Works of John Bunyan — Volume 02

by John Bunyan

Consider 5. That he that ascended from his disciples, was a man, with flesh and bones, not a sprit only; for handle me, and see, (saith he) for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have (Luke 24:39,50,51). Now let the adversaries show by the scriptures, that there is any place in them called heaven, that is able to contain a man of some four or five feet long, the space of fifteen or sixteen hundred years; besides that: therefore, it must needs be that heaven without, which is above the clouds and stars.

Consider 6. That heaven into which the Lord Jesus that man is ascended must not contain him always; for, saith the Apostle (1 Thess 4:16) 'The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel.' So that there is another descending from that heaven into which he is ascended; and his descending from that heaven is to this end, namely, to take his people to himself, as it is verse 17 so that it is clear that it is not any heaven within thee, into which the man Christ that was born of the Virgin Mary is ascended, but it must needs be that heaven without, which is above the clouds (Heb 12:22). If thou consider, that the place into which he ascended, even the heaven into which he is entered, is the same place where all the deceased saints are in their spirits: 'Therefore,' saith Paul, 'I desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better.' Now Paul did not in this place (Phil 1:23) mean the enjoying of Christ only in the Spirit; for that he enjoyed in great measure when he spake these words; but he spake of a dying, and being with Christ after this life is ended; as is clear if you compare the 20th to the 26th verses together, being absent from him while he was here in the body (2 Cor 5:6). For 'whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.'

Consider 7. That that heaven into which the man Christ is ascended, is not into his church on earth; but into heaven without, above the clouds and the stars (John 16:7, 14:1-3; 1 Tim 2:5). And this David doth prophesy of (Psa 47:5), where he saith, 'God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.' Now Christ, as God merely, could not go up, being no less in one place than another; but as God-man, or in his human nature, he went up; as will clearly appear (Eph 4:8-10) where he speaketh of his triumph over all the enemies of his people at his resurrection and ascension into heaven above the clouds.

Consider 8. When Christ doth descend from that heaven into which he is now ascended, his saints and he will meet one another, just in the air, according to the scripture (1 Thess 4:16,17), 'For,' (saith he) 'the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [that is, they shall come out of their graves]. Then we which [shall be saved] are alive [at that day] and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'

Pray mark here a little, and see what heaven the man Christ is ascended into, and see if it be not the heaven without, above the sun, moon, and stars.

When Christ and his saints do meet a second time together, the one ascends and the other descends; the one is caught up in the clouds towards the heaven, the other descends from heaven towards the earth, and they must needs meet one another just in the air, that is, between the heaven and the earth. So then, the one coming from heaven and the other from the earth, and their meeting being in the air, which is between heaven and earth, is an undeniable demonstration, that that heaven into which the man Christ is ascended, must needs be that heaven without, above the sun, moon, and stars (Phil 3:20; 1 Thess 1:10). And thus much touching the Son of Mary, his ascending up into the heaven without above the clouds (Acts 1:9-11, 3:21; 1 Peter 3:22).

INTERCESSION. In the next place, now I shall prove the intercession of the man Christ Jesus to be in the heaven that I have been speaking of; though some have mocked at it, and others have called it juggling; which names here I shall not mention, only I shall admonish them, that they do not blaspheme the truth and Son of God in his intercession.

I shall quote some of the scriptures that hold out this truth, and so pass on.

First, And first of all, see Psalm 16:4 where David prophesying of the intercession of Christ, saith, 'Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another God, [speaking of the wicked] their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.' Now, compare this with Hebrews 8:4 where he saith, 'if he were on earth, he should not be a priest.' And Hebrews 9:24, 'For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [meaning the temple which Solomon built] which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us': 'wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them' (Heb 7:25).

Second, But you will say, is there a man made mention of here? Yes, for the scripture saith, 'There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus' (1 Tim 2:5). And in that 8th to the Hebrews made mention of before; where the Apostle is speaking of Christ's priestly office, as he is in the heavens, compared with other priests that are on earth; he saith (v 3), 'For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore [speaking of Christ] it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law,' which law was the law of Moses (9:19-23), where also he is speaking of the priesthood of the priests under the law, and their offering of the blood of bulls and goats (v 12 compared with vv 19-21). And of the Lord Jesus the high priests of saints, and of his blood (v 14 compared with v 24). Now as men under the law did offer up the blood of bulls and goats, so the man Christ Jesus did offer up his own blood to his Father; and this you may clearly see, if you compare Hebrews 9:14 where he saith, 'How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God?' [with] Hebrews 10:12 where he saith, 'But this man [meaning the Son of the Virgin (2:14 compared with Matt 1:21)] after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God'; again (Heb 7) the chapter I mentioned before, you shall find his intercession plainly held forth, if you read verse 22 and so on, where the scripture saith, 'By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests [meaning the priests under the law] because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death': (that is, the high-priest under the law, could not live ever in this world, because it was appointed to all men once to die) (Rev 2:8). But when he speaks of Christ Jesus, he saith on this wise, 'But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood' (Rev 1:18). Wherefore he (this man) is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he (this man) ever liveth to make intercession for them. And thus in brief have I proved through the assistance of the Lord, the intercession of the Son of Mary, which is also the Son of God. And this concerning Christ's priestly office, might serve also for a proof of his being in the heaven without, above the stars. But all men may see (unless they be blind) that these are the truths of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of God his Father; and that those men that oppose them (as the quakers do) are very violently possessed of the devil, and besides themselves; and have neither the truth of God, nor his Spirit in them (2 John 9:10; John 5:38,42).