Where is Jesus?
The Scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ is in Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. He has been there, going about His Father's business, since His ascension, as we know from Peter's words, spoken on Pentecost:
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (KJV)==Acts 2:29-36
Please notice that Christ is at the right hand of God (vv. 33,34), not somewhere else, either here on in the heavens. The writer uses a common Greek idiom 'Till I make' (heôs an thô) for the future. Christ's dominion as Mediator will last until God's plan for the Kingdom is completed (1 Corinthians 15:23-28), when complete subjugation will come. This perhaps is a reference to the ancient custom when victorious kings would place their feet upon the necks of their vanquished enemies (Joshua 10:24).
In v.34, Peter is quoting Psalm 110:1, "the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand." By the Lord that said, is meant "Jehovah" the Father, who spoke the words that follow on the occasion of Christ's ascension and entrance into heaven. The person these words were spoken to, Messiah, had finished the great work of man's salvation
And the words spoken prophetically through the Psalmist are:
"sit thou on my right hand" -- a figurative phrase, expressive of the exaltation, dignity, power, and authority of the Messiah; and of the honor done to him – an honor never granted to the angels, nor to any mere man:
"till I make thine enemies thy footstool" -- till all the enemies of Christ and His people, are subdued. Who are the enemies of Christ and His people? They are carnal professors, such as the Pharisees, and profane sinners, none of whom would subject themselves to His rule. They include the world, the devil, the antichrist, all the powers of darkness and the last enemy, death itself.
Jesus used these same words when speaking to the Pharisees of Messiah (cf Matthew 22:44). There is no biblical record that the Pharisees disputed these words were written by the prophet David and concerned the promised Messiah. That Jews accepted these facts is clear from a few selections from the Midrash:
Says R. Joden, in the name of R. Chijah, in time to come the holy blessed God will cause the king Messiah to sit at his right hand; as it is said, "the Lord said unto my Lord", etc.'--Midrash Tillira in Psal. xviii. 35. apud Galatin. de Cath. ver. arcan. l. 8. c. 24)
we do not find any man, or prophet, whose birth was prophesied of before the birth of his father and mother, but Messiah our righteousness; and of him it is intimated, "from the womb of the morning", &c. i.e. before the womb of her that bore thee was created, thy birth was prophesied of: and this these words respect, "before the sun, his name is Yinnon", #Ps 72:17 i, e. before the creation of the sun, the name of our Messiah was strong and firm, and he shall sit at the right hand of God; and this is what is said, "sit at my right hand.--R. Isaac Arama in Gen. xlvii. 6. spud ib. l. 3. c. 17
We do not know when Christ will return to claim His bride, the Body of Christ, the True Church, for God has not chosen to make that information known to us. (Matthew 24:36). However, when He does return, it won't be a secret and He won't come as some created object. He will come in power and glory, and His angels will gather up His elect:
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.--Matthew 24:29-31
When Messiah returns, it will be in the same manner as He ascended. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate He will make a multitude of descents on priestly command in order to dwell, no matter how briefly, in a wafer or cup of wine. Rather, as the angels informed those present at His ascension:
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.--Acts 1:9-11
Rome holds to a different understanding. She teaches that Christ also dwells in the consecrated host, sometimes referred to as the Blessed Sacrament. Now, given that Rome claims there are some one billion souls under her umbrella, I daresay it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that Catholic priests, in the epiclesis, invoke Christ's words and the power of the Holy Spirit call Christ down from His heavenly post millions of times every day, with the result that the Real Presence (Christ's body and blood, soul and divinity, according to Rome) may be found in tens of millions of consecrated hosts at any given moment. Christ does not long remain, really and substantially according to Rome, in the form of wine or wafer, abandoning that form at the moment the transubstantiated material begins to undergo corruption.
But what about the hosts that are consecrated but not consumed? These hosts, referred to as the Blessed Sacrament, retain the real presence (body and blood, soul and divinity) according to Roman doctrine. Apparently, once transubstantiated, they cannot be untransubstantiated. A number of these are to be stored in Roman Catholic churches, kept in a ciborium or tabernacle with a light burning before it to indicate the presence of Christ.
Can. 939 Consecrated hosts, in a quantity sufficient for the needs of the faithful, are to be kept in a pyx or ciborium, and are to be renewed frequently, the older hosts having been duly consumed. (
Can. 940 A special lamp is to burn continuously before the tabernacle in which the blessed Eucharist is reserved, to indicate and to honour the presence of Christ.--1983 Code of Canon Law
The place where Christ is stored, according to Rome, must be thoughtfully located, in a place where the dignity and security of the tabernacle might facilitate adoration. It is worthy of noting, I believe, that other items might also be locked up in the Tabernacle with Christ the Blessed Sacrament. Most noteworthy is the oil used in anointings, which is venerated (surely with dulia)
1183. The tabernacle is to be situated 'in churches in a most worthy place with the greatest honor.'[Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei: AAS (1965) 771.] The dignity, placing, and security of the Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.[Cf. SC 128.]
"The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and venerated in a secure place in the sanctuary. The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick may also be placed there.--CCC; Op. cit.
Can it be that Christ, Whom Scripture tells us is in Heaven at the Father's side and for Whom the Holy Spirit was sent to be our Helper during His absence, can also be locked up in a million or more tabernacles around the world? In the article, "The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist," the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us:
The Adorableness of the Eucharist is the practical consequence of its permanence. According to a well known principle of Christology, the same worship of latria (cultus latriæ) as is due to the Triune God is due also to the Divine Word, the God-man Christ, and in fact, by reason of the hypostatic union, to the Humanity of Christ and its individual component parts, as, e.g., His Sacred Heart. Now, identically the same Lord Christ is truly present in the Eucharist as is present in heaven; consequently He is to be adored in the Blessed Sacrament, and just so long as He remains present under the appearances of bread and wine, namely, from the moment of Transubstantiation to the moment in which the species are decomposed (cf. Council of Trent, Sess. XIII, can. vi). --Catholic Encyclopedia, Op. cit.
Where do YOU believe Christ is? The Bible tells us He is in Heaven, doing the Father's work. Rome tells us He is in heaven AND locked up in a million or more ciboria or pyx or in the mouths, throats or stomachs of tens of millions of Catholic faithful.
As for me, I go with what God tells us in the Scriptures.