Encounters with the risen Lord
Penge Baptist Church
1st June 2014
Old Testament prophecies of the
Ascension
 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one
like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He
approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his
presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language
worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will
never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)
 When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train;
you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious— that
you, O LORD God, might dwell there. (Psalm 68:18)
 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I
make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)
Jesus’ expectations of his
Ascension
 “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you
asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said
these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the
truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I
go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I
go, I will send him to you. (John 16:5-7)
 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet
returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and
tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.’ ” (John 20:17)
The nature of the Ascension
 “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men
and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.”
(Acts 1:3)
 After he said this, he was taken up before their very
eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:9)
 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely
the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God; this is the
gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:16-17)
 After this I looked, and there before me was a door
standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first
heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up
here, and I will show you what must take place after
this.” (Revelation 4:1)
 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and
gave him the name that is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow,in heaven
and on earth and under the earth…” (Philippians 2:8-9)
Consequences of the Ascension
 “I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach”
(Acts 1:1)
 “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)
 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me…. surely I am with you always, to the very end of
the age.” (Matthew 28:18,20)
 He who descended is the very one who ascended
higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole
universe.)It was he who gave some to be apostles, some
to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be
pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up” (Ephesians 4:9-11)
 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—
more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right
hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans
8:34)
 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that
was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven
itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.
(Hebrews 9:24)
 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with
him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order
that in the coming ages he might show the
incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6-7)
From whence he will return
 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are
you at this time going to restore the kingdom to
Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
 “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 1:11)