This Same Jesus

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:11

This Same Jesus

by Robert T. Cooper

The Jesus Who ascended from the ridge of the Mount of Olives some 40 days after His Resurrection is the exact same Jesus Who will return to Earth to the very same ridge of the Mount of Olives.

There have been several attempts throughout history to characterize the Jesus of the Day of the Lord as a “different” Jesus. There have been the attempts of cults to create a Jesus with a different backstory and a different future. There have been the attempts of non-Christian religions to create a Jesus who is not a Person of the Trinity, the Second Person, God the Son, in particular. Sometimes this Jesus is a mere prophet. Sometimes He is an angel. Sometimes He is simply the Christ Spirit.

But the Jesus Who ascended is the exact same Jesus known personally today by those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Jesus who is known personally today by Christian disciples is the exact same Jesus Who is coming again.

Those who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior cannot fully comprehend the certainty of Christian disciples. However, they are invited to repent and believe. Then they will commence a relationship with Jesus, Who is and Who is to come.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, briefly comment about your relationship with your personal Redeemer.

Or

If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are invited to do so at this time. When you do, record it in the comments section so we may rejoice with you.

Cloud Gazing

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:9

Cloud Gazing

by Robert T. Cooper

Jesus had said the last thing He was going to say in His human form on earth, at least until His Glorious Appearing. When He finished telling His Apostles the Holy Spirit would come on them and they would in the power of the Holy Spirit be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the world, Jesus was taken up. We have to infer that from the Mount of Olives that Jesus’ body was lifted up into the clouds in the sky.

We don’t know how Enoch was translated. There is simply no information given. Elijah was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot. But there is no such device cited in the Ascension of Jesus. It is an event that defies gravity. It seems He went straight up rather than off at an angle. Did He ascend only until He was no longer visible to the naked eye? Did the thinner atmosphere and cold of the upper atmosphere bother Him? Did He at some point disappear into the spiritual realm, or did He keep traveling in that general direction forever? We simply do not know.

All we know is that a cloud moved into position that from the Mount of Olives the ascending body of Jesus was no longer visible to the apostolic observers. They just stood there for some time gazing into the clouds, hoping for one more glimpse of Jesus in the air. But apparently they never did catch sight of His body again.

We know that when Jesus returns He will come back the same way He left. We assume that means that the clouds will move and there He will be in the air, coming back down. We also know that He will return to the Mount of Olives, to virtually the same location from which He left. One difference in His return is that somehow, every person in the world will be able to observe the event. (Does that mean television on mobile devices? Does that mean that God will have gathered every living human to the Greater Jerusalem area? Again, we don’t know.)

from Standard Bible Story Readers

 

We know we should live in expectation the Christ’s return could happen at any moment. We should live so as to be ready for it when it happens—there won’t be time to clean up your act then!

Paul tells us that God reveals Himself through nature. Certain authors suggest the observation and contemplation of nature and of natural revelation as a spiritual discipline.

Think about that! You can go for a hike in the mountains, or go into a park, or go to the coast. Sit on a rock or lie on the grass and gaze at the clouds. Don’t just look for shapes in the clouds. Look for Jesus. He’s coming back in the clouds and it could be today!

Questions:

1.      What do you think about cloud gazing as a spiritual discipline?

2.      Are you ready for Jesus to come again, perhaps even today?

3.      When and where could you spend some time cloud gazing?