In this study, we explore the multiple ascensions of Christ following His resurrection—each revealing a distinct aspect of His redemptive work, His victory over sin and death, and His exaltation as Lord.
🔹 The Morning of the Resurrection
• Jesus tells Mary Magdalene not to cling to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17).
• Later, He invites Thomas to touch His wounds, confirming His bodily resurrection (John 20:25).
🔹 Christ Entered the Holy of Holies to Obtain Redemption (Hebrews 9:24)
• He entered the true Temple—one not made with hands (Hebrews 9:11–15, 23–28).
• The earthly Temple was only a shadow of the heavenly reality (Hebrews 9:24).
• Christ entered through His own blood, fulfilling what the blood of goats and calves could only foreshadow (Hebrews 9:11–12).
• His actual physical blood was required; He is later seen as the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:6).
• He obtained eternal redemption, offering Himself to God through the eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:12–14).
• As a result, He became the Mediator between God and man (Hebrews 9:15).
• Through His sacrifice, the heavenly Temple was purified (Hebrews 9:18–24).
• He offered Himself once for all time, unlike the earthly priests who continually sacrificed for sin (Hebrews 9:25–28).
• At the end of the legal age, He appeared to put away sin, needing no sacrifice for Himself (Hebrews 7:27; 9:26).
• His sacrifice was for the sins of the people, and God the Father prepared a body for this offering (Hebrews 10:5–10).
🔹 Christ Took Captivity Captive (Ephesians 4:8)
• Paradise was moved from the center of the earth to the edge of the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2–4).
• The saints who rose appeared to many in Jerusalem as a testimony of His power (Matthew 27:52–53).
🔹 Christ Ascended Beyond the Third Heaven (Ephesians 4:10)
• Only God can ascend beyond the third heaven.
• In doing so, Christ demonstrated to all spiritual beings that He remains fully God.
🔹 Christ’s Final Ascension into Heaven (Acts 1:9)
• Christ ascended into the third heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father, completing His earthly ministry and beginning His intercessory work for believers.
