Whether Christ Opened the Gate of Heaven to Us by His Passion?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ did not open the gate of
heaven to us by His Passion. For it is written (Prov. 11:18): "To him
that soweth justice, there is a faithful reward." But the reward of
justice is the entering into the kingdom of heaven. It seems,
therefore, that the holy Fathers who wrought works of justice,
obtained by faith the entering into the heavenly kingdom even without
Christ's Passion. Consequently Christ's Passion is not the cause of
the opening of the gate of the kingdom of heaven.
Obj. 2: Further, Elias was caught up to heaven previous to Christ's
Passion (4 Kings 2). But the effect never precedes the cause.
Therefore it seems that the opening of heaven's gate is not the
result of Christ's Passion.
Obj. 3: Further, as it is written (Matt. 3:16), when Christ was
baptized the heavens were opened to Him. But His baptism preceded the
Passion. Consequently the opening of heaven is not the result of
Christ's Passion.
Obj. 4: Further, it is written (Mic. 2:13): "For He shall go up that
shall open the way before them." But to open the way to heaven seems
to be nothing else than to throw open its gate. Therefore it seems
that the gate of heaven was opened to us, not by Christ's Passion,
but by His Ascension.
_On the contrary,_ is the saying of the Apostle (Heb. 10:19): "We
have [Vulg.: 'having a'] confidence in the entering into the
Holies"--that is, of the heavenly places--"through the blood of
Christ."
_I answer that,_ The shutting of the gate is the obstacle which
hinders men from entering in. But it is on account of sin that men
were prevented from entering into the heavenly kingdom, since,
according to Isa. 35:8: "It shall be called the holy way, and the
unclean shall not pass over it." Now there is a twofold sin which
prevents men from entering into the kingdom of heaven. The first is
common to the whole race, for it is our first parents' sin, and by
that sin heaven's entrance is closed to man. Hence we read in Gen.
3:24 that after our first parents' sin God "placed . . . cherubim and
a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life." The other is the personal sin of each one of us, committed by
our personal act.
Now by Christ's Passion we have been delivered not only from the
common sin of the whole human race, both as to its guilt and as to
the debt of punishment, for which He paid the penalty on our behalf;
but, furthermore, from the personal sins of individuals, who share in
His Passion by faith and charity and the sacraments of faith.
Consequently, then the gate of heaven's kingdom is thrown open to us
through Christ's Passion. This is precisely what the Apostle says
(Heb. 9:11, 12): "Christ being come a high-priest of the good things
to come . . . by His own blood entered once into the Holies, having
obtained eternal redemption." And this is foreshadowed (Num. 35:25,
28), where it is said that the slayer* "shall abide there"--that is
to say, in the city of refuge--"until the death of the high-priest,
that is anointed with the holy oil: but after he is dead, then shall
he return home." [*The Septuagint has 'slayer', the Vulgate,
'innocent'--i.e. the man who has slain 'without hatred and enmity'.]
Reply Obj. 1: The holy Fathers, by doing works of justice, merited to
enter into the heavenly kingdom, through faith in Christ's Passion,
according to Heb. 11:33: The saints "by faith conquered kingdoms,
wrought justice," and each of them was thereby cleansed from sin, so
far as the cleansing of the individual is concerned. Nevertheless the
faith and righteousness of no one of them sufficed for removing the
barrier arising from the guilt of the whole human race: but this was
removed at the cost of Christ's blood. Consequently, before Christ's
Passion no one could enter the kingdom of heaven by obtaining
everlasting beatitude, which consists in the full enjoyment of God.
Reply Obj. 2: Elias was taken up into the atmospheric heaven, but not
in to the empyrean heaven, which is the abode of the saints: and
likewise Enoch was translated into the earthly paradise, where he is
believed to live with Elias until the coming of Antichrist.
Reply Obj. 3: As was stated above (Q. 39, A. 5), the heavens were
opened at Christ's baptism, not for Christ's sake, to whom heaven was
ever open, but in order to signify that heaven is opened to the
baptized, through Christ's baptism, which has its efficacy from His
Passion.
Reply Obj. 4: Christ by His Passion merited for us the opening of the
kingdom of heaven, and removed the obstacle; but by His ascension He,
as it were, brought us to the possession of the heavenly kingdom. And
consequently it is said that by ascending He "opened the way before
them."
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