Reference: Ascension
American
The visible ascent of Christ to heaven. When our Savior had repeatedly conversed with his apostles during forty days, after his resurrection, and afforded them infallible proofs of its reality, he led them out to the Mount of Olives, and was raised up to heaven in their sight, there to continue till he shall come again at the last day to judge the quick and the dead, Ac 1:9,11. The ascension was demonstrated by the descent of the Holy Ghost,
Joh 16:7-14; Ac 2. It was Christ's real human nature that ascended; and he thus triumphed gloriously over death and hell, as head of his body the church. While he blessed his disciples he was parted from them and multitudes of the angelic hosts accompanied and welcomed him, Ps 24:9; 68:17. The consequences resulting from his ascension are: the fulfilment of types and prophecies concerning it; his appearance as a priest in the presence of God for us; his more open and full assumption of his kingly office; his receiving gifts for men; his opening the way to heaven for his people. Heb 10:19-20; and assuring his saints of their ascension to heaven after the resurrection of the dead, Joh 14:1-2.
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Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
But yet I tell you the truth: it is profitable for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. read more. Of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say to you; but you can not bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of the truth, has come, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak of himself; but what he hears, that will he speak, and he will show you things to come. He will glorify me; for he will take of mine, and show it to you.
And when he had spoken these things, while they were looking on him, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
who also said: Men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same manner in which you saw him go into heaven.
Having therefore, brethren, confidence to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he has dedicated for us, through the vail, that is, his flesh;
Easton
See Christ.
Hastings
The fact of our Lord's Ascension is treated very scantily in the Synoptic Gospels. From Mt. it is entirely omitted. In the appendix to Mk. the words in which it is stated are rather the formula of a creed than the narrative of an event (Mr 16:19). Lk. is somewhat more circumstantial, and, though the chronology is uncertain, mentions the journey to the neighbourhood of Bethany and the disappearance of Christ in the act of blessing, together with the return of the disciples to Jerusalem (Lu 24:50-52). The narrative, meagre as it is, is not inconsistent with, and may even presuppose, the events recorded at greater length in Acts (Ac 1:6-12). Here we learn that the scene was more precisely the Mount, of Olives (Ac 1:12); that the final conversation, to which allusion is possibly made in Mr 16:19, concerned the promise of the Holy Spirit (Mr 16:6-8); and that the Ascension, so far as it was an event and therefore a subject of testimony, took the form of the uplifting of the bodily form of Jesus from the earth till it disappeared in a cloud (Mr 16:9-10). Whether this experience involved more than the separation of Christ from immediate contact with the earth, and included His gradual recession into the upper air, there is nothing directly to show. The general form of the narrative recalls the Transfiguration (Lu 9:28-36 ||). The words of the 'two men in white apparei' (Lu 9:10) suggest that the final impression was that of disappearance above the heads of the onlookers (Lu 9:11). It will be noticed that, while the Markan appendix and Luke, unless the latter narrative is interpolated, blend fact and figure (Mr 16:19 'received up [fact] into heaven [partly fact, partly figure], and sat down at the right hand of God [figure]'; Lu 24:51 'he parted from them [fact], and was carried up into heaven [partly fact, partly figure; but see Revised Version margin,' as must necessarily be the case where the doctrine of the Ascension is concerned; Acts, on the other hand, which purports to describe an event, rigidly keeps within the limits of testimony.
There are certain anticipations of the Ascension in the Gospels which must be regarded as part of their witness to it. Thus Lk. introduces the account of our Lord's last journey to Jerusalem with the words 'when the days were being fulfilled that he should be received up' (Lu 9:51 Revised Version margin). It is probable that the Ascension is here delicately blended with the Crucifixion, as apparently by Christ Himself in Joh 12:32. Again, the word exodos in Luke's account of the Transfiguration, rendered in the text of RV 'decease,' but marg. 'departure,' seems to have the same double reference (Lu 9:31). Our Lord's predictions of the Second Coming 'on the clouds' (Mt 24:30; 26:64; cf. 1Th 4:16; Re 1:7) almost necessarily imply the Ascension. The Fourth Gospel, while in its accustomed manner omitting the story of the Ascension, probably regarded as known, introduces definite references to it on the part of Christ both before and after the Resurrection (Joh 6:62; 7:33; 14:19,28; 16:28; 20:17 etc.). And if we compare statements in the Epistles (Eph 4:8; Heb 1:3; 4:14) with the Ascension narrative, it is scarcely possible to doubt that the writers accepted the historic fact as the basis of their teaching. To this must be added all those passages which speak of Jesus as exalted to the right hand or throne of God (Ro 8:34; Eph 1:20; Heb 10:12 etc.), and as returning to earth in the glory of the Father (Mt 25:31; Mr 8:38; Php 3:20 etc.). In connexion with the Session, St. Peter, after mentioning the Resurrection, uses the expression 'having gone his way into heaven' (1Pe 3:22, cf. Joh 14:3). Nor can we omit such considerations as arise out of the fact of the Resurrection itself, which are satisfied only by an event that puts a definite period to the earthly manifestation of the incarnate Christ.
From what has been said it will appear that the Ascension stands on a somewhat different level from the Resurrection as an attested fact. Like the Virgin-birth, it did not form a part of the primitive preaching, nor does it belong to the evidences of Christianity. The fragment of what is thought to be a primitive hymn quoted in 1Ti 3:16 somewhat curiously places 'preached among the nations' before 'received up in glory.' But it is nevertheless a fact which came within the experience of the Apostles, and can therefore claim a measure of historical testimony. The Resurrection is itself the strongest witness to the reality of the Ascension, as of the Virgin-birth, nor would either in the nature of the case have been capable of winning its way to acceptance apart from the central faith that Jesus actually rose from the dead. But neither the fact itself nor its importance to the Christian believer depends upon the production of evidence for its occurrence. It will not be seriously disputed by those who accept the Apostolic gospel. On the other hand, the fact that the Ascension was accepted in the primitive Church as the event which put a term to the earthly manifestation of Christ brings out the Resurrection in striking relief as in the full sense of the word a fact of history. It is the Ascension, represented as it is in Scripture not only historically but mystically, and not the Resurrection, which might be viewed as an apotheosis or idealization of Jesus. That 'Jesus is now living at the right hand of God' (Harnack) is not a sufficient account of the Christian belief in the Resurrection in view of the Ascension narrative, which, even if Keim and others are right in regarding it as a materialization of the doctrine of the eternal Session as set forth in the Epistles, becomes necessary only when the Resurrection is accepted in the most literal sense.
The Ascension is the point of contact between the man Jesus Christ of the Gospeis and the mystical Christ of the Epistles, preserving the historical character of the former and the universality of the latter in true continuity. It enabled the disciples to identify the gift of Pentecost with the promise of the Holy Spirit, which had been specially connected with the withdrawal of Jesus from bodily sight and His return to the Father (Joh 16:7; cf. Joh 7:39). An eternal character is thus given to the sacrifice of the death of Christ, which becomes efficacious through the exaltation of His crucified and risen manhood (Heb 10:11-14,19-22).
J. G. Simpson.
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And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the land mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
When the Son of man shall come in his own glory, and all the holy angels with him, then will he sit on the throne of his own glory;
Jesus said to him: You have said. Moreover, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the Almighty, and coming upon the clouds of heaven.
For whoever will be ashamed of me, and my words, in this sinful and adulterous generation, of him the Son of man also will be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.
But he said to them: Be not frightened; you seek Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here: see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see him, as he told you. read more. And they went out, and fled from the sepulcher; for trembling and astonishment seized upon them. And they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid. Now when Jesus had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. And she went and told it to those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
The Lord, therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: and he sat down at the right hand of God.
The Lord, therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: and he sat down at the right hand of God.
The Lord, therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: and he sat down at the right hand of God.
And the apostles returned, and told him all "that they had done. And he took them, and withdrew privately to a desert place, that belonged to a city called Bethsaida. But the multitudes knew it, and followed him; and he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
And it came to pass, about eight days after these words, that he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the appearance of his face was changed, and his raiment became white and glittering. read more. And. behold, two men conversed with him, who were Moses and Elijah; they appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
they appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. And Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep; but having fully awakened, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. read more. And it came to pass, that, as they were withdrawing from him, Peter said to Jesus: Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tents, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for. Elijah, not knowing what he said. While he was saying these things, there came a cloud, and it overshadowed them; and they were afraid as those men entered the cloud. And there came a voice from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son; hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it secret, and told no one, in those days, any of the things which they had seen.
And it came to pass, as the time for him to be taken up into heaven had fully come, that he set his face steadfastly to go up to Jerusalem.
And he led them out as far as Bethany; and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, that as he blessed them, he was separated from them, and carried up into heaven.
And it came to pass, that as he blessed them, he was separated from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;
Then, what if you should see the Son of man go up where he was before?
Then Jesus said to them: Yet a little while I am with you, and I go away to him that sent me.
But this he spoke of the Spirit, which those who believe on him were about to receive; for the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you with myself, that where I am, you may be also.
Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you shall see me. Because I live, you also shall live.
You have heard that I said to you, I am going away, and am coming again to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I go to the Father; for my Father is greater than I.
But yet I tell you the truth: it is profitable for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you.
I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world: again I leave the world, and go to the Father.
Jesus said to her: Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.
Therefore, when they came together, they asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? But he said to them: It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has reserved under his own control. read more. But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses for me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they were looking on him, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking earnestly to ward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white raiment, who also said: Men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same manner in which you saw him go into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath-day's journey.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath-day's journey.
Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died: rather, indeed, that has risen, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
which he made active in the Christ when he raised him from the dead, and caused him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
For which reason, the scripture says: When he ascended on high, he led captive a multitude of captives, and gave gifts to men.
But our citizenship is in heaven, whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall arise first;
And confessedly great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in flesh, justified in spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.
who, being the effulgence of his glory and the exact representation of his essence, and upholding all things by his own powerful word, when he had by himself made expiation for our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Seeing, then, that we have a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
And every priest stands daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but after offering one sacrifice for sins, he himself sits continually at the right hand of God,
but after offering one sacrifice for sins, he himself sits continually at the right hand of God, henceforth waiting till his enemies be made his footstool. read more. For by one offering, he has made a perfect and perpetual expiation for the sanctified.
Having therefore, brethren, confidence to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he has dedicated for us, through the vail, that is, his flesh; read more. and having a great high, priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having; our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water;
who has gone into heaven, and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having become subject to him.
Behold, he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those also who pierced him: and all the tribes of the land shall lament because of him. Even so. Amen.
Morish
This term is constantly applied to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to heaven from whence He came. Joh 3:13. Leading His eleven apostles out as far as Bethany, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, in the act of blessing them He ascended up to heaven, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. Mr 16:19; Lu 24:50-51; Ac 1:9. The ascension of the Lord Jesus is a momentous fact for His saints: the One who bore their sins on the cross has been received up in glory, and sits on the right hand of God.
As forerunner He has entered into heaven for the saints, and has been made a high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Heb 6:20. His ascension assured, according to His promise, the descent of the Holy Spirit, which was accomplished at Pentecost. Joh 16:7; Ac 1:4,8; 2. As ascended He became Head of His body the church, Eph 1:22, and gave gifts to men, among which gifts are evangelists who preach to the world, and pastors and teachers to care for and instruct the saints. Ps 68:18; Eph 4:8-13.
His ascension is a demonstration through the presence of the Holy Spirit that sin is in the world and righteousness in heaven, for the very One they rejected has been received by the Father into heaven. Joh 16:10. The ascension is also a tremendous fact for Satan: the prince of this world has been judged who led the world to put the Lord to death; and in His ascension He led captivity captive, having broken the power of death in which men were held, Eph 4:8, for He had in the cross spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Col 2:15.
Above all, the ascension is a glorious fact for the blessed Lord Himself. Jehovah said unto Him, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Ps 110:1. He has taken His place as man where man never was before, and He is also glorified with the glory which He had before the world was, besides the glory which He graciously shares with His saints. Joh 17:5,22.
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The Lord, therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: and he sat down at the right hand of God.
And he led them out as far as Bethany; and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, that as he blessed them, he was separated from them, and carried up into heaven.
And no man has ascended into heaven, but he who came down from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven.
But yet I tell you the truth: it is profitable for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you.
of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more;
And now, Father, glorify me with thyself, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one;
And calling them together, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of my Father, which, said he, you have heard from me;
But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses for me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they were looking on him, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
and subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things for the church,
For which reason, the scripture says: When he ascended on high, he led captive a multitude of captives, and gave gifts to men.
For which reason, the scripture says: When he ascended on high, he led captive a multitude of captives, and gave gifts to men. But this He ascended what does it mean, but that he also descended into the lower earthly regions? read more. He that descended is also he that ascended high above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he himself gave some to be apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the complete instruction of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of the Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature that fully develops the Christ;
and having spoiled the principalities and authorities, he made a show of them openly by triumphing over them through it.
whither a forerunner for us has gone, even Jesus, who is made a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.