Post by Admin on Mar 14, 2020 6:28:51 GMT
After His Ascension, Jesus' reception into heaven is described in Psalm 24 (NIV).
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Here is some background from a sermon by Brad Allison, “After the Resurrection”
Many psalms have both an historical reference and a future fulfillment in the ministry of Christ, and this is clearly one of those. King David wrote this psalm in all likelihood on the occasion of moving the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). That’s when he danced before the Lord as the Ark, which was the very presence of God, was placed in the tent. Jesus taught that these psalms all speak of him (Luke 24). When we understand that he is the presence of God, it is easy to see how this psalm speaks of his enthronement in heaven. As we say in the Apostle’s Creed, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” That seat, the Bible tells us, is a throne from which he rules.
So verses 7-10 of our psalm tell us something no human has witnessed— the arrival of Jesus in heaven after his resurrection. We have abundant eyewitness testimony to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. You can read those eyewitness testimonies in the four Gospels. We also have eyewitness testimony to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Luke tells us that the apostles all saw Jesus ascend. But none of them, nor any other human, witnessed his arrival in heaven.
The arrival is described in the form of a dialogue between the gates of heaven and the angels of heaven. The angels speak first, telling the gates to lift up their heads that the King of glory may come in. The gates respond with a question. “Who is this King of glory?” The answer is given: “The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle!” It is none other than the Son of God, the very same one the gates had seen leave over three decades before this. He left to take the form of a weak baby, to live a life of weakness and to die a shameful death. But he has been raised from the dead and is now returning as a conquering warrior. The book of Revelation says that the blood of battle is still on him as he passes through these gates, but he is returning victorious. His mission was to restore what was broken in this fallen world, to crush Satan and break his tyranny over the earth, to end death and to make all things new. He returns to heaven as a victorious conqueror in every part of his mission.
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Here is some background from a sermon by Brad Allison, “After the Resurrection”
Many psalms have both an historical reference and a future fulfillment in the ministry of Christ, and this is clearly one of those. King David wrote this psalm in all likelihood on the occasion of moving the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). That’s when he danced before the Lord as the Ark, which was the very presence of God, was placed in the tent. Jesus taught that these psalms all speak of him (Luke 24). When we understand that he is the presence of God, it is easy to see how this psalm speaks of his enthronement in heaven. As we say in the Apostle’s Creed, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” That seat, the Bible tells us, is a throne from which he rules.
So verses 7-10 of our psalm tell us something no human has witnessed— the arrival of Jesus in heaven after his resurrection. We have abundant eyewitness testimony to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. You can read those eyewitness testimonies in the four Gospels. We also have eyewitness testimony to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Luke tells us that the apostles all saw Jesus ascend. But none of them, nor any other human, witnessed his arrival in heaven.
The arrival is described in the form of a dialogue between the gates of heaven and the angels of heaven. The angels speak first, telling the gates to lift up their heads that the King of glory may come in. The gates respond with a question. “Who is this King of glory?” The answer is given: “The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle!” It is none other than the Son of God, the very same one the gates had seen leave over three decades before this. He left to take the form of a weak baby, to live a life of weakness and to die a shameful death. But he has been raised from the dead and is now returning as a conquering warrior. The book of Revelation says that the blood of battle is still on him as he passes through these gates, but he is returning victorious. His mission was to restore what was broken in this fallen world, to crush Satan and break his tyranny over the earth, to end death and to make all things new. He returns to heaven as a victorious conqueror in every part of his mission.