:18) Wherefore even the first covenant hath not been dedicated without blood.
(Heb 9:19) For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
(Heb 9:20) saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward.
(Heb 9:21) Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood.
(Heb 9:22) And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
(Heb 9:23) 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.
(Heb 9:24) For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:
(Heb 9:25) nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own;
(Heb 9:26) else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(Heb 9:27) And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;
(Heb 9:28) so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation.
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Gamera
Guest
What verse are you looking at? Nothing in Hebrews Chapter 9 says that Jesus entered heaven immediately upon His death. On the contrary, Hebrews chapter 9 says that Jesus will return a “second” time. Had Jesus entered heaven the day He died, then the resurrection would have constituted a second coming, making His return from the clouds at the end of history a third coming.
We know from CCC 631 through 637 that Jesus spent the three days “preach[ing] even to the dead,” (1 Peter 4:6). Not in heaven.
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Rachael_in_Okla
Guest
So no one was in heaven before Jesus died (i.e. Abraham, Moses)? Did the people of the OT believe they were going to heaven?
S
SherryLynn9
Guest
I Peter 3:20 (GNB) these were the spirits of those who had NOT obeyed God when He waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat - 8 in all - were saved by the water.
It seems that Jesus did not have to preach to the choir, so to speak.
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drafdog
Guest
Don’t be silly. Jesus never “left” heaven. The very presence of the Most High (Whose Name be praised forever) is itself heaven. How can Jesus, who is God, be said to be not present to Himself? Further, heaven is not a place. You cannot go there or return from there since it is not any specific place. At best it can be describe a condition.
Don’t confuse the alagorical words of scripture with reality. God does not believe in time or place. He believes in us.
In the love of the Father,
Matthew
Don’t confuse the alagorical words of scripture with reality. God does not believe in time or place. He believes in us.
In the love of the Father,
Matthew
H
Huiou_Theou
Guest
Church theology teaches that Jesus is true God and true man.
He emptied himself and took the form of a slave – has a real meaning.
Just as the scriptural words that Jesus grew in wisdom – has a meaning. The hypostatic union between God and Man present as the one person Jesus Christ – allows many strange things to be said that do not apply to man alone, or God alone.
In one sense, Jesus never left heaven – in another he did.
Hence only he who came down from heaven can go back to heaven. – The body of christ.
Upon the cross, in solidarilty with the abandoned, Jesus cried: My God, My God, why have you abandoned me. Jesus could say this from his human nature which was experiencing the sacrifice in full – although God as such could only experience death through a human nature which was united (hypostatic) to himself.
It is not silly to realize that there are some differences between the beatific vision in glory – and the God-man who walked the earth veiled (tabernacled) in flesh, and emptied of glory.
It’s a powerful mystery to meditate on, while saying the rosary, or chaplet, or reading scripture.
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GrandpaD
Guest
I think that it does not have to be so complicated. I have been studying on my own and the scriptures seem very simple in that there is God the Father( the literal father of our spirits and the God of the Universe) Then there is His literal Son, our spirit brother who is Jesus Christ and who helped create our earth. He is the God of this earth, and then there is the Holy Spirit who is the mediator or the messenger, he gives us the special knowledge that builds our testimony of the reality of God the Father and God the Son. They are two separate beings or Jesus could not have been seated on the right hand of God the Father.
He also would not have spoken to Himself out of Heaven at His baptism as when God the Father said “This is my Son in whom I am well-pleased”. Jesus would not have prayed to himself in Gethsemanee, He was praying to His Father as the scriptures very clearly state. It is very disturbing to have men twist the scriptures to make them difficult to understand and then say it is all a big mystery that we are not supposed to understand. It is not a mystery if you take God at His word and believe the scriptures as they are written. We are not supposed to speculate about what God means, He states His meaning literally and it takes no special deciphering to figure it out. He spoke in parables to make it easy for the least educated to understand what he was saying. He said He created man in His own image, that means He and His Son look just like us. The Holy Spirit has no body, but God and Jesus Christ do, because we look just like them and the Scriptures say “If you have seen the Son you have seen the Father” They look just alike and we look just like them.
Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day. Paradise is like purgatory(not hell) a holding place until the judgement day and the Resurrection. The people who lived and died before Jesus was resurrected were part of the first resurrection and we will all be part of the second resurrection. We do not go straight to heaven when we die, we go to Paradise and wait and continue our education there until the second coming and the second resurrection. That is my understanding without the confusion of human translation of the Holy Scripture. It is so easy to understand if you read and study it with prayer to the Heavenly Father to help you understand what you are reading. So all of you are able to understand if you study and pray for understanding. I did it and it works, my love for and understanding of God the Father and Jesus grew hugely through this process. Try it for yourselves, and you will know.
He also would not have spoken to Himself out of Heaven at His baptism as when God the Father said “This is my Son in whom I am well-pleased”. Jesus would not have prayed to himself in Gethsemanee, He was praying to His Father as the scriptures very clearly state. It is very disturbing to have men twist the scriptures to make them difficult to understand and then say it is all a big mystery that we are not supposed to understand. It is not a mystery if you take God at His word and believe the scriptures as they are written. We are not supposed to speculate about what God means, He states His meaning literally and it takes no special deciphering to figure it out. He spoke in parables to make it easy for the least educated to understand what he was saying. He said He created man in His own image, that means He and His Son look just like us. The Holy Spirit has no body, but God and Jesus Christ do, because we look just like them and the Scriptures say “If you have seen the Son you have seen the Father” They look just alike and we look just like them.
Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day. Paradise is like purgatory(not hell) a holding place until the judgement day and the Resurrection. The people who lived and died before Jesus was resurrected were part of the first resurrection and we will all be part of the second resurrection. We do not go straight to heaven when we die, we go to Paradise and wait and continue our education there until the second coming and the second resurrection. That is my understanding without the confusion of human translation of the Holy Scripture. It is so easy to understand if you read and study it with prayer to the Heavenly Father to help you understand what you are reading. So all of you are able to understand if you study and pray for understanding. I did it and it works, my love for and understanding of God the Father and Jesus grew hugely through this process. Try it for yourselves, and you will know.
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lak611
Guest
This is not Catholic teaching. There is no “soul sleep”.
J
johnstown_johnn
Guest
Jesus, the incarnate, entered Heaven on Ascencion Thursday. He always was as a component of the Father but had not taken a human nature until was conceived by the Holy Spirit.Hi Hap,
Jesus never ceased being in heaven, since heaven is the enjoyment of the beatific vision (God as He is) and Jesus never stopped having it.
The “ascension” of Jesus into heaven was the way Jesus took to tell us that the ball was now in our court until he comes back to judge the living and the dead.
Heaven cannot be a place until there are bodies to occupy it. Jesus and Mary being resurrected, are they in that place? Revelation tells us that after the final victory of good over evil, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. It’s all very speculative, and we should concentrate on earning our ticket there, wherever and whatever that will be.
Verbum
St. John’s beginning gospel: "In the beginning there was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God. This means that Jesus was with God BEFORE the creation of man and woman.
God took on human flesh and became man for our salvation. So, in my mind, he "eneterd Heaven 40 days after His glorious Resurrection but at the same time was always the WORD which always was with God.
The Asenscion was our preview of our resurrections on the Last Day when we will be reunited body and soul.
It kinda reminds me of the creation of Adam. After Gopd had formed man (Adam) he breathed through his nostrals and man BECAME a living soul. With us, we have two facets to our being…carnal and spiritual.
G
GrandpaD
Guest
I am not as advanced as you all are, so I just spoke from my own study and from my heart and what the spirit has told me in my heart. I have never heard of soul sleep, so you might expound on the meaning of that. I am only using common sense and taking what the Lord has told us in the scriptures literally as He plainly stated, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God and it shall be given”. I believe He does not make things mysterious and confusing to understand. He tells it like it is and there should be no need for someone else to translate the meaning for us. The Holy Spirit testifies the truth of all things to us as individuals if we study the scriptures and pray for understanding. I have discovered this on my own and believe each person has the ability to discover the truth on their own through Christ and through the Holy Spirit’s guidance. If the Catholic Church does not believe this then they should start, because it is so much easier to believe than that all 3 are one and that Jesus is really his own Father. They are just as we are each individuals. It is not possible even for God to be 3 in one. They are 3 with one purpose.
R
Rachael_in_Okla
Guest
How can you possibly say that it is not possible even for God. All things are possible with God. And I disagree with you that all things are so simple to understand. For example the Eucharist, this is very difficult to understand with only our humanly senses but through faith we believe Jesus when he tells us that the bread and wine are really and truly changed into his body and blood. It is a mystery but we believe through faith. You seem to also be saying that we need no guidance like we have with the Catholic Church, but if that were the case than why are there 50,000 plus denominations that do not agree on all that the Bible says. I think it is vital to go back not only to the Bible but also to what the first early Christians wrote and believed about certain issues like the Eucharist for instance. They definitely took Jesus at his word re: the Eucharist, but today many do not.
G
GrandpaD
Guest
You are right, all things are possible with God, but why would he pretend to be 3 different beings? For what purpose? He tells us plainly that Jesus is His only begotten son in the flesh. The Holy Spirit appears as a messenger in different forms, such as a dove, because is only spirit matter and has no body or form. Anyone who says God is his own son and also the Holy Spirit is calling God a lier. That is just plain blasphemy. God is God and He does not pretend to be His Son and speak from Heaven as the Father at the same time. Why would He do that? It does not make any sense at all and God in a way that we can understand.
Try using common sense and you will see it is only a mystery if man makes it a mystery. The Church guides us, but it does not mean we can not pray to God on our own and receive our own testimony of the truth of the gospel. I know the gospel is true, I believe in God the Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and I love them with all my heart. I pray morning and evening and study my scriptures and from this He has revealed to me that the scriptures are true and need not be interpreted to mean anything than what the disciples wrote. God is God the Father, and Jesus is God the Son. They are two, and Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and visited first Mary Magdeline and then his disciples. The Scriptures do not tell the exact day that he ascended, but since I am not a student of scripture, except in the way of a common, humble man who loves the Lord, I could not tell for sure which day. I don’t think it matters when, but only matters that He did enter Heaven and was seated on the right hand of His Father, who is God the Father. Together they work as one, for the salvation of mankind.
Try using common sense and you will see it is only a mystery if man makes it a mystery. The Church guides us, but it does not mean we can not pray to God on our own and receive our own testimony of the truth of the gospel. I know the gospel is true, I believe in God the Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and I love them with all my heart. I pray morning and evening and study my scriptures and from this He has revealed to me that the scriptures are true and need not be interpreted to mean anything than what the disciples wrote. God is God the Father, and Jesus is God the Son. They are two, and Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and visited first Mary Magdeline and then his disciples. The Scriptures do not tell the exact day that he ascended, but since I am not a student of scripture, except in the way of a common, humble man who loves the Lord, I could not tell for sure which day. I don’t think it matters when, but only matters that He did enter Heaven and was seated on the right hand of His Father, who is God the Father. Together they work as one, for the salvation of mankind.
R
Rachael_in_Okla
Guest
My initial question was re: the portion of the creed “he descended into hell and on the third day he arose again,” I have heard this explained but was wondering if anyone could explain a little better. The whole idea of Abrahams bosum and that Jesus opened the gates of heaven, and that prior to Jesus, all who had died went to Hadees (Sheol). I have read the catechism re: this and all the scripture passages that it quotes but I am still not completely clear.
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