Acts 1:9–11 records Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Hebrews 1:3 and other passages state that He "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Yet other verses, such as Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25, describe Him as interceding for believers. Revelation 3:21 also speaks of Him sharing His Father’s throne. According to Christian theology, since His ascension, has Jesus been permanently seated on His throne, or is this meant to describe His authority while He remains actively engaged in roles such as interceding, reigning, and preparing for His return? I’m seeking an explanation based on Scripture and Christian doctrine about what Jesus has been doing since He ascended to the Father.

In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire and horses of fire, a dramatic and supernatural departure. In contrast, Acts 1:9 describes Jesus (the Son of Man) ascending to heaven in a cloud, a more serene and symbolic image. Why are these two ascensions portrayed so differently in Scripture? From a theological or symbolic standpoint, does the fiery chariot imply greater honor and glory for Elijah, or does the cloud signify a higher divine status for Jesus? How do Christian traditions interpret the differences in these departure scenes? I’m especially interested in answers that consider biblical symbolism, typology, and theological meaning within the broader narrative of Scripture.

I have encountered a guy online who insists that Christ no longer has human flesh or a human body. Sometimes he seems to say that Christ no longer has a human nature but I haven't been able to pin him down on that. This doesn't sound like any of the major heresies I'm familiar with from the first five centuries of the church and I'm wondering if it has a name; I haven't been able to find one for this and would like to research it -- and having a name would help. For what it's worth, one of his arguments is that the phrase "in the days of His flesh" in Hebrews indicates that Christ no longer has flesh. edit: This guy affirms that salvation was achieved on the Cross, and agrees that physical existence is good, but seems to regard Christ's human body as a sort of temporary tool for accomplishing redemption and thus no longer necessary. He also gives the impression that having a human body in heaven would be degrading.

We see in Luke 24 how the angels at the empty tomb of Jesus post-Resurrection, put a point blank question to the confused women disciples: > Why are you searching for the living among the dead? Going to Acts 1, we see the angels posing another question to the disciples post-Ascension: > Galileans, Why are you looking up at the sky? ... (The salutation itself lacked warmth , because Galilee was not a place regarded with esteem by the Jews . See Acts 2:7) Juxtapose those remarks with the charitable approach that Jesus adopts while dealing with 'doubting Thomas'. One is inclined to conclude that the angels were a bit too harsh with the disciples post-Resurrection and post-Ascension. But, what has been the view taken on the subject by the scholars? Inputs from any denomination are welcome.

Luke is the only Evangelist who gives a narrative account of the Ascension of Christ at 24:50-53 (NRSVCE) "' Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.'' The Ascension is a key element of our faith, in that it finds a place in the Creed. That said, it is intriguing to note that Matthew, Mark and John do not give a narrative account of Ascension. My question therefore is: What is the explanation offered by Catholic Church for the absence of narrative account of the Ascension of the Lord in the Gospels according to the Evangelists other than Luke ?

As a general rule, do Baptists mark Ascension Day? I'm think particularly of the Thursday, but if attention is typically drawn on a Sunday either side. Many countries have Ascension Day as a bank holiday, and many churches consider Ascension Day to be a major feast day. Do Baptists?

If I attend Mass on Ascension Thursday in my diocese that observes Thursday & travel to a diocese that transfers to that Sunday, do have Sunday obligation since the liturgy will be the same?

>John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Why did Jesus have to go in order for the Holy Spirit to come? Also does this mean the Holy Spirit was not present before Jesus went away?

If you live in a diocese that celebrates the Ascension on Thursday, but you're out of town and temporarily in a diocese that celebrates the Ascension on the following Sunday, what are you supposed to do? I know that for short trips you're supposed to follow your home diocese's rules, but in this case the diocese you're in won't have the Mass you're supposed to attend.

According to Catholicism, does Jesus still have his resurrected body, and if so is it in a certain location now that it has ascended?

In Acts 1 we're told: >After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” **Acts 1:9-11 (NIV)** It is not clear to me what the angels mean by Jesus being taken "into heaven". Some Christians believe that Jesus must still have his physcal body, and therefore is present somewhere in our universe. Others interpret "heaven" to mean the spiritual realm, and therefore Jesus in some way transitioned out of our physical realm, although that leaves the question of what happened to his body. How does Reformed Theology understand where Jesus went when he ascended, and what is their explanation for where Jesus' physical body is now?

I've researched about this topic online and I could only find one Christian website so far that affirms this belief. https://www.bible.ca/d-Jesus-body-now.htm Does anybody else know if a particular Christian denomination believes this way too? Personally, it makes sense, logically, that Jesus doesn't have a physical body because human bodies freeze in space without a suit. Colossians 1:15 also explicitly states that the Son is the image of the **invisible** God.

What is the correct reading of Luke 24:52 - did they **worship** Jesus? Latin Vulgate does not mention this and RSV puts this in footnotes. Luke 24:50-53 (NIV) > 50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up > his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left > them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then **they worshiped him** and > returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually > at the temple, praising God. Latin Vulgate Luke 24: 50-53 > 51 And it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them, > and was carried up to heaven. 52 And they adoring went back into > Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they were always in the temple, > prais-ing and blessing God. Amen. > > Rsv – Luke 24:52 And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. footnote: ‘worshiped him’

Some postmodernists believe the picture of Jesus floating up into the sky like a balloon is absurd. I remember C. S. Lewis saying (in Miracles) that we don't necessarily have to believe that if we believe he ascended. But are there any commentators, pastors, church fathers, or theologians who have written on what it may have looked like? More specifically than just parroting Luke's account , that is. > And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

According to the Bible, the conversion of Paul occurs when he is walking on the road to Damascus and suddenly has an encounter with the resurrected Jesus. My question is, did this encounter occur before or after the Ascension? The Ascension is where Jesus is said to have ascended bodily into Heaven 40 days after the Resurrection? If it happened after the Ascension, how would it have happened? I thought Christians believe that Jesus won't come back to Earth after the Ascension until the Second Coming. Am I wrong about that? Did Paul just have a vision of Jesus rather than having a physical encounter with Jesus' resurrected body?

My understanding is that Christians believe that Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven alive. What is believed to have been the purpose of this? Specifically, once dead, why not just ascend to heaven in soul form like everyone else? I mean, either way, he gets to heaven. ---------- I looked at Wikipedia and saw only that "Paul explained the importance of the resurrection of Jesus as the cause and basis of the hope of Christians to share a similar experience", which doesn't make much sense to me (I assume it doesn't mean that it's believed to allow for modern-day CPR), and that Augustine "argued that the death and resurrection of Jesus was for the salvation of man", which also doesn't.

In the *Confessional Presbyterian, Vol. 3 *, p. 104ff., Daniel Hyde wrote about several different views of the Descendit - the descent of Christ into Hell - in his article "In Defense of the *Descendit*: A Confessional Response to Contemporary Critics of Christ's Descent into Hell" . I found the article helpful, but found myself a bit puzzled on what exactly each of the views thought concerning *where* Christ was at any point during the Descendit. According to the orthodox view, Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. His divine nature is God, and therefore omnipresent. But His human nature is the same as ours, yet without sin. So, for these different views of the Descendit, where is Jesus' human body, and where is His human soul during the events of the Crucifixion, Descent, Resurrection, and Ascension? The four views about which Daniel Hyde wrote about are the following: 1. The Punishment View (Christ's human soul undergoing more suffering in order to finish our redemption) 2. The Second-Chance View (to give those who died before His first coming the chance to repent) 3. Pronouncement of Triumph to Believers View 4. Pronouncement of Triumph to Satan View If you know a particular view's beliefs (it doesn't have to be in this list), I'd be happy to see them here. What I'm looking for is a sort of chart that has the four events I mentioned above along the top for the columns, and Jesus' human body and human soul along the left for two different rows. So that's 8 table entries per view of the Descendit. Example:

I recently learned that the gap in time between the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus into heaven was given as "40 days". I'm curious about that period and have a few related questions about it that I'd be interested in learning about any dominant Catholic or Protestant understandings of it, if they exist: 1. Is there a name for this period in the various traditions? 2. When he wasn't appearing to people, where and on what was Jesus spending his time? 3. Was his being the same as pre-resurrection, or was he somehow fundamentally different? 4. Was there a purpose to this "stopover" back on Earth? (I assume to indicate the resurrection). If there aren't any Biblical or doctrinal views of it, if there are any literary or artistic conceptions of this period that you know of, I would be interested in that as well.

Most people understand that the Scriptures teach that the body in which Jesus was crucified was the same body that came out of the grave. But regarding the body in which He now dwells, was that changed or transformed in His ascension into heaven? If so, how do we know from scripture?

With ascension day coming up so quickly, I have a question: According to the Bible, why did Jesus leave? I've read some ideas but few have any actual Biblical backing. Could anyone point me in the direction of this?