I think
that Christ’s ascension to be high priest (Acts 1:9) is not the same as
Christ’s mystery ascension having to do with his position as head of the body
far above all heavens (Eph. 4:10). What
do you think?
There is an ascension of Christ in prophecy
(before the mystery; before Paul is saved):
Acts 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.
Daniel 7:13
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven [angels], and
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Luke 19:12
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
That is
his ascension as high priest according to the book of Hebrews, according to prophecy.
Hebrews 4:14, 19-20
Seeing then
that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession…Which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth
into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an
high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
His mystery ascension as head of the church, his body comes later. Looking back we know that when he ascended in
Acts 1 to be high priest, doctrinally it was in regard to prophecy.
Hebrews 8:1b
We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of
the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
We learn later that the physical, bodily
resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ has a deeper and additional
meaning. We know from Paul and the
revelation of the mystery in the dispensation of Grace that he would begin to
do something different. Luke 13 makes it
clear that for one year following his ascension, Christ was looking ‘for fruit.’
Luke 13:6-9
He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree [a type of the religious
element of the nation of Israel]
planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his
vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree,
and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let
it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then
after that thou shalt cut it down.
This
additional year was in response to Christ’s prayer for Israel:
Luke 23:34a
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
He was
saying, “Give them this year also.” So
from Acts 1 to Acts 7-9 (the stoning of Stephen and Saul’s salvation), God gave a one-year period of grace to Israel
that was prophesied by the Lord in Luke 13; but no one understood it until
after the fact. During that year he sat
as high priest; or you could say, as the rejected King or Messiah or
Israel. That is what that ascension was
all about.
Israel’s
rejection of Christ was culminated in the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. They were sending a message.
Acts 7:57-59
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears,
and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him:
and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was
Saul. And they stoned Stephen,
calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
This is
what Christ was talking about in his parables:
Luke 19:12-14
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
for himself a kingdom, and to return. And
he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy
till I come. But his citizens hated him,
and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign
over us.
That is
what they were doing when they stoned Stephen.
They were saying that they did not want that man to reign over them (John 19:15). According to prophecy, after that one-year
grace period, the Lord was going to begin to pour out his wrath.
Psalm 2:4-5
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Psalm 110:1, 5
The Lord said unto my Lord,
Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool…The Lord at
thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
But we
now know from Paul that when Stephen looks up and sees the Son of man standing
on the right hand of God…
Acts 7:55-56
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven,
and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
(remember, he was to sit until God made his
enemies his footstool)
Mark 12:36
For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I
make thine enemies thy footstool.
…the Lord was to pour out his wrath and judge
and make war.
Revelation 19:11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and
make war.
But now
we know that when Saul shows up in Acts 7, 8 and 9…
Acts 7:58
And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid
down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
Acts 8:1, 3
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there
was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they
were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except
the apostles…. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into
every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Acts 9:1-2
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters
to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they
were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
…the
Lord Jesus Christ comes back to confront Saul…
Acts 9:3-4
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined
round about him a light from heaven: And
he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?
Instead
of pouring out his wrath on the chief of sinners, he pours out his grace and
brings in a new dispensation. It is at
that time after the Lord appears to Saul that he ascends back into the
heavens.
Now God
is doing a new thing; he is forming the church the body of Christ. He is dealing with the heavenly places.
Notice
that his ascension in Acts 1 was to be high priest of Israel according to
Prophecy; he fulfilled that for a whole year.
When he stands up in Acts 7 a year later at the stoning of Stephen, he
comes back, not to pour out his wrath, but to do something that God didn’t make
know before—the mystery (Rom. 16:25)—and
to pour out his grace. He saves the
chief of sinners and begins the dispensation of grace.
1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Ephesians 3:2
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given me to you-ward:
When
Christ goes back up into the heavens after appearing to Saul, positionally, he
is at the right hand of the Father; but doctrinally he becomes the head of the
church, the body of Christ. Right now
God is dealing with the heavenly places and not the earth. Up until Acts 7 he was just dealing with the
earth.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1 Corinthians 15:48
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is
the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
From
Genesis 1:2 until the events with Saul in Acts 7, 8 and 9, God was only dealing
with the earth.
When do I believe that he actually ascended in his position as
head of the body? It was not the ascension in John 20 with the Old Testament saints.
head of the body? It was not the ascension in John 20 with the Old Testament saints.
John 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
It was
not even the ascension in Acts 1 when he went up to receive the physical, earthly
Kingdom and then return. But, it was a year
later, after saving Saul on the road to Damascus, he went up to the right hand
of the Father and now, with Israel temporarily set aside, God is dealing with
the church the body of Christ…
Ephesians 2:6
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus:
…that
he might fill all things.
Ephesians 4:10
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Hopefully this helps!
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