Ascension and Descension

Luke, an eminent Ancient Near East historian, was the only Bible writer to take on this important task: he wrote about the life of Jesus, and he connected it to his account of the life of the church which Jesus ushered in. The end of Luke's gospel and the beginning of Acts is the connecting account. There, Jesus is about to ascend. He has already told them that he must go for the Spirit to descend. The promised descent of the Spirit of God would usher in the kingdom of God in a special way. The time of promise was to become the time of the church. In this gospel age, we who are Christ's are also baptized with the Holy Spirit, and although our role is slightly different from that of the apostles, we are like them endued with power from on high for the purpose of serving God.