What was the effect of Jesus Christ on subsequent reality - his 'cosmic' effect on the world?
One way of thinking about this is that Jesus established Heaven (mad it happen) - by enabling resurrection to eternal life; and to examine the effect of Heaven on the totality of things.
A consequence was that Heaven became a possibility for all Men. This potentially affects the life of every Man - but only if the possibility of Heaven is believed.
Once established, Heaven became inhabited by (more and more) ex-mortal Men. If we assume that those in Heaven are not cut-off from mortal Men; then there is a new potential for contact between the living and 'the dead' - between mortal and immortal Men.
Furthermore, when Jesus ascended to Heaven, this made possible the Holy Ghost - to comfort and guide all Men. From that point, no Man (wherever, at whatever time) would ever need to be alone or cut adrift from the divine.
But Heaven also had a effect on the purposive powers of evil: on Satan, the demons and their servants and slaves among mortal Men. Because heaven represents an eternal and indestructible reminder of the ultimate defeat of evil - by those who desire its defeat.
Heaven is an eternal escape from evil, a place without evil - so whatever may happen elsewhere, evil can never triumph fully or finally.
This means that the motivation of beings of purposive evil can only be:
1. For themselves, a continual and recurrent hardening of their will to reject Heaven - the continual and unending justification of this rejection and the seeking of c one after another temporary compensations.
2. Externally - to manipulate other beings to reject the eternal offer of Heaven, and to do so fully and finally. This by asserting the attractions of sin; such that sin becomes the core focus of life, and the elimination of sin a thing to be avoided at any cost.
The last point I will mention is that after Heaven came into existence, then Men could potentially have glimpses of Heaven - and if they then came to desire Heaven for themselves, then this desire might permeate their mortal lives.
2 comments:
Thanks for this. The whole post resonates with me, and I am increasingly drawn to what you have described in the final paragraph. I often find myself yearning for those glimpses, but I rarely register them in real time if and when they do occur. More often than not, I only became aware of a potential/possible glimpse in hindsight after some reflection and contemplation. These glimpses - if they are indeed glimpses - are very subtle experiences for me.
@Frank - You seem to me to have described glimpses on your blog, sometimes.
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