Catholics only please. About death of Jesus.?

Question

When the first man and woman sinned, did original sin close the gates of heaven in a sense that no one could go to heaven until the death of Jesus. When Jesus died did He open the gates of heaven in a certain sense? What did He mean when He said He is the Way to the Father. Is it enough to go to heaven by dying to ourselves by doing our daily duties?

Answer 1

Original sin caused a breach in the relationship between God and Man so, yes, no one could enter heaven till that breach was mended. Christ did this by his perfect obedience to the Father. cf. Adam and Eve's disobedience.

He is the Way to the Father, because only through the satisfaction He made for our sins can humans be saved.

Dying to ourselves etc must be founded on Jesus Christ and faith in His salvific act to be a true co-operation in God's plan of salvation. i.e. you can't work your way into heaven without Christ, but your acceptance of Christ will be shown in your everyday actions. (St James makes this point very well in his epistle.)

Answer 2

The 'gates' were 'closed'...there aren't really any gates to Heaven, but yeah no one could get in until after Jesus died. Only through following Jesus and His teachings can we get to Heaven; in that sense He is the Way to the Father.

Answer 3

Yes, the sin of Adam and Eve closed the gates of heaven. The gates were opened by Jesus when He ascended into heaven. Faith brings salvation, provided it is made alive by charity. According to Galatians 5:6 we must have "...faith working through love." Faith and good works=heaven.

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 4

The gate image is what I learned in gradeschool, but know it is an oversimpliflication of what is going on. The first sin turned man away from God and made him not worthy to enter into His presense, and thus man was not allowed to enter into gloria caeli (the glory of heaven). Jesus and his sacrifice on the Cross was such a sacrifice that it was able to blot out the offenses of all sin, past, present, and future. That was how powerful the sacrifice was, since God himself was sacrificed. God sacrificed himself for the world, and only that sacrifice was able to redeem mankind. This is how Jesus is the way to the father as well.

As for your second question, in the story of the rich man in the Gospels, he asks, "I have followed all of the commandments from my youth. What more must I do?" And Jesus answered, "Sell all of your possessions and follow me."
By dying to self we must be ready to follow God and His will wherever it takes us, and that is part of our daily duty. Die to ourselves, and follow Jesus most radically. You have it about right. Remember, faith and works are both necessary for salvation. Pray too, that God may tell you His will for you. God bless.

Answer 5

Yes you are correct,the fall of our first parents did indeed close Heaven to mankind and the death and ressurrection of Christ opened Heaven again but only for those who would choose to follow Him.
When Adam and Eve sinned against God they lost their innocence and so too they lost God`s friendship,by themselves they could never get this back again as their nature was by now opposite to God and actually in rebellion, so Jesus is the only one Who can lead us back to the Father again, and for our part we must renounce our sinful ways and live our lives in surrender and obedience to the will of God.
This is my Catholic belief, kind regards to you.

Answer 6

...doing "duties" is not going to get you anywhere... read The Book... Ephesians, chapter 2...vs 8 & 9. and "you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free".

Answer 7

Everything that you have said is correct

The way-His way
the Truth- He is truth itself
Life-you follow his way and live in the truth and you will have life in you

Answer 8

Crucifiction
1. Billy Graham" from America, Josh McDowell effuses in his book "THE RESURRECTION FACTOR", saying, "I WAS FORCED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST IS EITHER ONE OF THE MOST WICKED, HEARTLESS, VICIOUS, HOAXES EVER FOISTED UPON THE MINDS OF MEN, OR IT IS THE MOST FANTASTIC FACT OF HISTORY.
It was Sunday morning, the FIRST day of the week, according to Hebrew calculations, with Saturday the Sabbath as the seventh, when Mary Magdalene alone (Mark 16:9 and John 20:1) visited the tomb of Jesus.
The question arises: "Why did she go there?" "TO ANOINT HIM", Mark 16:1 tells us. The Hebrew word for anoint is "masaha", which means to rub, to massage, to anoint. 1 The second question is: "Do Jews massage dead bodies after 3 days?" The answer is "No!" "Do the Christians massage dead bodies after 3 days?" The answer is again, "No!" Do the Muslims (who are the nearest to the Jews in their ceremonial laws) massage dead bodies after 3 days? And the answer is again, "No!" Then why should a Jewess want to massage a dead, decaying body after 3 days? We know that within 3 hours rigor mortis sets in — the stiffening of the body after death. In 3 days time, the body would be fermenting from within — the body cells would be breaking up and decomposing. If anyone rubs such a decaying body, it will fall to pieces. Does the rubbing make sense? No!
"Woman, why wee pest thou? Whom seekest thou? — (HOLY BIBLE) John 20:15
"She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him". (Still John 20:15)
In the Book of Hebrews 9:27. It says:
". . . It is ordained unto all men ONCE to die, and after that the judgement."
"For I am not yet ASCENDED unto my Father." (HOLY BIBLE) John 20:17
"And they (the disciples), when they heard that he was ALIVE, and had been seen by her (Mary Magdalene),they BELIEVED NOT."
(HOLY BIBLE) Mark 16:11
"And it came to pass, as he sat EATING with them, he took bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them"
(HOLY BIBLE) Luke 24:30
"And they went and told it unto the residue (of the disciples), NEITHER BELEIVED they them" (HOLY BIBLE) Mark 16:13
"But they were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit." (HOLY BIBLE) Luke 24:37
". . . THEY ALL FORSOOK HIM AND FLED." 2 (HOLY BIBLE) Mark 14:50
"Behold (have a look at) my hands and my feet, that it is I myself (I am the same fellow, man!): handle me and see; for A SPIRIT has no flesh and bones, as you see me have. . . And he showed them his hands and his feet." (HOLY BIBLE) Luke 24:39-40
"And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and feet." (HOLY BIBLE) Luke 24:40
he asks: "Have you here any meat', i.e. anything to eat? "And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of a honeycomb, and he took it, and DID EAT before them." (HOLY BIBLE) Luke 24:41-43
"IF CHRIST HAD ONLY EATEN TO SHOW THAT HE COULD EAT, WHILE HE REALLY HAD NO NEED OF NOURISHMENT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PRETENCE — SOMETHING DOCETIC"
". . . An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign (miracle), and there shall no sign (miracle) be given to it, but the sign (miracle) of the prophet, Jonah." (HOLY BIBLE) Matthew 12:39

(a) Mary Magdalene testifies that Jesus is ALIVE. 1
(b) The disciples from Emma us testify that he is ALIVE!
(c) Angels said that Jesus was ALIVE! (Luke 24:23).
(d) Two men that stood by told the women "why seek ye the living among the dead?" That he is ALIVE! (Luke 24:4-5).
". . . Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands;
and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side;
and be not faithless, but believing."
(HOLY BIBLE) John 20:27


Sign of Jonah

DEAD OR ALIVE?
The question arises that, when they threw Jonah overboard, was he dead or was he alive? To make it easy for you to get the right answer, let me help you by suggesting that Jonah had volunteered; when he said:
". . . Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm for you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." (HOLY BIBLE) Jonah 1:12
When a man volunteers, one does not have to strangle him before throwing him; one does not have to spear him before throwing him; one does not have to twist his arms or legs before throwing him. Everyone agrees that that is so.
Now once more the question: Was Jonah dead or alive when he was thrown into the raging sea? We get a unanimous reply — that he was ALIVE! The storm subsides, perhaps it was a coincidence. A fish comes and swallows him. Was he dead or alive? And again everyone says ALIVE! From the fishes belly he prays to God for help. Do dead men pray? "No!" So he was ,.. ALIVE! On the third day the fish vomits him onto the seashore — dead or alive? And the reply again is ALIVE! It is a miracle of miracles! The Jews say that he was ALIVE! The Christians say that he was ALIVE! And the Muslims say that he was ALIVE! Little wonder that Jesus chose the "SIGN" (miracle) of Jonah as his only "SIGN" (miracle): 1 Something on which the followers of three major religions are agreed.
1. When you throw a man into a raging sea, he ought to die. Because Jonah did not die, therefore, it is a MIRACLE!
2. A fish comes and gobbles the man; he ought to die. He did not die. It is now therefore, a double MIRACLE!
3. Because of heat and suffocation in the whale's belly for three days and three nights, he ought to die. He did not die, therefore, it is now a miracle of MIRACLES!
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the son of man be . . ."—

(Matthew 12:40). How was Jonah in the whale's belly for three days and three nights — Dead or Alive? The Muslims, the Christians and the Jews again give a unanimous verdict of A-L-1-V-E! How was Jesus in the tomb, for the same period of time — Dead or Alive? Over a thousand million Christians, of every church or Denomination give a unanimous verdict of D-E-A-D! Is that like Jonah or un-like Jonah in your language? And everyone whose mind is not confused, says that, that is very UN-LIKE Jonah. Jesus said that he would be "LIKE JONAH" and his infatuated followers say that he was "UN-LIKE JONAH!". Who is lying — Jesus or his followers? I leave the answer to you!
"For as Jonah was THREE days and THREE nights in the whale's belly; so shall the son of man be THREE days and THREE nights in the heart of the earth." (HOLY BIBLE) Matthew 12:40
1. The Christians allege that Jesus was UNLIKE Jonah. Jonah was ALIVE for three days and three nights, whereas Jesus was "DEAD" in the tomb!(?)
2. Jesus said that he would be in the tomb for THREE days and THREE nights, whereas the Christians say that he was in the tomb for only ONE day and TWO nights.
Alive