Heaven is Open!
Via “What is Christianity”
Michelangelo Buonarroti, "The Last Judgment" (1534-41)
Yes, indeed, heaven is open! True, heaven was closed to mankind on account of the fall of our first parents; for the blessed communion with God, for which man had been created, was broken off by their transgression. When Adam and Eve, misled by Satan’s wiles, disobeyed the divine commandment, they brought upon themselves and upon their posterity, that is, upon all men, the guilt of sin, which results in death and damnation. It is of no use whatsoever to dispute this fact, as has been done and is still being done so commonly. God tells us in unmistakable terms: “By the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation,” Rom. 5, 18. It is just as futile to seek to reestablish communion with God through our own efforts and works or to reopen heaven, which man’s sin has closed. Man’s own endeavors in this respect will always fail, for “by the works fo the Law shall no flesh be justified,” Gal. 2, 15. However, as certain as this fact is, just so certain it is that there is an open heaven. And why? It is due to the fact that, despite the fall of man into sin, God did not reject mankind. As Scripture tells us, God’s love for man is great indeed. “His delights are with the sons of men,” Prov. 8, 31. he is a Philanthropist, a Lover of men, as Luther declares in his sermon for the matins of the second Christmas Day. (St. L. Ed., XII, 130.) Speaking on Titus 3, 4-8, Luther says, “God does not love the person of man, but the nature of man, for He is called a Lover of mankind and not merely of individuals.” Luther’s remark is based upon the fact that the Greek word ‘philanthropia,’ just as our English word ‘philanthropy’ denotes the benevolent “disposition to promote the happiness of man as man or of mankind on a large scale.” Luther meant by this ti impress upon us indelibly the comforting fact that God’s love to man “does not respect, or make a distinction between, persons,” but “is bestowed upon all who are called men, no matter how lowly they may be.” Hence, when God saw that mankind through the deception of Satan had fallen into misery and was hopelessly lost in sin and guilt, death and damnation, His love to mankind was not extinguished, but was rather fanned into an incandescent flame. God did not turn away from fallen man; on the contrary, He now came much closer to him. He mad His eternal Son, God of God and Light of Light, to become incarnate, to assume human nature, and to become a member of human society, so that before the Father He might represent and plead the cause of the whole race of man. He placed upon His incarnate Son the obligation to fulfill in man’s place that divine Law which He had given to man, Gal. 4, 4.5. he obligated Him also to take upon Himself the whole guilt of sin with which mankind was burdened, Gal. 3, 13. And all this the incarnate Son fo God has done, Ps. 40, 9.13.; 69, 6. thereby opening the portals of paradise fully and completely unto all men without exception.
