Question: “I was teaching that Jesus was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth after his crucifixion. Didn’t He ascend initially to Heaven to release the captives from Paradise and to pour out His blood on the mercy seat in Heaven? Then He was back on earth showing himself alive for forty day? I don’t see the Bible being clear on this, but I think there must have been two ascentions.”
Answer:
The timeline after Jesus’ death on the cross is as follows:
- He descended into Paradise in the heart of the Earth. We know this because He said that thief that believed on Him would be with Him in paradise that same day. We also know Paradise is in the heart of the earth, not in Heaven, because of the teaching in Luke 16:19-31 about Lazarus and the rich man.
- He rose again from the grave three days after His crucifixion. This is proven in Matthew 28:1-6.
- He appears before men and His disciples for 40 days. We see this taught in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.
- He ascended to Heaven in front of His disciples. Acts 1:6-11 teaches this point.
I see one ascension of Jesus here. He ascended to Heaven after He appeared for 40 days to his disciples and to others. I hope this answers your question!