His visible elevation to heaven. The ascension of Jesus Christ was not only presignified by many Scripture types, but also by many remarkable Scripture prophesies. Psa 47:5. Psa 110:1. Dan 7:13-14. Mic 2:13. Psa 68:18. The evidences of his ascension were numerous. The disciples saw him ascend, Act 1:9-10. Two angels testified that he did ascent, Act 1:11. Stephen, Paul, and John saw him in his ascended state, Act 7:55-56. Act 9:1-43: Rev 1:1-20: The marvellous descent of the Holy Ghost demonstrated it, Joh 16:7; Joh 16:14. Act 2:33. The terrible overthrow and dispersion of the Jewish nation is a standing proof of it, Joh 8:21. Matt. xxvi 64. The time of his ascension. It was forty days after his resurrection. He continued so many days on earth, that he might give many repeated proofs of his resurrection, Act 1:3; that he might instruct his followers in every thing which pertained to the abolishment of the Jewish ceremonies, Act 1:3; and that he might open to them the Scriptures concerning himself, and renew their commission to preach the Gospel, Act 1:5-6. Mar 16:15. The manner of his ascension. It was from Mount Olivet to heaven, Act 1:12; not in appearance only, but in reality and truth; visibly and locally; a real motion of his human nature; sudden, swift, glorious, and in a triumphant manner. He was parted from his disciples while he was solemnly blessing them; and multitudes of angels attended him with shouts of praise, Psa 68:17; Psa 47:5-6. The effects or ends of Christ’s ascension were,
1. To fulfil the prophecies and types concerning it.
2. To take upon him more openly the exercise of his kingly office.
3. To receive gifts for men both ordinary and extraordinary, Ps 67: 18
4. To open the way into heaven for his people, Heb 10:19-20.
5. To assure the saints of their ascension also, Joh 14:1-2.
his visible elevation to heaven. Our Saviour, having repeatedly conversed with his Apostles after his resurrection, and afforded them many infallible proofs of its reality, led them from Jerusalem to Bethany, and was raised up to heaven in their sight; there to continue till he shall descend at the last day to judge the quick and the dead. The evidences of this fact were numerous. The disciples saw him ascend, Act 1:9-10. Two angels testified that he did ascend, Act 1:11. Stephen, Paul, and John saw him in his ascended state, Act 7:55-56; Acts 9; Revelation 1. The ascension was demonstrated by the descent of the Holy Ghost, Joh 16:7; Joh 16:14; Act 2:33; and the terrible overthrow and dispersion of the Jewish nation is still a standing proof of it, Joh 8:21; Mat 26:64. The time of Christ’s ascension was forty days after his resurrection. He continued so many days upon earth, that he might give repeated proofs of his resurrection, Act 1:3; instruct his Apostles in every thing of importance respecting their office and ministry, Act 1:3; and might open to them the Scriptures concerning himself, and renew their commission to preach the Gospel, Act 1:5-6; Mar 16:15. As to the manner of his ascension, it was from mount Olivet to heaven, not in appearance only, but in reality, and that visibly and locally. It was a real motion of his human nature; sudden, swift, glorious, and in a triumphant manner. He was parted from his disciples while he was solemnly blessing them; and multitudes of angels attended him with shouts of praise, Psa 68:17; Psa 47:5-6.
The effects or ends of his ascension were,
1. To fulfil the types and prophecies concerning it;
2. To “appear” as a priest “in the presence of God for us;”
3. To take upon him more openly the exercise of his kingly office;
4. To receive gifts for men, both ordinary and extraordinary, Psalm
5. To open the way to heaven for his people, Heb 10:19-20;
6. To assure the saints of their ascension to heaven after their resurrection from the dead, Joh 14:1-2.
his visible passing from earth to heaven in the presence of his disciples, on the Mount of Olives, forty days after the resurrection (Mar 16:19; Luk 24:50-51; Act 1:1-11).
(1) The ascension was a necessary consequence of the resurrection. Had Christ died a natural death, or simply disappeared from view in obscurity, the resurrection, as a proof of Divine power, would have gone for nothing. It was essential that He should "die no more," so as to demonstrate forever his victory over death.
(2) It was predicted in the 0. T. in several striking passages (e.g. Psalms 24, 68, 103, 110); and also by Christ himself (Joh 6:62; Joh 20:17).
(3) It was prefigured in the patriarchal dispensation by the translation of Enoch (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5); and in the Jewish, by the translation of Elijah (2Ki 2:11); so that each of the three dispensations have had a visible proof of the immortal destiny of human nature.
(4) The fact of the ascension is given by two evangelists only; but John presupposes it in the passages above cited. It is referred to, and doctrines built upon it, by the apostles (2Co 13:4; Eph 2:6; Eph 4:10; 1Pe 3:22; 1Ti 3:16; Heb 6:20). "The evidences of this occurrence were numerous: the disciples saw him ascend (Act 1:9); two angels testified that he did ascend (Act 1:10-11); Stephen, Paul, and John saw him in his ascended state (Act 7:55-56; Act 9:3-5; Rev 1:9-18); the ascension was demonstrated by the descent of the Holy Ghost (Joh 16:7-14; Act 2:33); and had been prophesied by our Lord himself (Mat 26:64; Joh 8:21).
(5) The time of Christ’s ascension was forty days after his resurrection. He continued that number of days upon earth in order that he might give repeated proofs of the fact of his resurrection (Act 1:3), and instruct his apostles in every thing of importance respecting their office and ministry, opening to them the Scriptures concerning himself (Mar 16:15; Act 1:5-8).
(6) As to the manner of his ascension, it was from Mt. Olivet, not in appearance only, but in reality, and that visibly and locally. It was sudden, swift, glorious, and in a triumphant manner. SEE GLORIFICATION. He was parted from his disciples while he was solemnly blessing them, and multitudes of angels attended him with shouts of praise (Psa 24:7-10; Psa 47:5-6; Psa 68:18)" (Watson, Theol. Dictionary, s.v.).
(7) Its results to the church are:
(a) the assumption of regal dominion by Christ, the head of the church
(Heb 10:12-13; Eph 4:8; Eph 4:10; Psalms 68);
(b) the gift of the Holy Spirit (Joh 16:7; Joh 16:14; Act 2:33; Joh 14:16-19);
(c) the intercession of Christ, as mediator, at the right hand of God
The 3d Article of the Church of England and of the Protestant Episcopal Church runs thus: "Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all men at the last day." The corresponding article of the Methodist Episcopal Church is the same, omitting the words "with flesh, bones, and;" an omission which does not affect the substance of the article. Browne’s note on this article is as follows: "It is clear" (from the account in the Gospel) that "our Lord’s body, after he rose from the grave, was that body in which he was buried, having hands and feet, and flesh and bones, capable of being handled, and in which he spoke, and ate, and drank (Luk 24:42-43). Moreover, it appears that our Lord thus showed his hands and feet to his disciples at that very interview with them in which he was parted from them and received up into heaven. This will be seen by reading the last chapter of St. Luke from Luk 24:36 to the end, and comparing it with the first chapter of the Acts, Act 1:4-9; especially comparing Luk 24:49-50, with Act 1:4; Act 1:8-9. In that body, then, which the disciples felt and handled, and which was proved to them to have flesh and bones, these disciples saw our Lord ascend into heaven; and, immediately after his ascent, angels came and declared to them that that same Jesus whom they had seen taken up into heaven should so come in like manner as they had seen him go into heaven (Act 1:11). All this, connected together, seems to prove the identity of our Lord’s today after his resurrection, at his ascension, and so on, even till his coming to judgment, with the body in which he suffered, and in which he was buried, and so fully justifies the language used in the article of our church.
But because we maintain that the body of Christ, even after his resurrection and ascension, is a true human body, with all things pertaining to the perfection of man’s nature (to deny which would be to deny the important truth that Christ is still perfect man as well as perfect God), it by no means, therefore, follows that we should deny that his risen body is now a glorified, and, as St. Paul calls it, a spiritual body. "But, after his ascension, we have St. Paul’s distinct assurance that the body of Christ is a glorious, is a spiritual body. In 1 Corinthians 15, we have St. Paul’s assertion that, in the resurrection of all men, the body shall rise again, but that it shall no longer be a natural body, but a spiritual body; no longer a corruptible and vile, but an incorruptible and glorious body (1Co 15:42-53); and this change of our bodies from natural to spiritual is expressly stated to be bearing the image of our glorified Lord the image of that heavenly man the Lord from heaven (1Co 15:47-49). So, again, the glorified state of the saint’s bodies after the resurrection, which in 1 Corinthians 15 had been called the receiving a spiritual body, is in Php 3:21 said to be a fashioning of their bodies to the likeness of Christ’s glorious body: ’who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.’ We must therefore conclude that, though Christ rose with the same body in which he died, and that body neither did nor shall cease to be a human body, still it acquired, either at his resurrection or at his ascension, the qualities and attributes of a spiritual as distinguished by the apostle from a natural body, of an incorruptible as distinguished from a corruptible body" (On Thirty-nine Articles, p. 115).
On the fact and doctrine of the ascension, see Neander, Life of Christ, p. 437 sq.; Olshausen, Comm. on Act 1:1-11; Baumgarten, Apostolic History, i, 2428; Bossuet, Sermons, 4:88; Watson, Sermons, ii, 210; Farindon, Sermons, ii, 477-495; South, Sermons; iii, 169; Bibliotheca Sacra, i, 152; ii, 162; Knapp, Theology, § 97; Dorner, Doct. of Person of Christ, vol. ii; Barrow, Sermons, ii, 501, 608; Herzog, Real-Encyklopadie,-vi, 106; Maurice, Theol. Essays, p. 251. Monographs connected with the subject have been written, among others, by Ammon (Gott. 1800), Anger (Lips. 1830), Bose (Lips. 1741), Crusius (Lips. 1757), Deyling (Obs. iii, 198), Doederlein (Opp. p. 59), Eichler (Lips. 1737), Fliigge (Han. 1808), Fogtmann (Hafn. 1826), Georgius (Viteb. 1748), Griesbach (Jen. 1793), Himly .(Argent. 1811), Hasse (Regiom. 1805), Loescher (Viteb. 1698), Mayer (Gryph. 1704), C. B. Michaelis (Hal. 1749), Otterbein (Duisb. 1802), Schlegel (Henke’s Mag. 4:277), Seiler (Erlang. 1798), id. (ib. 1803), Steenbach (Hafn. 1714), Weichert (Viteb. 1811), Zickier (Jen. 1758), Brennecke (Luxemb. 1819 [replies by Haumann, Iken, Soltmann, Starum, Tinius, Weber, Witting]), Kikebusch (Schneeb. 1751), Korner (Sachs. Geistl. Stud. i, 10), Liebknecht (Giess. 1737), -Mosheim (Helmst. 1729), Schmid (Lips. 1712), Andreai (Marb. 1676), Mahn (Lips. 1700), Remling (Viteb. 1685). SEE JESUS.
The ascension is the event when Jesus ascended (went up to) heaven after his resurrection from the dead.
What Does the Bible Say About the Ascension of Christ?
Among the New Testament writers, only Luke described Jesus’s ascension. Acts 1:9–11 describes a scene in which Jesus was “taken up” and disappeared into a cloud. Luke 24:50–51 and Acts 1:12 locate that final event near Bethany. Bethany is east of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.
Matthew ended his history before the day of Pentecost. John did not describe the ascension directly, but he included Jesus's own words about it. Jesus said he would leave but return later (John 21:22). He cannot be touched, for he must ascend (20:17). Many will believe without having seen him (20:29).
The Gospels tell us three main things:
After rising from death, Jesus appeared to his disciples.
At some point in time, those appearances stopped.
Though Jesus is not physically present, he is spiritually present with his church.
Other New Testament writings agree with this. The apostle Paul wrote that God raised Christ from the dead “and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:20). The writer of Hebrews said, “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).
Why Does the Ascension Matter?
The ascension is important for two reasons: what it means for Christ and what it means for Christians.
What Does the Ascension Mean for Christ?
For Christ, the ascension is the necessary entrance into his heavenly “glorification.” In his glorification, he sits on the right hand of the Father until his enemies are completely defeated. Psalm 110:1 uses symbolic language to describe this: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." (This Psalm is the most quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament.) The ascension is proof of his glorification and his superiority over such Old Testament heroes as David (Acts 2:33–36).
By his ascension, Christ rises over all and fills all (Ephesians 4:10). In his ascension, he receives “the name that is over every name” (Philemon 2:9–11). For the author of the book of Hebrews, the ascension is also proof of Christ’s superiority to angels. He sits enthroned while they are constantly being sent out to serve (Hebrews 1:13–14). Angels, authorities, and powers are all subject to the ascended Christ (1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:22).
What Does the Ascension Mean For Christians?
For the Christian, the ascension of Christ is meaningful in four ways:
Without it there would be no gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus had ascended and sent him (John 16:7). Without the ascension, the church would have Jesus locally in one place, not spiritually present “where two or three gather together” (Matthew 18:20; compare 28:20).
Since a truly human Jesus has ascended to heaven, human beings can also ascend there. Jesus went “to prepare a place” for his followers (John 14:2). The hope of those who are “in Christ” is that they will eventually ascend to be with him (2 Corinthians 5:1–10).
The ascension proves that the sacrifice of Christ is finished and accepted by God. Jesus has passed through the heavens (Hebrews 4:14). He entered the presence of God (6:20). This presence is described as the most holy place of the heavenly temple. It is the real temple of which the one on earth was a copy (9:24). Christ brought a single, final sacrifice to God that never needs to be repeated (9:12). Then Christ sat down, showing that no repetition of his sacrifice is necessary (1:3; 10:12; 12:2).
The ascension means that there is a human being in heaven who sympathizes with humanity and can therefore speak on behalf of humanity (1 John 2:1). Jesus has experienced everything humans experience. He experienced birth, growth, temptation, suffering, and death. Jesus can serve effectively as a mediator before God in heaven (Hebrews 2:17; 5:7–10). Christ’s ascension assures the church that God understands what it is like to be human, and that Christians can approach him boldly in their prayers (4:14–16).
The ascension of Christ is a vital part of New Testament teaching. It shows Christ's high position and gives Christians confidence and hope.
See also Christology; Jesus Christ, Life and Teachings of.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.