Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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And you have not known him: but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him
not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him and do keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it and was glad.
The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old. And hast thou
seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham
was made, I AM.
But not everyone in the netherworld would accompany Jesus to
heaven.
We’re not told of all the specifics required for salvation in this case, other than
("If any man keep my word") but we can assume that God treats all of us pretty
much the same.
A profession of faith in Jesus, coupled with a lifetime of faithful service to God and
contrition for sins, probably met the minimum requirements. (It still does!)
The truly evil would remain with Satan, their chosen one, forever.
Isaiah also speaks of "the day of vengeance of our God: to comfort all that mourn".
In this case, we must think of God's vengeance as "making things whole again"
not as man's way of "getting even".
What better way to make things whole, to comfort all those who mourn and fear
death, than to break the bonds of Satan, (death himself) free the just from their
captivity, and restore them (and potentially, all of mankind) to eternal life with
God?
Jesus personally freed all of those captives. They were very
important to Him and He loved them dearly. This was always
clearly understood, from the earliest days of the Church and is
expressly stated in the Apostle's Creed.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended to the dead ...
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