How Spiritual Advancement
Might have Proceeded
in the Absence of Original Sin
The first section of this book offered an overview of God’s plan for humanity. God’s plan was our spiritual advancement for the ultimate purpose of reunion with our creator. To this reunion we bring our hard earned advancement we made in this life. These new and unique virtues are added to the perfection of the body of Christ.
The purpose of creation was our spiritual advancement, that we might rejoin God and bring with us our hard won virtues, with or without sin.{97}
Sin does not destroy God’s original plan of creation, sin corrupts its execution. The original plan is still discernible, and it has a deliberate beginning, a progression, a perfection and finally a fulfillment and end, as follows:
1. We all know about the beginning, but God did not make Adam and Eve to remain in human perfection, he made them for divine union with himself, (CCC 398). Jesus Christ was intended from the beginning as their divine union.
2. The era of progression was the perfection of human virtues, in preparation to make divine communion when Jesus Christ came. It would have likely proceeded with the tribe, then nation of Israel, which would have eagerly awaited the Christ.
The rest of the world (sinless in our scenario) would gain knowledge of Christ and inclusion over time. The major difference is that sin would not exist anywhere as an obstacle, and worldwide preparation would have been more advanced and extensive.{98}
3. The perfection of God’s plan for humanity was the coming of Jesus Christ, and his union with humanity via the Eucharist at the last supper. The plan was for an eager and prepared humanity to make full divine communion. Jesus Christ left the Eucharist and a priesthood to administer it to the upcoming generations, who were to have been guided by those elders already attaining the divine union in this life.
4. The fulfillment is the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is the end of creation, and the beginning of eternity. Our world and its people will live on in the ”new order” of eternity, absent of death and sin, as outlined in the book of Revelation chapter 21.
We now examine in detail these four stages. A better understanding of their original forms can only help us in our own spiritual advancement.
Starting with Adam and Eve would have encountered real challenges, even in the absence of original sin. Bad weather and resulting famine for one community would have been relieved by another community sharing their food. At a more personal level, each extended family required cooperation, patience and grace for coexistence. It is unlikely that perfection was served on a platter, it had to be constructed.
This original world was full of goodness, joy and pleasure, and Adam and Eve had to navigate it without making any of it into selfish stimulation. Religious attainment was to be made, but religious pride had to be avoided. Prosperity was not to be hoarded, and disappointment was not to poison hope or purpose, and all of this had to be lived within a large family.{99}
These extended families would have grown quite large, as death would not have occurred. Aging would have occurred without wrinkles, arthritis or disease, and elders looking only 30 years old would have guided upcoming generations. {100} Death was prohibited, but non fatal illness or injury might have occurred, and would have provided opportunities for care giving.
The people would have awaited the coming of Jesus Christ, not as a redeemer from sin which would not exist, but as their reunion with Christ their creator.{101} This communion offered would have been full divine union. In this life affected by sin, we begin our participation in the human nature of Jesus Christ, then later in the divine nature of Jesus Christ.{102}
Sin is the reason for this. It both cuts our life span from unlimited to 40 years (at the time of Jesus), and damages and delays our spiritual advancement. In the original sinless world those who had made their perfection of human virtues, and faith would be ready for the divine inclusion offered by Jesus when he came.
Jesus not only came as planned, but left as planned. The original plan had Jesus coming to offer divine inclusion, and leaving the sacraments of divine inclusion and a priesthood to administer them.
The upcoming generations after the ascension of Christ would have made divine inclusion via the Eucharist, not baptism. Baptism was never an originally planned sacrament, (because sin was never planned). Baptism was devised by Christ as a response to sin.
Baptism is now the primary sacrament of sanctification, due to its inherent forgiveness of sin. The Eucharist now acts in the realm of actual grace, but Jesus does speak of its original sanctifying nature.{103}
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”, (Jn 6:53:58).
This first coming of Jesus Christ in a sinless world, would not have him suffering or dying. His mission likely would have lasted longer, but he would have returned to Heaven, and humanity would have carried on its task of spiritual advancement, which was now divine inclusion offered by the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted before his ascension and return to Heaven.
In our scenario of a sinless world, the world would have been much more amenable toward Christ and Christianity and the divine inclusion it offers.
The second coming of Jesus Christ would have been to a grateful and prepared humanity. Everyone would have made personal divine union and eagerly awaited the general communion, which would bring an end to creation and our entry into eternity. This eternity and divinity of God was to have included all of creation.{104} God’s great project was finally to have reached its divine and eternal conclusion, but not its end. Humanity (and the angels) were to have lived forever in joyful perfection on the promised new earth. The angels would enjoy a new Heaven.
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The preceding paragraphs propose how creation might have developed in the absence of original (and subsequent) sin. As we know, original sin did occur; whatever it was, it was some event less than the original perfection, and all of creation suffered. We now briefly examine some of the effects of sin upon God’s great plan of creation. We all know the story up to the present, and we start this examination with the coming of Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago.
The first coming of Christ was, (and remains) the personal communion; but it is now corrupted by sin into the personal judgment, and now with Hell as a possibility.{105}
The second coming of Christ remains the general communion, in which Christ will attempt union will all of his creation. This general communion is now corrupted by sin into the general judgment with Hell as a possibility.
Hell is failed communion, Christ attempts communion with humans (and angels). All goodness and those owning it may make the communion, evil and those owning it are left behind. That’s hell — all the evil left behind which cannot make its intended reunion with God.{106}
In parallel with the Christ, and those electing to make union with the Christ, there are the anti-Christ’s, who are the many of history who have rejected participation with Christ. Even in his lifetime, the apostle John speaks of many anti-Christ’s, (1John 2:28). Such rejection of Christ must be studied, understood and avoided in our own spiritual advancement.
The book of Revelation is mostly prophecy about catastrophes caused by sin, and put into motion by opening the scroll with seven seals. In the absence of original and subsequent sin, this scroll would have unleashed great blessings. God did not, and could not, write a scroll of disasters. Everything, event and person was intended and created as good, not evil.{107} Even the anti-Christ was to have been a great good, rather than a great evil. God created everything as good, and there are no exceptions. Original and subsequent sin corrupts goodness into evil.
The coming human anti-Christ was not created to do evil, but to do a great good. Just as John the Baptist prepared Israel for the first coming of Christ, the anti-Christ was to have been a great prophet/leader preparing humanity for divine fulfillment at the second coming of Christ.{108}
The seven sealed scroll in the book of Revelation is not yet fully written, what it ultimately unleashes will be determined by our free actions. As intended by God, it would have dispensed blessing after blessing upon humanity.
The book of Revelation, chapter 21 tells of God dwelling with his people on a renewed earth. Sin and its effects will no longer afflict humanity. From Revelation 21:1-4,
“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” {109}