The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return

When we delve into future events in the Bible, like the rapture, the tribulation, and Millennial Kingdom, one has to understand that there is a measure of assumption based on what the scriptures say, and how one interprets it. Even though the Bible provides details of the future, we do not fully understand how these events will play out, and in what order they will occur. We know from scripture that the Tribulation will happen. We know what the Tribulation is and we know its purpose. We know there will be an Antichrist and we know he will rule the world for a set period. But, although the scripture makes some things clear, there are still guesses around some cryptic details regarding this time, (see Deut.29:29). The fact remains that not even the best Bible scholars can accurately instruct us of exact times and details of future events in prophecy. It remains up to us to study the Word as best as possible and piece together multiple scriptures to build a picture based on how we interpret what will happen. In this series of articles, I plan to do exactly this. I'd like to build a picture of what I can see the Bible says about Jesus' ascension and return. How you receive the information I lay out here is up to you. I'm not claiming to be dogmatic and theologically correct. My only hope is that it will inspire you to delve into the scripture and see for yourself what it says. If I can encourage and inspire you to read the Word and become excited about it, then I have succeeded in my primary aim regarding this post and upcoming posts in this extended article.

There is a symmetrical pattern of events that can be found in the ascension and return of Jesus Christ. In order to understand how this symmetry doubles up in the return events of Christ, let's put our focus on understanding the appropriate stages of the ascension first.

Act 1:9 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.

The two angels were very clear about this fact! They instructed the disciples that Jesus would return in the exact same manner that they saw him go. Now, we can understand, and even agree, that this means that Jesus will appear through the clouds (of mist or glory) on His way back down to earth again, just as He was hid from them when He left. 

But, this point is where this study only gets started. I'd like to inform that there is MUCH more to the ascension of Jesus Christ than is depicted in Acts. In Acts we read of what the disciples saw with their own 'natural' eyes. But, where did Jesus go after the clouds hid Him? How far did He ascend? Did He stay in the second heaven, or did He ascend to the third heaven? If so, did He go there immediately or over a period of time? If we can answer these questions, then we can understand the 'processes', or stages involved in His return, and since the angels mentioned that He will come in the same way as He left, it will help us to understand in much more detail what will happen when He comes.

In addition to just believing the angels' testimony, we can also confirm this insight by understanding that God works in patterns and in repeats that shadow the realities of events later in His master plan of redemption. The Bible is FULL of repeat patterns and of types and shadows that help us to interpret God's plan. Just take these few examples of patterns (from many multitudes that could be named) in the whole plan of God to prove the point,

• Abraham's intended offering of his beloved only son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah, shadows that of God's Son on the cross. 
• As Israel looked toward the bronze snake on a pole, so would Israel (and the whole world) look towards the lifted up Son of Man for healing and salvation.
• The Passover lamb is a prophetic picture of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ
• The Holy place and the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle is a picture of the throne room of God. It even mimics the the 3 heavens, where the 3rd heaven (just like the veil before the holiest place) is separated from the first two by the waters above the firmament. (See Psa.148:4; Rev.4:6)
• 7,000 years is the length of all human history, just like the 7 days of creation (See the timeline as the banner of this blog)
• Parallel of Jonah (Matt.12:40) Jesus draws the parallel: "As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth."
• Parallel of Enoch, Noah, Joseph, ...... and many more examples.

The ascension of Jesus will help us to understand more of His coming, and it is intriguing, and exciting! I'll start with the parts of the ascension in the next post.