A Glimpse Of The Shekinah

Before Christ ascended, only Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the inner circle of James, John, and Peter had had a glimpse of the glory of God at the Transfiguration as far as the Bible says, but it was also partially viewed at the Ascension.  But the doctrine of the Ascension is very neglected in churches (though 1 Tim. 3:16 mentions it as a central confession of the church) but it is also hidden in the glory of God.  Jesus doesn't just reflect the glory of God like the moon reflects the light of the sun, but is the glory of God.  He temporarily set it aside and hid it during His humiliation when He emptied Himself on earth but when His work was done, He took His rightful place at the right hand of the Father--the place of authority for all authority had been given Him.  This was akin to a coronation in heaven and His homecoming.

Jesus, as the King of kings and Lord of lords, would have jurisdiction over all spiritual, human, and governmental authority.  He then authorized the Holy Spirit to equip the saints for evangelization at the outpouring on Pentecost.  Also, there He would be our Mediator, Daysman, Go-between, and Middleman between us and God. Jesus is our Savior in many aspects:  as the dying Christ, He saved us from the penalty of sin; as the living Christ in heaven, from the power of sin, and from the presence of sin, as the coming Son.

Yes, Jesus promised to come again and the angels told the disciple to stop staring into heaven but to resume the work of God on earth expanding the kingdom through the preaching of the good news. He would return physically, locally, and personally for His own. The disciples would be enabled by the filing of the Spirit and would be better off than if Jesus had remained with them because of the indwelling Spirit.  They were never to feel abandoned or alone, for Jesus promised to be with them to the end of the age and never to leave them nor forsake them.  This makes possible an intimate relationship with the Almighty and possible to continually walk in the Spirit.

The ascension was to have such an impact as to be the inspiration and motivation to spread the gospel and to give them reason to believe in heaven and that Jesus really was given all authority.  Before this Jews may have believed in an afterlife or the resurrection but had no special reason or motive to do so.  They had seen a glimpse of Jesus' glory and it should've ignited them to go on even unto death for the sake of the Name. Heaven is now a reality and a purpose to live on, not pie in the sky.  We will behold the Beatific Vision and be satisfied with the glory of God in glory.

Especially having Jesus as our intercessor would be an encouragement when they fell short of God's will and needed restoration to God's will.  Hebrews 7:25 says that if we do sin we have an advocate and 1 Tim. 2:5 says that there is one Mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.  We are to be comforted that there is now no condemnation for all who are in Christ (cf. Romans 8:1) and to know that we shall never come into judgment (cf. John 5:24). "Who is that condemns?  (cf. Romans 8:34). We are much better off having Jesus at God's right hand looking out for us and being our Advocate with the Father when we fall short and sin.

In sum, what is the point?  We are not to live in the past or on go on in some spiritual ecstasy or religious and existential experience, but to go on and live in faith and to look forward to our hope in heaven with new and renewed motivation and inspiration that all of us will see the coming of Christ in His kingdom and rise to meet Him in the air--this glimpse of glory should give us a taste for the real thing in its fulness, in other words, look forward not backward.   Soli Deo Gloria!