Luke's Insights Into the Second Coming of Jesus

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Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven -A new look at Acts 1:11

Many exegetes have interpreted this verse as a reproof of the people standing by looking at Jesus ascending into heaven. They believe the author describes the two divine messengers as somehow implying that the disciples are wasting their time and that they should go evangelizing right away because Jesus has already left. As we shall see this interpretation fails to notice the correct type of action from each of the verb tenses in Acts 1:9 and in 1:10. Yes, even scholars when not careful enough can make mistakes. The Bible is an extremely difficult book to read and to pretend otherwise does disservice to its immense contribution to our lives. Besides a brief mention in Mark 16:19, no other book in the New Testament except Luke writes about the ascension of Jesus into heaven. He brings attention to it very briefly at the end of his Gospel in 24:50-51.

In there it says, in the Textus Receptus:

50exegagen de autous exo eos eis bethanian kai eparas tas cheiras autou eulogesen autous 51kai egeneto en to eulogein auton autous dieste ap auton kai anephereto eis ton ouranon

In the King James Version we have:

50And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

Luke spends additional time in the beginning of his sequel to the Gospel, The Acts of the Apostles in 1: 6-11. There he goes into more detail and recounts the process of going up into heaven twice.

In the original Greek it goes like this:

6oi men oun sunelthontes eperoton auton legontes kurie ei en to chrono touto apokathistaneis tn basileian to israel 7eipen de pros autous ouch umon estin gnonai chronous e kairous ous o pater etheto en te idia exousia 8alla lepsesthe dunamin epelthontos tou agiou pneumatos eph umas kai esesthe moi martures en te ierousalem kai en pase te ioudaia kai samareia kai eos eschatou tes ges

9kai tauta eipon bleponton auton eperthe kai nephele upelaben auton apo ton ophthalmon auton 10kai os atenizontes esan eis ton ouranon poreuomenou autou kai idou andres duo pareistekeisan autois en estheti leuke 11oi kai eipon andres galilaioi ti estekate emblepontes eis ton ouranon outos o iesous o analephtheis aph umon eis ton ouranon outos eleusetai on tropon etheasasthe auton poreuomenon eis ton ouranon (emphasis mine)

Eis ton ouranon- which means into heaven- is repeated three times on verse11 and appears once in verse 10. To replace the meaning of only ouranon with sky in just the first case of verse 11 as the New International Version of 1984 and the New American Standard of 1995 do, makes for easy reading but does not provide a greater clarity of what Luke is doing in his composition. For that reason I prefer the King James translation in this case.

The 21st century King James Version gives us:

6When they therefore had come together, they asked of Him, saying, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" 7And He said unto them, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. 8But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 9And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11who also said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven."

The phrase 'eis ton ouranon' is also used in verse 10. That Luke uses this exact phrase 4 times in just two verses tell his readers to pay attention. Whatever idea he wants to give his readers, has nothing to do with a possible different meaning for the Greek term 'ouranon'. He wants to attract his readers' attention upon the act of the disciples. The statement from the two men implies that looking into heaven is not the right thing to do. But why? Several scholars have noticed how for Luke the ascension represents a transitional event in the history of God's work of salvation through history. The transition occurs from the ministry of Jesus to that of his disciples. The heavenly messengers would not remove importance to it by telling the disciples that they are wasting their time looking at it. Something of greater significance comes from the concern of the two men. To determine its correct interpretation, we can take a look at a parallel situation that Luke narrates in his Gospel on the moment the female disciples of Jesus go to his tomb. Luke uses the literary technique of parallel construction on several occasions. Here he composed the event of the Ascension of Jesus in a manner that parallels the interaction between the two men and the women after the Resurrection. Let us look first at the event of the two men and the women at the tomb in Luke 24:4-7.

In the Textus Receptus we have:

4kai egeneto en to diaporeisthai autas peri toutou kai idou duo andres epestesan autais en esthesesin astraptousais 5emphobon de genomenon auton kai klinouson to prosopon eis ten gen eipon pros autas ti zeteite ton zonta meta ton nekron 6ouk estin ode all egerthe mnesthete os elalesen umin eti on en te galilaia 7legon oti dei ton uion tou anthropou paradothenai eis cheiras anthropon amartolon kai staurothenai kai te trite emera anastenai

The King James Version gives us:

4And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

A careful reading of both events will reveal many similarities between both of them. The link tying both of these events together is the two men. They are introduced as the particular group of disciples are involved in a strong emotion or action: the women are perplexed, the apostles are looking intently. Their introduction takes place with the same Greek phrase: Kai idou andres dyo (and behold two men) Luke follows this with the same exact idea: 'stood by them', though the Greek terms used in each occasion vary: epestean in the case of the women, paresitekeisan in the second occasion. In both occasions attention is immediately placed upon their robe using very similar phrases. En estheti astraptouse (in garments dazzling) for the first event, en esthesesi leukais (in apparel white) for the second. Luke uses eipan (said) to describe the first action of the men towards each group, and then Luke uses a phrase to describe to whom they speak: in the case of the women, "to them," and in the case of the apostles, "men of Galilee." Each case has a question beginning with ti (why) and implying something had been done wrong. Each time the men continue speaking without receiving a response. In the case of the women the heavenly men give them one declaratory sentence and one imperative sentence, in the case of the men they advance a declaratory sentence. (The textual problem of the sentence "He is not here, but has risen" in the event of the Resurrection not being in some manuscripts does not create any serious difficulty for our analysis. If the text were found some day not to be part of the original writing of the Gospel it would certainly extend the similarities. Yet including it does not harm the analysis) The relationship between the sentence and the question, and that between the sentence and the listeners is the critical element in each episode. Thus, for the parallel to be consistent Luke must have formed Luke 24:6-7 and Acts 1:11b (the part in verse 11 with the sentence) with similar characteristics.

The Relationship Between the Question and the Sentences in Each Case

Question and Answer to the Women

The question shows something being done wrong: seeking for the living among the dead. The imperative sentence provides a Heavenly Correction. Timothy Johnson in his commentary to Luke observes that in each case the challenge placed by the two men brings its own correction immediately (p.31) He says that the mistake of the women is obvious: they failed to remember Jesus' teachings. By doing that now the women should understand that Jesus has resurrected. But besides the obvious mistakes the heavenly correction also has an implied mandate: believe. If the women had believed in the words of Jesus, they would not have sought for Jesus among the dead. But the gospel tells us they cold not even understand the teaching of Jesus concerning his suffering and death. (see Luke 9:45, 18:34).

Question and Answer to the Men

The challenge to the apostles shows something being done wrong: standing and looking intently into the heaven. Though most exegetes see it as such, Timothy Johnson asks: "what is wrong about the apostles gazing into heaven?" (ibid) He does not concur, as I also, with the majority of commentators that the mistake of the apostles involve some kind of wrong hope of seeing Jesus return soon, maybe even immediately. He suggests an incredibly intriguing and insightful idea that Luke wants to teach that the ascension of Jesus parallels that of Elijah and as such the disciples must return not because they are wasting time but because the Elijahnic parallel will be consummated at the city. From this suggestion much can be learn about the ascension of Jesus. Moreover, the parallel Johnson sees has an implicit connection, which he does not notes, to the return of Jesus. But that theme is too extensive to be properly covered here. The declaration the men give before the apostles regarding the Second Coming sounds like a new teaching. But for the declaration to be similar in nature to the correction given to the women, it must not be new. How could the apostles be corrected on something they did not know? The declaration then to stand in parallel as a correction, it has to be telling the apostles that what they understand about the Second Coming is wrong. Specifically, the two men address the disciples' understanding of the manner in which Jesus will come. What can this understanding be? Their understanding must be connected to the teaching of Jesus on the coming of the Son of Man. In Luke 21:25-28 Jesus tells them that "the Son of Man (is) coming in a cloud with power and great glory." And concludes: "when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." From the point of view of Jesus having given the apostles this teaching, what then can be wrong? Have they failed to grasp the meaning of Jesus' words in some way again? Yet in some manner their grasping of Jesus' words must have taken place at some level, for had them fail to grasp anything and thereby forgotten them, the two men could simply address them by telling them to remember the teachings of Jesus, as in the case of the women. Had this been the case, it is doubtful that Luke would have left the opportunity to form another literary parallel pass. Consequently the apostles must have Jesus' words on the Second Coming in mind but their understanding of them must not be correct. Them looking into heaven means that they have taken a literal meaning of the teaching of the coming of the Son of Man in a cloud. The strong didactic sound of the heavenly pronouncement given to the apostles implies that the two men are clarifying or expanding on the teaching concerning the Second Coming. In this manner the heavenly messengers expect the disciple to form the proper expectation of Jesus. The correction to the apostles then also has an implied mandate: 'believe this'.

In What Lies the Correction to the Messianic Expectation of the Apostles?

To determine this we need to begin our analysis from the clarifying pronouncement, the second part of verse 11.

The Literal Translation of Acts 1.11b

In the Textus Receptus we have: outos o iesous o analephtheis aph umon eis ton ouranon outos eleusetai on tropon etheasasthe auton poreuomenon eis ton ouranon. Almost no popular translation gives the literal translation for this verse. To understand the literal translation here is crucial. The verb tense of 'to go' in respect of the disciples seeing Jesus go is very important because it determines whether we understand the action of Jesus as already having finished or still in process. This in turn helps define the important expression 'in the same manner'. Young's Literal Translation gives us: this Jesus, who was received up from you into the heaven, shall so come in what manner ye saw him going on to the heaven.' The American Standard Version: this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. Other translations that use 'going' are the Aramaic Bible in Plain English, the Darby-Bible Translation and a couple of others. The literal Greek says 'in the same manner as you saw him going '. The Greek verb for go is in the present participle. This means that the action has not been completed, a completely different meaning than when using 'as you have seen him go' or 'saw him go' or as in other translations. By using this proper translation and grasping the significance of the type of action as not yet completed we can arrive at a better understanding of what the heavenly men said to the apostles. If the statement to the apostles uses the present participle, then by logic the event of the ascension of Jesus cannot have been completed the moment the two men came. This seems to contradict a lot of biblical interpretations. If this is correct, it practically deals a death blow to the idea that the heavenly messengers simply came to tell the apostles not to waste any more time and hurry up out of there. At what moment then did these two men entered the scene? Several careful interpreters have brought attention to how Luke recommences the process of ascension in verse 10 after having finished it in verse 9. Luke uses the same present participle form of 'to go' in verse 10, in verse 9 he uses the aorist indicative active tense, where he says that a cloud hypelaben (hid) him (The New American Standard of 1985 version as well as the King James version translate the term hypelaben as received, whereas the New International version of 1984 translates it as hid.), referring to Jesus. Though the term has been translated by several different words or phrases, the Greek aorist sense of the verb places the type of action as having been completed, or in the past. The ending of the action in verse 9 tend to confuse us. We tend to presume that the moment the angels spoke to the apostles was after Jesus had ascended already. This assumption is wrong. They approached the apostles as they were still looking at Jesus go up. We can take comfort knowing that even great interpreters, i.e. Calvin, made this simple mistake. Even those who placed the Greek Study Bible in Biblios.com fail in seeing this critical distinction. They place a subtitle in this passage with the intention of helping students getting the central idea. The subtitle simply reveals the manner in which their doctrinal presuppositions blinds them to the actual writing of Luke.From this we can see how this small mistake makes difficult the making of a valid interpretation of the words of the men.

The correct translation of poreuomenon as 'going' limits the definition of 'in the same manner' for now Jesus has not completed the ascension, and one important element of the messianic expectation of the apostles has not been involved yet; namely, the cloud. If we understand the significance of this, we can clearly see the reason the two men came to clarify the teaching of Jesus to the disciples. The disciples had taken a literal meaning of the words of Jesus and expect him to return in a cloud. This conforms perfectly to the type of correction the two men deliver. They speak on the manner in which Jesus will come again, which is precisely what has the apostles holding a wrong understanding of the Second Coming. The manner the apostles expect the Second Coming is in the cloud. By interfering with the apostles' attention to the ascension the two men can properly speak of the manner of the coming of Jesus as if it were a new form of teaching. Jesus had clearly included the cloud in the coming of the Son of Man, but now the divine messengers tell the disciples their view of the cloud is wrong. Jesus does not refer to a literal cloud, since obviously none have been involved so far in his ascension.

Once again the two men has no interest in clarifying anything to do with the time of the Second Coming. Moreover in Acts 1:6-7 the apostles concern regarding the time had been addressed already. Jesus unequivocally told them that the time of that event 'it is not for them to know about'. Either in their challenge or in their clarification of the teaching of Jesus, the celestial men show no intention of even referring to that aspect of the Second Coming.

What does 'the same manner as you saw him going' mean? This phrase expresses to the apostles that, if they want to grasp the teaching of Jesus concerning his future coming, they must examine the manner in which Jesus was leaving the earth before the two men interrupted them. The apostles must examine what they saw Jesus doing during that time span. As mentioned before, the Gospel of Luke only has a few verses on the ascension and the Gospel of Mark only one. It should not be difficult to find what things Luke and Mark report Jesus doing during that time. Two things that Jesus did for sure as he was being watched leaving were: he went up from the earth, and he was with his disciples. The Gospel of Luke 24:51 mentions also that Jesus was being raised as he was blessing his disciples.

Therefore when Jesus returns he must come back from the earth as he is being watched by disciples, and he will come back as he blesses his disciples. One thing Jesus absolutely did not do as he was being watched leaving was: go into heaven in a cloud. In both instances where Luke narrates the incident of the ascension the only mention of one cloud is on verse 9 to say that after Jesus had been lifted up 'a cloud hid him from them.' Luke contains a brief mention of the ascension in Acts 1:22 where it is repeated that Jesus was 'taken up' with no mention of any cloud or clouds being involved. The same thing happens in Mark 16:19. Now had Jesus ascended on a cloud, it is highly unlikely that that fact would not have been reported. The presence of any cloud being involved in the ascension was at the last moment as the means for concluding the event by hiding Jesus. And since the two men came to the apostles as Jesus was still going up, no clouds are involved in the definition of 'in the same manner as you saw him going '. Therefore, clouds were not a means of transportation in the ascension. And as Jesus is coming in the same manner as he was seen going, he will not come in the literal cloud of heaven.

What is the meaning of Jesus' teaching that the Son of Man will come in the cloud? Before looking for a meaning of this word in the scriptures, we need to establish something first. The teaching of Jesus of the Son of Man coming in a cloud is synonymous with the clarification of the messengers of 'in the manner as you saw him going." This signifies that one of the things included in the interpretation of the phrase of the messengers if not all of them together must necessarily mean 'cloud'. In the list only two things are actions, going up from the earth and blessing the disciples, and only one is a 'thing', the disciples. Thus in some form, manner or shape these disciples must be similar to that cloud Jesus talks about. Can we find scriptural texts connecting these two? In Hebrews 12:1 the author calls a big group of witnesses a 'cloud'. This type of cloud seems to be the one in which Jesus could come again. On the other hand, the author of Jude referring to a group of 'ungodly' people who have become part of the Christian community calls them 'waterless clouds, carried along by winds'. This last passage seems to suggest that clouds that travel quickly through the sky because of their lack of internal density can be compared to sinful people. Though this subject of the metaphorical meaning of cloud or clouds in scriptures is indeed very interesting, I want to conclude this composition repeating the observation that our examination of the above passages have demonstrated: Jesus is NOT coming in the literal clouds of heaven.

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Source by Pedro F Morales