When Jesus Christ was crucified, the veil that separated us
from the holy of holies was torn. Prior to His sacrifice, none could enter into
God’s presence except for the high priest, and then only once a year for
atonement.
Now when these things had
been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the
tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone
once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the
people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that
the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first
tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both
gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the
service perfect in regard to the conscience— concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly
ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
But Christ came as
High Priest of the good things to come,
with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that
is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and
calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all,
having obtained eternal redemption. For if the
blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? And for this reason He is the
Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the
transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive
the promise of the eternal inheritance.
- Hebrews 9:6-15
Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
He said to repent, for the Kingdom
of Heaven was at hand.
Jesus came to bring the Kingdom
of God to us.
From that
time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
- Matthew 4:17
The Kingdom
of God is not something
to be observed, but rather is within us. This is a true statement, because the
Holy Spirit of the Living God comes to reside within us. In the presence of God
Himself is the Kingdom
of Heaven.
Now when
He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom
of God would come, He answered them
and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For
indeed, the kingdom
of God is within you.”
- Luke 17:20-21
Before Jesus death it was not possible for us to directly
commune with God, hence God’s elect awaited the coming of the Messiah in Abraham’s
bosom. There are those who must declare this to be a parable, but Jesus always
used terms like “it is like” and never gave names in His parables. Jesus tells
this a point blank fact using specific names.
So it was that the beggar died, and
was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried. And being in torments
in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom.
“Then he
cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may
dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame.’ But Abraham said,
‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this,
between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass
from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
- Luke 16:22-26
Jesus told us that He would not leave us to do this on our
own, but that He would send the Holy Spirit for us. It is the very indwelling
of the Holy Spirit that is the Kingdom
of God within us. When
the veil was torn, we could then finally enter into the Kingdom of God,
into Heaven and the very throne room of the Almighty.
“And I will pray the Father, and He
will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He
dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
“A little
while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I
live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and
you in Me, and I in you.”
- John 14:16-20
But the Holy Spirit also
witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I
will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I
will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no
longer an offering for sin.
- Hebrews 10:15-17
Knowing that He was removing all separation from God, reconciling us to
Himself, He knew the gates of Heaven would be forever open to the sons of God.
This was not some future thing to take place, but Jesus knew it would happen as
soon as He finished His work. He told the thief on the cross next to Him this
in no uncertain terms.
But the other, answering,
rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he
said to Jesus, “Lord,
remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
And
Jesus said to him, “Assuredly,
I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
- Luke 23:40-43
Jesus death removed the veil, and the very proclamation of His teaching that
the
Kingdom of God was at hand was made manifest on the
day of Pentecost when Jesus fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit. From
that day forward it is the very presence of the Living God within us that
enables us to walk according to the will of God. This is the very act of
salvation. We pass from death unto life.
I will give you a new
heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of
your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put
My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will
deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply
it, and bring no famine upon you.
- Ezekiel 36:26-29
When the Day of Pentecost
had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly
there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.
- Acts 2:1-4
‘And it shall come to pass in
the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My
maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into
darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls
on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’
- Acts 2:17-21
The Holy Spirit is our umbilical that directly links us to Heaven. To be
filled with the Holy Spirit is to have the gates of Heaven eternally open to
us.
Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may
enter in.
You will keep him in
perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
- Isaiah 26:2-3
Now He who
has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the
Spirit as a guarantee.
So we
are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are
absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are
confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be
present with the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 5:5-8
To die is to go directly to Heaven via the Holy
Spirit that lives within us. For this very reason Jesus says we will never die.
We may leave this body, but the eternal life is already complete.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
- John 11:25-26
