“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.” So says an angel to the disciples as they watch their Lord depart. But we must always remember this departure is not permanent. On the one hand, Christ is with us, even till the end of the age, through the presence of his Spirit within us. On the other hand, the Ascension is in some sense nothing but a foreshadowing of the Second Coming. He departs for a time, until the fullness of the ages, until the fullness of the gentiles are gathered in, until the ark of the Church is filled with its passengers: and then the end will come as he reappears in the same way that he left on that day two thousand years ago.
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