The Truth about
Limbo
Richard Salbato January 10,
2012
First
understand that the word does not appear in the Bible and Limbo is not an
official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other.
Medieval
theologians described the underworld ("hell", "hades",
"infernum") as divided into four distinct
parts: hell of the
damned (which some call Gehenna), Purgatory,
limbo of the fathers, and limbo of infants.
I believe that prior to
It is
interesting to note that the Church does not even have an opinion regarding the
saints of the Old Testament like Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, etc. The Church does
not call them saints because they simply do not know their state in eternity
because of statements by
After
The term
"Limbo of the Fathers" was a medieval name for the part of the
underworld (Hades) where the patriarchs of the Old Testament were believed
to be kept until
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
describes
The Limbo of
the Fathers was the abode of people who, before Jesus' Resurrection, had died
in the friendship of God, but had to wait for
The Good Thief
Jesus told the Good
Thief that the two of them would be together "this day" in
"Paradise" (Luke
23:43; see also Matthew
27:38); but between on the Sunday of his resurrection
he said that he had "not yet ascended to the Father" (John
20:17). Some say that the descent of Jesus to the abode of the dead, his
presence among them, turned it into a paradise.[4][5] Others
understand the text to mean not "I say to you, This day you will be with
me in paradise", but "I say to you this day, You will be with me in
paradise". Timothy Radcliffe explained the "today"
as a reference to the "Today of eternity". I
have a different opinion on this passage.
The Limbo of Infants
The Limbo of
Infants (Latin limbus infantium or limbus
puerorum) is a hypothesis about the permanent
status of the unbaptized
who die in infancy, too
young to have committed personal sins, but not having been freed from original
sin. Since at least the time of Augustine, theologians, considering baptism to
be necessary for the salvation of those to whom it can be
This theory, in any of its forms, has never been
dogmatically defined by the Church, but it is permissible to hold it.
While the Catholic
Church has a defined doctrine on original sin, it has none
on the eternal fate of unbaptized infants, leaving theologians free to propose
different theories, which Catholics are free to accept or reject.
The fundamental importance, in Roman Catholic theology, of
the sacrament of water baptism gives
rise to the argument that, because original
sin excludes from the beatific vision enjoyed by the souls in heaven, those who
have not been freed from it either by the sacrament or by baptism
of desire or baptism of blood are not eligible for entry into
heaven. I agree with all the above opinions except where Limbo is.
What we teach and what we don’t
Thus in 1992, the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
while affirming that "the Church does not know of any means other than
Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude", but also stating that
"God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is
not bound by his sacraments",] stated:
"As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only
entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them.
Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and
Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: 'Let the children
come to me, do not hinder them,' allow us to hope that there is a way of
salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the
Church's call not to prevent little children coming to
What I Plan To Prove
Although not Doctrine, I plan to prove that Limbo is
no longer in the inner earth but now in Heaven and that the Patriarchs of the Old
Testament may not be in the
Consider that in
Matthew 19:16, Mark
10:17, Luke 18:18 and James 2:8 a man asked “How can I have eternal life?” In
every case He answered “Keep the commandments.” He did not say that they had to
be baptized. Nonetheless, for the
Although I had
this opinion for many years before, when I read Anne
Also I learned
from logic and Emmerich that Paradise is not heaven and Enoch and Elias are not
yet in Heaven but still in
When you read
the explanation of the
Note One:
(From the book,
The Miracle of Damascus)
The Miracle of
Damascus is not without a reason. All the miracles, the oil from the icon, the
oil from Mirna, the stigmata, and the cures, are bells being rung by God so
that we will listen to His Words. Before we look closer at His Words
(the messages) and analyze what they are saying, we must first establish what
is meant by
"THE
All the
messages of Soufanieh pivot around this statement. If the Virgin Mary said nothing
else except "The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth is
the Church," it should be enough to bring about unity. In these
words is a great lesson if we would only take them and relate them to the
Bible. There were many reasons for divisions in the past, mostly political and
national. Today these divisions maintain themselves and continue to divide
because of misunderstandings as to what it means to be a follower of
Some assert that
you must be "born again in
Others maintain
that only those who hold fast to the teachings of the Apostles are true
followers of
History has
proven that as a person develops a good argument for some position and gets a following, a new Church is born, further dividing the
Within the
Catholic Church today there is a heresy called "PLURALISM." It has been condemned by all
the Popes of the Twentieth Century. Pluralism is the belief that all religions
are okay in the eyes of God and that it doesn't matter what religion you belong
to. If this were true, God would not see the need for the Miracle of Damascus. If "Pluralism" were true, God would not need to ask
for unity.
None of these
divisions would have ever happened if we had all known and understood the
constant teachings of the Old Testament prophets,
Where do I
start? To tell the truth, it amazes me that people (including myself for many
years) don't understand the "Kingdom on Earth." I think before
getting into the words of Scripture, we should start on a lighter note. To do
this, I would like to borrow a little story from Jack McArdle
(I hope he forgives me).
"Once
a village blacksmith had a vision. An angel came to tell him that God was calling him
home to the fullness of the Kingdom.
'I thank God
for thinking of me; replied the blacksmith, 'but as you know, the season for
sowing the crops is beginning, as I am the only blacksmith in these parts, who
will help these poor people when a horse needs to be shod, or a plough needs to
be fixed? I don't want to appear ungrateful, but do you think I could put off
taking my place in the Kingdom until I have finished?'
"'I'll see
what can be done,' said the angel, as he vanished. The angel returned a year or
two later with the same message. This time, however, a farmer was seriously
ill, and the blacksmith was trying to save his crop for him, so that his family
wouldn't suffer. The angel was sent back to see what could be done. This
happened again and again, and on each occasion the blacksmith just spread his
hands in a gesture of resignation and compassion, and drew the angel's
attention to where the suffering was, and where his help was needed.
"Eventually,
the blacksmith felt very old and tired, and he prayed, 'Lord, if You would like to send Your angel again, I think I'd be
happy to see him.'
"The angel
appeared. 'If you still want to take me,' said the
blacksmith, 'I am ready to take up my abode in the Lord's Kingdom.'
"The angel
looked at the blacksmith in surprise and said, 'Where do you think you've been
all these years.' "
I hope you
enjoyed that. Now, let us get down to understanding this "
Old
Testament
The Jews
expected an earthly Kingdom. Even the Apostles, in spite of His teachings,
didn't understand this Kingdom until Pentecost. Today we have a new group who
expect an earthly Kingdom coming down out of Heaven where
In Isaias 9:6-7 we find the prediction of the Kingdom.
"For
a Child is Born to us, and a Son is given to us, and the government is upon His
shoulder; and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor,
God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His
empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: He shall sit
upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom; to establish it and strengthen
it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and forever."
They even knew
where this child would be born.
"And
thou, Bethlehem Ephrate, art a little one among the
thousands of Juda; out of thee shall He come forth
unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel; and His going forth is from the
beginning, from the days of eternity," (Micheas
5:2).
There was no
question in the Jews' mind that this was a kingdom, for even Daniel spoke of
it. It is easy to see in these following words why they did not recognize
"And
He gave Him power, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, tribes and
tongues shall serve Him. His power is an everlasting power that shall not be
taken away, and His kingdom that shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:14)
But the saints
of the most high God shall take the kingdom; and they shall possess the kingdom
for ever and ever," (Daniel 7:18) "and the saints obtained the kingdom."
"And
that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole
Heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the most High: whose
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all Kings shall serve Him, and shall
obey Him." (Daniel 7:22).
The
Kingdom in
The Jews didn't
recognize
In Matt.
8:11-12,
In speaking of
We could take
this to mean "Heaven" in the sky, but we know from
If
he only meant "Heaven in the Sky;' how could Heaven be assaulted? I'm sure even the twelve
Apostles didn't understand.
He goes on to
say, "The
To further
prove the Kingdom is on EARTH, "The Son of Man will send forth His angels,
and they will gather out of His Kingdom
all scandals and those who work iniquity. .:' (Matt. 13:41).
In the parable,
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure. .." (Matt. 13:44-46).
He lets them know that nothing is more important than entering the Kingdom. In
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net
cast into the sea," He explains that in the Kingdom will be the good and : the bad. (Matt. 13:47-49). In Matt. 13:52
In Chapter 20
of Matt., he explains that no one is first or last in the
Jesus does not
understand the
Even after He
died and rose from the dead, He preached the
After the
Apostles received the Body and Blood of
The
Kingdom In The Apostles' Words
The central
idea of the teaching of
"And if he
refuse to hear them, appeal to the Church, but if he refuse to hear even
the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican:' (Matt. 13:17).
"Upon this rock I will build My Church." After Pentecost this
new terminology developed. ..Instead of "Kingdom" they used
"ecclesia," which means "a gathering." The Apostles used
this word to mean "a community of believers." The English translation
of this word is "Church:'
This Church was
referred to as a Brotherhood (1 Cor. 6:5, 1
The
Body of
The Church is
described as "one body in
A
This
Actually, it
would be better to say that the
The Church is universal in time also, "all peoples of the
earth-and this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for
a testimony to all nations-Going therefore teach ye all nations- I will be with
you until the end of time."
A
Visible Kingdom
The first sign
of a visible Church is a hierarchy. The teaching office demands obedience to
the faith.
(Acts 20:28,
Titus 1:7). These bishops were often referred to as ELDERS.
"Take heed
to yourselves and to the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as
bishops, to rule the
"Abjure
all factions, for they are the beginning of evils. Follow your bishop, every
one of you, as obediently as Jesus
As head of the
Apostles, bishops, priests, and deacons,
"And I say
to you, thou art Peter [rock], and upon this rock I will build My Church, and
the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give thee the Keys
of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
Heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in Heaven."
(Matt. 16:18-19).
And He gave
them the power to forgive sins. .. "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they
are retained." (
"Amen,
amen, I say to you, he who enters not by the door into the sheepfold [the Kingdom] but climbs up
another way is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is shepherd
of the sheep. To this man the gatekeeper [Peter] opens and the
sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them
forth." (
"Obey
your superiors and be subject to them, for they keep watch as having to render
an account of your souls; so that they may do this with joy, and not with
grief, for that would not be expedient for you." (Heb. 13:17).
"You
have come to Mount Sion, [The Church] and to the city
of the living God, [The Church] the heavenly Jerusalem, [The Church] and to the company
of many thousands of angels, and to the Church of the firstborn who are
enrolled in the heavens, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of
the just made perfect [All in the same family] and to Jesus,
mediator of a new covenant." (Heb. 12:22-24) [Added comments].
A
Along with
geographical expansion went an extension on the religious or theological plane.
The gospel, preached in the first place to the Jews alone, was soon preached
also to the Samaritans who were despised by the Jews. In this way the preaching
of
Right from the
beginning, there could have been two Churches, one for the Jews and one for the
Gentiles, one for Peter and one for Paul. It made more sense at that time than
ever again in history. But that wasn't the case. The Church remained one, and
only one. Paul, who went alone into the world of the Gentiles, still consulted
with the Apostles of Jerusalem:
"Then
after fourteen years I went up again to
The Spirit is
the instigator of this unity, where racial and social differences are abolished
(Gal. 3:28). The believers are "all one in
This unity is
sealed by the bread of the Passover of which Jesus says "This is My
Body" (Mark 14:22). The Church is
a new beginning, a new creation, a new humanity, a
new Heaven and a new Earth. A new Heaven because
the death of
We confess this
unity in the Nicene Creed, where we confess one faith, one belief, one God.
Paul presents a picture of this unity by showing it as a house (1 Tim. 3:15)
and again as a human body (
"I beseech
you in the name of our Lord Jesus
"To Him
who has loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us to be a kingdom, and priests to God His Father. ..I
Then he goes on
to speak to the seven bishops (angels) of the seven churches about the "things that
are" (Apoc. 1:19). These seven churches are all in what is now
Furthermore, we
should realize that the Heavenly Jerusalem in Apoc. 3:12 and all of Apoc. 21 is
the Church. This Heavenly Jerusalem extends itself from Heaven to earth as one
complete Spiritual Kingdom of
And so, we must
think hard on these things.
The Church is
the Body of
The Church is
You cannot
claim to love
You cannot
claim to believe in
Father Messias Coelho of
"God
created the world to create the Church in order to have a family to love."
I believe that.
When everyone believes that, we will have unity.
All baptized
Note Two:
Least in the
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the
law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall
teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the
same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That
except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven
21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old
time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill
shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever
shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest
that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou
art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means
come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a
woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and
cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should
perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it
is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell.
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