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Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord
Fortieth day or Sixth Thursday after resurrection is traditional day
of ascension. Christianity is founded on the confession of five
cardinal faith doctrines namely:
1, Incarnation of the Logos (Virgin birth of the Lord),
“After the Lord had spoken to them He
was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God,”
Mark 16:19.
Thus Gospel of Mark, Luke and Acts show slight variance of
ascension details. Promise if the Second Coming by the Angel is
seen in Acts only. Scholars are of the opinion that Acts of
Apostles is an extension of Luke’s Gospel. Probably he might
have felt it necessary to give more details of ascension.
Ascension and Second Advent are always considered together. We
are not sure why Mathew and John left out such important events
of ascension and the promise of Second Coming. However, we
recollect that Jesus had predicted His ascension, the purpose of
ascension and Second Coming.
Old Testament Shadows:
Elijah’s translation into heaven bears
much semblance to the ascension of our Lord, 1K 2:11-13. A
chariot of fire and horse of fire came down from heaven and he
was carried up in his earthly body in a whirlwind. Elisha
witnessed the great event of Elijah’s translation. He received
Elijah’s mantle and his spirit and continued the mission.
The
disciples received the Lord’s blessing. Angel appeared and
encouraged the gazed disciples with the blessed assurance of His
Second Coming, which imbued joy in the hearts of disciples.
Prophesy of ascension:
Psalm 24 is prophecy concerning ascension
of
our Lord.
This is a dialogue between the legions of angels, while one
legion
utter the cry of welcome to the king the other host asks who is
the king and the other answers, He is the king of glory, etc.
The references to “glory, strong and mighty” are indicative of
His victory over, sin, Satan, hell and death while during His
earthly ministry, crucifixion and resurrection.
Apostles’
conviction:
Apostles firmly believed and attested the ascension
and promise of the Second Coming.
Paul closes his first epistle to Corinthians with fervent
plea to Lord to come soon (maran atha), 16:22. He
exhorted Philippians to conduct themselves righteously and wait
hopefully considering the imminent advent of Christ, v 4:5.
Stephen testified, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God,” Acts 7:56. The common usage
is, “sat or sits at the right hand” instead of “standing” as in
Acts 7:56 and Rev 5:6 that says of a “stood a Lamb.” “Behold, I
am coming quickly,” Jesus Himself assured, Rev 22:12.The term
“sat” indicates the completion of the work of atonement. It is
also symbolic reference to the position of authority. Executive
orders are often signed or directed in sitting position. The
term “right hand” indicates the place of honor and favor from
God the Father. St Paul says, “Being found in the appearance as
a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of
death on the cross and therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him name which is above every name and that at the
name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of
those
under the earth, Phil 2:8-10. This in turn teaches us a lesson
that
exaltation comes only to those who humble themselves and obey
the Lord’s precepts.
Apostles had the notion and taught that Jesus would return in
their
lifetime. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, we
who are
alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means
precede those who are asleep. Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air,” 1 Thes 4:15,17.
Arguments against:
Also there were people who discredited or
doubted
the apostles. For this reason Peter admonished them saying, “The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us not willing that any
should perish but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter
3:9.
Peter also said that God’s timeframe is different from
human standards because as said in Psalm 90:4, “With the Lord
one day is a thousand years and a thousand years as one day,” v
3:8. We are thus reminded of our duty to eagerly wait and urged
of the exigency to be vigilant and shun evil ways to receive the
Lord whenever He comes.
How He will come again?
1, He will appear in His glorified body for He resurrected and
ascended with the glorified body.
2, It will be visible, “Every
eye shall see him, even they who pierced Him,” Rev 1:7.
3, He
will come gloriously in dazzling brightness as in
transfiguration accompanied by hosts of angels, blazing fire,
saints, and trumpet of God and voice of archangel.
4, He will
come triumphant over the foes. He will avenge the infidels
casting them in eternal fire where fire will never quench and
worms will never die.
5, Second Coming shall be unpredictable
and shall be like a thief, 2 Pe 3:10. Preparedness of the
believer is highly imperative.
Two-fold effect:
This is the grace age, all are given chance to
obey
the Gospel. The Second coming is for judgment. To reward
according to what one has done in this life. It will be a day of
exceeding joy to the believers who will reign with the Lord and
wailing to the opponents of Gospel. His foes will be ashamed and
shall weep as they are thrown into the lake of fire.
There shall be numerous signs of Second coming, 2 Tim 3:1-9.
Objections:
However there are certain objections about
ascension. They
say that the Jews and early Christians believed that earth was
flat and the heaven was a place above earth. The ascension story
is said under a
notion that is now out-dated and hence needs be ignored. It
could have be an acted parable to convince the disciples that
the post-resurrection appearances were over and the Holy Spirit
is replaced in the Church. Though physically away from the
earthly time and space frame, the risen Lord is spiritually
present in all Christian gatherings, etc.
The purpose of ascension:
1, He has gone to prepare place for us, “I go
to prepare a place for you,” John 14:2.
2, He advocates for our
frailty, 1 John 2:1.
3, He intercedes on our behalf, Rom 8:34,
Heb 7:25.
4, He ministers our needs as High priest, Heb 8:1-2.
5, He is the Mediator of the new Covenant, Heb 9:15.
Why delay? He is waiting to come again until all his enemies are
subdued so as to establish Kingdom of God, 1 Cor 15:24-26.
Universality of the Church: Our Lord’s earthly stay was centered
on a
particular locality. The Church assumed universal dimension
because
the Lord ascended into heaven above.
Implication to us:
Jesus Christ is the head. The Church is
His body.
We, the members of the Church, which is the body of Christ, are
also
entitled to sit where Christ sits. Because he sits at the right
hand of God the Father we have also bold entry into the presence
of God, Eph 2:6.
Creed:
Venerable fathers of the Church firmly
believed and taught and handed down to us the very same true and
undefiled faith of the apostles. Thus we read in the Nicene
Creed, “The third day He rose again as He willed and ascended
into heaven and sat at the right hand of His Father and He shall
come again with great glory to judge both the living and the
dead.
Misinterpretations:
However, many overzealous and selfish
people misinterpreted and twisted the Word of God for their
benefits, arrived at various wrong conclusions and misled many
who are unstable and untaught.
Apostles sternly warn that they are destined for damnation.
The doctrine of Second Advent of our Lord is our foundational
faith and
blessed hope. We truly believe and confess it. It is neither a
myth nor
a soothsaying but basis of Christian existence. It is not simply
a condition of mind or a wishful thinking or an illusion but a
reality on which we heavily rely on. We express our hope and
declare our readiness to receive the Lord in every Holy
Eucharist.
See Also:
Supplement To Article on Ascension
Source: IOIF: Johnachen, Suloke, 5/29/03. |
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