#1005 Why Not the Beatific Vision Now?

Dr. craig’s response

My current study in eschatology has raised the subject of the beatific vision, Arhum. It is a vision of God which is given to the beatified in heaven. Paul writes, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood” (I Cor 13.12). Traditionally known as “the beatific vision,” this deeper apprehension of God does seem to make God’s existence indubitable for the blessed in heaven and so is in that sense “the greatest evidence for the existence of God.”

The beatific vison is not reserved for the final state alone but is thought to be already accorded to the saints in the intermediate state between death and resurrection. In the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Benedict XII entitled Benedictus Deus, promulgated in 1336, the beatific vision is said to be enjoyed by persons in the intermediate state prior to their entrance into the final state:

all these souls, immediately after death and, in the case of those in need of purification, after the purification mentioned above, since the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into heaven, already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment, have been, are, and will be with Christ in heaven, in the heavenly kingdom and paradise, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the passion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and see the divine essence with an intuitive vision and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature by way of object of vision; rather the divine essence immediately manifests itself to them, plainly, clearly and openly, and in this vision they enjoy the divine essence. Moreover, by this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died are truly blessed and have eternal life and rest. Also the souls of those who will die in the future will see the same divine essence and will enjoy it before the general judgment . . . . And after such intuitive and face-to-face vision and enjoyment has or will have begun for these souls, the same vision and enjoyment has continued and will continue without any interruption and without end until the last Judgment and from then on forever.

The beatific vision is not exclusively Catholic property. In the Reformed theologian Francis Turretin’s analysis the beatific vision is transformative: “This perfection of the intellect by the beatific vision will be followed by no less a consummation of the will by absolute holiness and the most pure and intense love to arise from that infinite light and the celestial intuition of it. By it we will cleave so unchangeably to God that we shall in a measure be transformed into him by a participation of the divine nature” (Institutes of Elenctic Theology, vol. 3, 611).

When we think of the awesome effects of Old Testament theophanies upon sinful humans (e.g., Isaiah 6.1-7), it is plausible to think that the beatific vision makes sinning on the part of the beatified impossible. The deeper apprehension of God and his holiness on the part of the beatified will be so overwhelming that their freedom to sin is effectively removed. Like iron filings clinging inseparably to a gigantic electromagnet, so the redeemed in the presence of Christ will be unable to pull themselves away in sin. Meanwhile, on a dynamic view of heaven, they can continue to increase in virtue as they come to love and know God more deeply without end. Such a view should not be thought antithetical to human freedom because people during this earthly life freely choose to accept or reject the saving grace of God. Believers willingly and joyfully jettison their ability to sin.

Obviously, were God to reveal to us the beatific vision during this life, then we should be robbed of human freedom with respect to believing in and loving him, making our response to him robotic and meaningless. Having freely responded to his grace during this lifetime, we shall be given the beatific vision in the next.