The scriptures teach plainly that Christ went to paradise after His death. In Luke 23:43 we read these words: "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Jesus clearly told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise. One thing we know from the scriptures to be true is that paradise is not hell, and neither is hell paradise.
The point is this: the assumption of restoration does not necessarily imply non existence of that which needs to be restored as the question seems to imply. We recognize that restoration means that that which needs to be restored has deteriorated badly. In what sense? In the sense that not very much of the original is left. But that means that SOME of the original is still there. How can it be restored? By following the pattern for the original. In the case of the church, where do we find that pattern? In the New Testament.
http://newbostoncoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/why-i-am-not-a-catholic.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS Date written: 24 September 2015 SUBJECT: Catholicism TITLE: Why I am not a Catholic PROPOSITION: In this lesson I will set forth […]