An Open Heaven Reveals the Ascended Lord
When heaven opens up, big things happen, right?
When heaven opened and angels poured out over Bethlehem’s fields, shepherds saw and heard them proclaim that the long-anticipated Savior of the world had been born.
When heaven opened above the Jordan River as John poured water over Jesus’ head, a dove dove down…and the divine voice spoke…and there was no mistaking that this was the Son of God in human flesh.
When heaven opened on a mountain, the closest friends of Jesus saw Moses and Elijah step down from there, and they heard the thundering voice of the Father again declaring that this was his Son.
Oh, when heaven opens you see and hear impressive things! This morning the door of heaven is opened again and it may be hard to believe what you see! It may even be a little scary. It could even be the opposite of what you expected to see and hear about in an Ascension celebration! But here’s the Ascension spin: through the open door of heaven, you are looking at the Ascended Lord who is reigning right now and is preparing to return.
When you heard the account of Jesus’ ascension earlier, you maybe thought about a smiling Jesus rising up into the clouds as his disciples stood there staring. Maybe you pictured him waving good bye to his disciples. However you think about that, it’s a gentle Jesus I’m almost certain. So, there he goes, up into the sky, disappearing from sight—to be seen again, but not until the end of this created world.
And right now, he’s doing what? Is he doing what we might do just hanging out, finding ways to pass the time, waiting for the Last Day to come? And have you thought about what he will look like when he comes? Smiling again? Nodding to the people on the right side of those gathered before him and shaking his head at the people on the left? Is he stoic—simply handing out heaven passes to some and directing others to the path with signs that say “Hell this way?”
I don’t know what you’ve seen inside your head, but my guess is that you didn’t picture him like what we see in the vision Jesus gave to John!
This is no meek and mild Messiah you see, but a mighty and majestic One! Jesus is riding a white horse! His eyes are like blazing flames…on his head are many crowns…He is…clothed in a garment that had been dipped in blood…Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword. He holds an iron staff…on his garment and on his thigh this name is written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is the imposing and awesome Ascended Lord who is Returning and Judging and Saving!
The Ascended Lord is Returning
Heaven opens and this is no passionate, weeping Jesus riding a donkey on Palm Sunday that you see. This is the victorious Jesus riding a white war horse. This is the image of authority and conquest.
Jesus showed this vision and this is just a small part of the many visions found in the book of Revelation—so that he could write it down so that it could be sent to the Christian churches and then preserved for all time.
The people who first read this needed to know that their ascended Savior may not have been in the world, but he did not leave them and this is why: they were being fiercely persecuted. Life can be hard enough in general, as we know, but imagine at that time being an artisan, a shopkeeper, a mom herding several children and you are not participating in or speaking the language of the worship of Roman gods. You’re also not involved at the synagogue. You’re different. Noticeably different. And as a follower of Jesus, you are part of an unsanctioned religion in the Roman empire and one in direct conflict with the Jewish religion.
You might imagine the mistreatment—from things unspoken to physical harm, even death. If you’ve ever felt out of place out there in the world because of your faith or felt the coldness of family members or friends because of it, maybe you can relate a little. Is following Jesus worth it? Does he see me? Is he actually doing anything about the evil in this world? This was their life, but in even more severe circumstances.
The ascended Christ who loves his people sends them a message through John. He is not ignoring them. He is not sitting in heaven doing nothing. Their loving Savior who humbly bowed before the Roman authorities and succumbed to death on a cross for them can show another side. This is what he showed to John and relayed to those hurting Christians. And this is the side that will be seen on the Last Day by those who oppressed them and rebelled against God.
When he returns, they will see the fiery-eyed Warrior who judges the wicked and gives victory to his people They could be sure that this Jesus was fighting for them even though they could not see it and that he would return as he promised.
The Ascended Lord is Judging
We like to judge things and people in this world, don’t we? We think this person or those people deserve to have God come down right now and smite them! We like the “smiting God” when we see godless people and even more if they are affecting us.
But we may forget that our nature is to reject and rebel against God too We’re not so anxious to see the “smiting God” when we think of that! We may forget that Jesus, the Judge, pardoned us when we did not deserve it. It took his grace and forgiveness to make us his people and put over our shoulders robes of righteousness that we did not earn, but he did. God forgive us for thinking that we deserve this somehow. God forgive us for forgetting to thank him for saving us because we’re too busy thinking about the people we feel he should punish
We certainly do not always judge correctly when we see wickedness around us or affecting us, but Jesus does. He judges purely, perfectly. He is all the things said about him here: Faithful and True and righteous. And he uses the sharp sword of his Word to judge and destroy wickedness in this world in his way, in his time. He does this right now from the throne he ascended to as his people faithfully carry out his command to proclaim that Word of his. It happened when those early believers did that and when we do it today.
Without a vision showing us just what all is happening when God’s people share his Word, we don’t know. But because of this vision, we do know what it will look like when the ascended Christ returns to judge the world at the End.
And it isn’t pretty.
A little girl wearing mom’s robe goes out to the backyard after a monsoon storm blows through. She walks through the muddy puddles and soaks the bottom of the robe that drags through them. It drips all over the place as she walks back into the house What a terrible mess.
But spattered mud does not compare to spattered blood: He is also clothed in a garment that had been dipped in blood.
The conquering, fiery-eyed Warrior with crowns on his head and riding a white horse full of righteous anger, and with the angel armies of heaven behind him—brings war upon those who have opposed him and his people. The hem of his cloak has been dragged along the ground of the battlefield and is soaked with the blood of those he has destroyed. This is the victorious Christ…and probably not the Ascension picture of him you were anticipating!
How about this one? He himself is going to trample the winepress of the fierce anger of the Almighty God. Stomping on grapes with your feet so that the juice squirts out is how the winepress worked. The ascended Christ will return on the Last Day with fierce, righteous anger and almighty power to stomp and trample all who have rejected and opposed him. Blood-soaked clothes and winepresses. Are you getting a clear picture of how he feels about sin?
No matter what you are experiencing and no matter what evil you see in the world around you, know this: the ascended Christ is not sitting up there in heaven doing nothing. He is judging and ruling all things in this world for the benefit of his people even though we can’t see it and he is preparing to bring righteous anger down with an eternal judgment and thunderous power on the Last Day.
The door of heaven is open and that’s what you see—a prepared and powerful Warrior-King. And maybe you need to see it as much as those early believers did. It’s not that it brings us joy to see what Christ will do to them it does not; it’s that we know it will be the day of relief for us, his people.
When the Lord who ascended into heaven returns from there as Judge, remember and this is crucial—he judges righteously. Not from a place of vengeance, but from a heart of holiness. And that holy heart brings you salvation.
The Ascended Lord is Saving
We can talk about our Savior as having saved us he offered his blood to pay for our sins. Payment made. Forgiveness applied. Heaven guaranteed.
We can talk about Jesus saving us right now as we live in a sin-darkened and faiththreatening world. He promises that he’s with us, and he works everything out for our spiritual good.
And we can talk about Jesus saving us at the Last Day.
It is our ascended Savior who is busy saving us from evil right now, and it is our ascended Savior who is standing there in heaven’s open doorway showing you that he will return. And on that day of judgment, you will also be judged. Just as Jesus will be faithful and true to his promises to punish those who rejected him as their Savior, he will be faithful and true to his promises to save those who trust in him as their Savior.
The world may sometimes seem like it’s spinning out of control and things are hard and evil surrounds us, but today heaven’s open door shows us that the ascended Christ reigns as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that he is working right now for you and all believers, and that he is preparing to return to save you for all eternity. So, do not doubt or despair. Instead, trust in him and look forward to his return when heaven will open up again this time, to receive you. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.