the original source Luke's Insights Into the Second advent of Jesus
Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven -A new look at Acts 1:11
Luke's Insights Into the Second advent of Jesus
Many exegetes have interpreted this verse as a reproof of the habitancy 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 observation the literal, type of action from each of the verb tenses in Acts 1:9 and in 1:10. Yes, even scholars when not just adequate can make mistakes. The Bible is an highly difficult book to read and to pretend otherwise does disservice to its huge offering 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 attentiveness 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 supplementary time in the beginning of his sequel to the Gospel, The Acts of the Apostles in 1: 6-11. There he goes into more information and recounts the process of going up into heaven twice.
In the traditional 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 suitable of 1995 do, makes for easy reading but does not furnish a greater clarity of what Luke is doing in his composition. For that fancy 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. Anyone idea he wants to give his readers, has nothing to do with a potential separate meaning for the Greek term 'ouranon'. He wants to attract his readers' attentiveness 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? any scholars have noticed how for Luke the ascension represents a transitional event in the history of God's work of salvation straight through history. The transition occurs from the ministry of Jesus to that of his disciples. The heavenly messengers would not remove significance 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 rule its literal, interpretation, we can take a look at a parallel situation that Luke narrates in his Gospel on the occasion the female disciples of Jesus go to his tomb. Luke uses the literary technique of parallel building on any occasions. Here he composed the event of the Ascension of Jesus in a manner that parallels the interaction in the middle of 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 just reading of both events will describe many similarities in the middle of both of them. The link tying both of these events together is the two men. They are introduced as the singular group of disciples are complex 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 descry 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 attentiveness is immediately settled 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 interrogate 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 improve 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 originate any serious mystery for our analysis. If the text were found some day not to be part of the traditional writing of the Gospel it would beyond doubt expand the similarities. Yet including it does not harm the analysis) The association in the middle of the sentence and the question, and that in the middle of the sentence and the listeners is the primary 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 association in the middle of the interrogate and the Sentences in Each Case
Question and reply to the Women
The interrogate shows something being done wrong: seeking for the living among the dead. The imperative sentence provides a Heavenly Correction. Timothy Johnson in his comment to Luke observes that in each case the challenge settled 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 inevitable 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 about his suffering and death. (see Luke 9:45, 18:34).
Question and reply 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 looking Jesus return soon, maybe even immediately. He suggests an incredibly interesting 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 hint 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 wide to be properly covered here. The notification the men give before the apostles about the Second coming sounds like a new teaching. But for the notification 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 notification 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 related 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 Anyone and thereby forgotten them, the two men could plainly 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 occasion to form other 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 increasing on the teaching about the Second Coming. In this manner the heavenly messengers expect the disciple to form the allowable hope of Jesus. The correction to the apostles then also has an implied mandate: 'believe this'.
In What Lies the correction to the Messianic hope of the Apostles?
To rule 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 beloved 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 looking Jesus go is very prominent because it determines whether we understand the action of Jesus as already having concluded or still in process. This in turn helps define the prominent 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 suitable 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 incorporate of others. The literal Greek says 'in the same manner as you saw him going '. The Greek verb for go is in the gift participle. This means that the action has not been completed, a completely separate meaning than when using 'as you have seen him go' or 'saw him go' or as in other translations. By using this allowable translation and grasping the significance of the type of action as not yet completed we can arrive at a good understanding of what the heavenly men said to the apostles. If the statement to the apostles uses the gift participle, then by logic the event of the ascension of Jesus cannot have been completed the occasion the two men came. This seems to contradict a lot of biblical interpretations. If this is correct, it Almost deals a death blow to the idea that the heavenly messengers plainly came to tell the apostles not to waste any more time and hurry up out of there. At what occasion then did these two men entered the scene? any just interpreters have brought attentiveness to how Luke recommences the process of ascension in verse 10 after having concluded it in verse 9. Luke uses the same gift 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 suitable 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 any separate 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 fancy that the occasion 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 uncomplicated mistake. Even those who settled the Greek Study Bible in Biblios.com fail in looking this primary distinction. They place a subtitle in this tube with the intention of helping students getting the central idea. The subtitle plainly 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 manufacture of a valid interpretation of the words of the men.
The literal, translation of poreuomenon as 'going' limits the definition of 'in the same manner' for now Jesus has not completed the ascension, and one prominent element of the messianic hope of the apostles has not been complex yet; namely, the cloud. If we understand the significance of this, we can clearly see the fancy the two men came to construe 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 beyond doubt what has the apostles retention a wrong understanding of the Second Coming. The manner the apostles expect the Second coming is in the cloud. By interfering with the apostles' attentiveness 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 complex so far in his ascension.
Once again the two men has no interest in clarifying Anyone to do with the time of the Second Coming. Moreover in Acts 1:6-7 the apostles concern about the time had been addressed already. Jesus unequivocally told them that the time of that event 'it is not for them to know about'. whether in their challenge or in their explication 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 about his time to come coming, they must gawk the manner in which Jesus was leaving the earth before the two men interrupted them. The apostles must gawk what they saw Jesus doing while 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 narrative Jesus doing while 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 beyond doubt 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 nearnessy of any cloud being complex in the ascension was at the last occasion as the means for final the event by hiding Jesus. And since the two men came to the apostles as Jesus was still going up, no clouds are complex 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 found something first. The teaching of Jesus of the Son of Man coming in a cloud is synonymous with the explication 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' habitancy who have come to be part of the Christian society calls them 'waterless clouds, carried along by winds'. This last tube seems to advise that clouds that travel fast straight 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 beyond doubt very interesting, I want to finish this compound 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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