III. The Apostolic Teaching on the Ascension of the Lord.

God our Father glorify His servant Jesus (Acts 3:13), having raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly ones, above all principality, and authority, and power, and dominion, and subdue all things under His nose: and then He will give the head above all to the Church (Ephesians 1:20-22). And no one ascended into heaven except he who came down from heaven, the Son of man (John 3:13). Who is at the right hand of God, having ascended into heaven, having submitted to him by an angel and power and powers (1 Peter 3:22); And His God hath appointed an heir to all, Who is the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis, bearing all things by the word of His power, having made cleansing of our sins by Himself, Thou shalt sit at the right hand of the throne of majesty on high, being only better than the angels, for the more glorious than their inherited name (Heb. 1:3, 4). And it behooves heaven to receive Him even unto the years of the dispensation of all, which God hath spoken from the mouth of all His saints, the Prophet from all eternity (Acts 3:21). For it behooves Him to reign, until He puts all enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25).

And raise us up with Him, and seat us in heaven in Christ Jesus; for the Imams are brought to the Father in the Dous (Ephesians 2:6, 18).

If you are risen with Christ, seek the highest, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, be wise on high, and not on earth: for you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ appears, your life, then ye also shall appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:1-4). Our life is in heaven, and we await our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humility, so that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, according to the work of which we may be able to Him, and subdue all things to ourselves (Phil. 3:20-21).

Such is the Emam of the High Priest, who sits at the right hand of the Throne of Majesty in heaven, the minister of the saints, and the tabernacle is truer, which the Lord hath set up, and not man (Heb. 8:1-2). The Bishop of the good things to come, by the greater and most perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not sowing creation, nor by the blood of a goat, lower than a calf, but by His own blood, entering into the holy one, having found eternal redemption (9:11-12). Not into the holy one made with hands, which is in contrast to the true ones, but into heaven itself, now let the face of God appear for us (9:24). He alone offered sacrifice for sins, He always sits at the right hand of God, waiting for the rest, until His enemies lay His footstool (10:12-13). For having boldness, brethren, to enter into the holy blood of Jesus Christ, by a new and living way, which He hath renewed unto us with a veil, that is, with His flesh, and a great priest over the house of God: let us draw near with a true heart for the testimony of faith, sprinkle our hearts from an evil conscience, and weary our bodies with pure water, that we may keep the unswerving confession of hope: for he who has promised is faithful (Heb. 10:10). 19-23). (Sunday Th. Part VII, p. 55).

Instructions of Jesus Christ to Disciples before His Ascension to Heaven

St. John Chrysostom.

Our Lord, after His resurrection from the dead, appeared many times to His disciples, treated them with love, allowed Himself to be touched, and was with them for forty days. Finally, He came to the Mount of Olives, opposite Jerusalem, and there He repeated His instructions to them for the last time: "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you," he said to His disciples. Go ye therefore into all the world, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. For the remission of sins. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give. (John 20:21, Mark 16:17, Matt. 28:19; 10:8). Bless your persecutors, bless, and do not curse. Imitate your Teacher. Therefore all will know that you are my disciples (John 13:25), if you love those who hate you. Remember how much evil the Jews have done to me! The seraphim dare not look upon My face and cover their faces, but the Jews smote Me on the cheeks. My hands formed man from the earth and created this whole beautiful world, and the Jews nailed these hands to the tree with iron nails. If I turn My eyes to the earth, the earth trembles and trembles, and the Jews laughed at Me as they passed by and nodded their heads. I endured all things from them, and I was not angry, I did not take revenge on them. My angels stood ready for vengeance, but I did not allow them, prostrate on the cross, I prayed to the Father for My enemies and said: My Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do! (Luke 23:34) I have suffered patiently to set an example for you. If I had only taught, and not done; there would be inconsistency in My teaching. No, first I did everything myself, and then I oblige you to do it. I said, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11), and he did not renounce death, being immortal. I said: Bless those who curse you (Matthew 5:44), and do not curse; and having suffered so much from the Jews, he cursed no one. "I have done all that the prophets have foretold of me; and now I ascend to my Father (John 20:17). But you do not grieve; I will not leave you orphans (John 14:18); I will send to you the Holy Spirit, the life-giving Lord, of one essence with My Father and Me. And I Myself am with you, always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). As of old I was with my prophets, so will I be with you. I snatched Moses out of the hand of the Egyptians; I delivered Elijah from Jezebel; I saved David from the fury of Saul; I lifted Jeremiah out of the deep pit; I snatched Daniel from the lion's mouth; I was with the three youths in the furnace of Babylon, and I saved them from the flames. I say to you, as I was with them all, so will I also be with you. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who slayeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto thee. How many times would I have gathered thy children together, as a bird gathered its young under its wings, and ye would not (Luke 13:34)! Woe to you, children of Jerusalem! I have come to you in the name of My Father, but you have not received Me, and therefore your house is left unto you desolate (Luke 13:35); there shall not be left stone upon stone in your temple (Matt. 23:38). I now entrust the glory of your temple to the faithful to my Cross and Resurrection. Woe to you, children of Jerusalem! I will take away your honor from you and give it to the nations. In the place of your temple, I will raise up a church; instead of your prophets, whom you have despised, I will now send My disciples into the world to preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. I have given you the tablets of the covenant; to the Gentiles I give the Gospel of salvation. I have given you the Law, which you have dishonored: to the Gentiles I give Grace instead of the Law. I have given you a rod that is verdant: I now give to the Gentiles a cross that blossoms and brings forth life for the world. I have given you the manna which you have eaten, and you have worshipped the golden calf: to the Gentiles I give bread that comes down from heaven, my flesh. I have given you water out of the stone, you have drunk it and grieved me; to the Gentiles I will now give the cup of My blood, that they may drink for themselves eternal life. These are the gifts which I give to the Gentiles, and I ascend to my Father, and your house is left desolate. And to you, My disciples, I still give My peace. Behave as I have bequeathed to you. Do not grieve that I ascend to my Father, for if I had not ascended, the Comforter would not have come to you. But I depart from you, and in ten days I will send you this Comforter, the Holy Spirit and life-giving. Ye shall receive power, and ye shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). And these rivers shall be taken up by them that see, and a cloud shall lift Him up from their eyes (Acts 1:9). (Sunday, Thu., I., p. 44).

Verses 1-12

The Ascension of the Lord. About how the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven took place.

The Ascension of the Lord did not follow suddenly after His resurrection, but after forty days. During this time, it was necessary to testify before the disciples and the whole world by many indisputable proofs to the truth of His resurrection; it was necessary to prove to the disciples about the kingdom of God what could not be revealed to them before the cross, and about which, nevertheless, they needed to hear from their Teacher even before the descent of a new instructor to them, the Holy Spirit; Finally, perhaps, the resurrected humanity itself had time to be enlightened by all the fullness of the divine glory that awaited Him after His ascension to heaven.

Meanwhile, it was not in vain that the resurrected Lord Himself said to the Magdalene on the very first day, and almost the first hour after His resurrection: "I ascend to my Father and your Father!" From now on, He apparently belonged not so much to earth as to heaven: from time to time He appeared to His disciples, conversed with them, allowed Himself to be felt, blessed the table for them, even ate something Himself to assure them; but these were temporary phenomena, always showing that the one who appeared in this way did not belong to our world, but to the Highest.

In the midst of this semi-heavenly state, the fourtieth day came – a date from ancient times, throughout sacred history, distinguished as the time of the end of great feats, and now destined for the Lord's ascension to heaven. On the fourtieth day after their birth, the firstborn of Israel, according to the law of Moses, were to appear in the temple before the face of Jehovah; on the fourtieth day after the resurrection, as if a new birth, the firstborn from the dead (1 Col. 1:18) of the entire human race had to enter the heavenly tabernacle, in order to appear before the face of God and begin his heavenly intercession for us.