Acts 1:9-11

Jesus Ascends Into Heaven

Having issued these final instructions, Jesus began to bless the apostles. At that moment, Jesus was taken up into a cloud. This is the fulfillment of the Lord's own prediction when he asked his disciples, "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?" (John 6:62; see also Mark 14:62). Before he came to earth, Jesus was with the Father in Heaven. The apostles saw him begin his ascent back to the throne.

One can almost imagine the apostles standing, mouths agape, looking up into the clouds where they had last seen the Savior. While they were looking, Luke tells us two men in white clothing stood by and told them Jesus would come again in the same way they had seen him go. Matthew describes the appearance of the angel who rolled away the stone by saying, "His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow." Since it seems the two men in shining garments in Luke 24:4 are called angels in John 20:12, it is very likely the two "men" who Luke says stood by the apostles are angels who appeared in the form of men (Acts 1:9-11; Luke 24:50-51). The statements of the angels in reference to the Lord's return clearly indicate he will come literally, visibly and in his glorified body.