Did Jesus Really Make it to Heaven?

If the story of Jesus had ended with the crucifixion, no atonement for sin would have been accomplished. It was necessary that Jesus, as high priest, have something to offer to God for man's sin when he presented himself to God (Heb.8:3). Only the Father's acceptance of Jesus' sacrificial death accomplished that. But Jesus' death was made effective for the forgiveness of sin only after he arose from the dead and ascended into heaven to offer himself to God as a slain Lamb. Paul made this observation in his letter to the saints at Corinth: If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain...and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins (1Cor.15:14, 17).

Why is our faith in Christ vain if Christ is not risen from the dead? Because the offering for sin was not made on the cross. Jesus had to be resurrected and ascend into heaven to offer himself to God for the sins of the entire world, for who but Jesus was worthy to approach the Father's altar in heaven to present his slain body to the Father for the sins of the world. We should always bear in mind that Jesus did not ascend into heaven because his atoning work was finished. He ascended as our high priest to finish his atoning work. There, in the holiest place of heaven, Jesus "appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb.9:26). It was this sacrifice of Christ, not simply his wonderful earthly life or his horrible death, which purchased our redemption.

How can we know?

How can we KNOW that Jesus went in to heaven to do this "priestly" act for us? There is one sure way: obtain a witness. Find somebody or some thing that can PROVE that Jesus entered into heaven to atone for sin. God's plan of redemption in Christ includes an oft-overlooked, yet essential, element. That is, the "Witness", or testimony, which God gave to man as proof that the sacrifice of Christ took place and was accepted. For those seeking the truth, God has provided something which can be used as a clear sign showing the way, something which bears irrefutable record to the fact that the offering of Jesus' body, "as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" was accepted by the Father as propitiation for our sins and that He "hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).

What is God's "Witness"? The Bible tells us. In 1John 5:6, we read, "It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." In verse 10, John calls the Spirit "the record that God gave of his Son", and he states that anyone who refuses to receive the Spirit is calling God a liar, because he is rejecting the Witness which God gave. Jesus had told his disciples, "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify [bear witness] of me" (Jn.15:26).

Men who preach only the "cross of Christ", without the message of the ascension AND the baptism of the holy Ghost, preach a "part-gospel" message. Jesus now is the baptizer (with fire and the holy Ghost), and if a minister is not telling the second part, they are not telling the truth. Man needed a Witness that Jesus' sacrifice was accepted by the Father because the event took place in heaven, where no man could see. The disciples, obediently waiting in Jerusalem, learned that Jesus had made his sacrifice and that it had been accepted only when the Father sent His Witness of it on Pentecost morning, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4). Without the EVIDENCE of speaking in other tongues, one does not have the assurance that Jesus accomplished his priestly task. Men, led by ministers whom Jesus has not sent, are coerced into "taking by faith", something they have never experienced. Sincere seekers of God are asked to believe something they have no credible evidence of. The result is always doubt, confusion, and quite possibly, the cutting short of the work of God in that person's life. If you have not received the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, you must seek proof friend! And of course, God is wanting to give it to all who will receive.

Speaking in tongues, said Paul, is the sign that God gave to men to help them find the way of life (1Cor.14: 21-22). With so many religions claiming to be the true way of God, the Father knew He would have to give us something concrete by which to judge men's claims. Thank God, we do not have to decide for ourselves who has God's Spirit and who does not. The Spirit gives its own witness when He washes a soul from sin, just as he bore witness through the tongues of those humble disciples in Acts 2:4. Referring to this divinely inspired utterance, Paul reminded the believers in Rome, "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, `Abba, Father'. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom.8:15-16).

"Conversion" occurs when the Spirit of God is received (Rom.8:9), the disciples were converted, or born again, on the day of Pentecost when they received the Holy Ghost. The Spirit wasn't available to indwell them before Jesus ascended (Jn.14:17) because the sacrifice hadn't taken place. More than once, Jesus spoke to his disciples of the conversion, or new birth, which they would experience when the Holy Spirit came (Mt.18:1-3; Lk.21:31-32; Jn.16:20-22). Unfortunately, many teach that one is converted, or born again, before he receives the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But there is no scriptural support for that notion. Take Paul, for a prime example. How many among us, even ministers, thoughtlessly speak of Paul's "conversion" on the road to Damascus, as if that is what the Bible says. But the Scriptures clearly state that Paul received the Spirit three days later in Damascus, and that only then were his sins washed away (Acts 9:8-9, 17; 22:11-16).

Did Jesus really make it into heaven? Ask those who have received an experience that came from heaven! It is freely given to all who obey the one who made it in.

Return to Main Page