Christians, please help

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by LotC


What, like another planet?

Jesus has a human body. Of course, He is God.

But yeah, sure, another planet.

JM

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by LotC


So where did the body go then I wonder? He was physically resurrected and became immortal. He must still be physically out there somewhere, within the confines of our universe.

Well, you have to remember that Jesus's body was simply a way for God to become incarnate. So think of it like a costume. It's in heaven, in his closet, next to the Athena suit he wore during the Trojan War.

[Ben Kenobi]

A perplexing question popped into my head last night. When Jesus was resurrected and physically rose up towards the sky, where exactly did he go?

Two different things.

When he died he descended to the dead, ie to hell, where he rescued those held there since the beginning of time.

Then he actually comes back here. He appeared to the 12 and to the 500 as it's written in the gospels. He stays for 40 days in his resurrection body, and even eats a fish to prove he has a body. Then he ascends back to heaven.

The account in the Gospels talk about him rising in the sky until he couldn't be seen anymore.

Did he go into outer space, or did he just meander below the tropopause and float around in the clouds, where he remains to this day?

He went to heaven. Presumably heaven is another plane of existence not significantly far away from here in a physical sense, but one we cannot reach at present time.

If it's the former, did he go to another planet? If it's the latter, wouldn't an exhaustive search be in order? This one has me wondering. Any insights?

There is no need to search. He's always with us.

[Ben Kenobi]

Well, you have to remember that Jesus's body was simply a way for God to become incarnate. So think of it like a costume. It's in heaven, in his closet, next to the Athena suit he wore during the Trojan War.

Not true. When he returned you could still see the nail marks in his palm and the hole in his side from the spear they passed through him.

The neat thing is that the incarnation is permanent. Christ has that body until the end of time, and we will have a resurrection body too.

[Ben Kenobi]

I don't think the Bible says he physically rose up towards the sky, does it?

It does in Acts 1:9-11

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Luke 24:50-3

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Mark 16:19-20

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

In fact, no one witnesses the resurrection; they just find the empty tomb, and later Christ pops back in to explain what happened, kind of like the end of an episode of "Murder, She Wrote." I assumed the whole rising toward the sky thing was a trope of Western art and was merely symbolic.

Nope, it's just as scriptural as the resurrection.

[Elok]

Originally posted by LotC
I highly doubt that matter or energy could pass between universes. There's no evidence to support such a hypothesis.

Whereas five loaves and two fishes feeding thousands of people is well (with twelve baskets left over afterward) within the realm of scientific possibility?

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
He went rimward. To this day, he rides through space on the back of Great A'Tuin.

alright disc boy

[MikeH]

He didn't really rise from the dead. It's just a rehashing of a much older myth.

[Japher]

MikeH is right. He never really died, since he possessed eternal life, given to Him by God and then to those who followed Him through the Holy Spirit as mentioned and witnessed in Acts.

Thanks for setting us straight wise sage.

[MikeH]

It wasn't given to him by god, he is god.

[-Jrabbit]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

When he died he descended to the dead, ie to hell, where he rescued those held there since the beginning of time.

This is news to me. Ben, can you please cite the biblical reference for this?
Thanks in advance.

[Pekka]

Well, according to string theory, I believe Jesus went to Heaven, which is in another dimension. Thus he did not physically go upwards or downwards. He physically went to a parallel universe, probably didn't have to walk even a mile. I think this might be a dimension that is actually the 12th dimension, whereas string theory suggests 11. But this is the 12th dimension, the kingdom of God. So he didn't go up or down, scientifically, he just entered another dimension.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

as he is God he can traverse space and time at will but perhaps to make the exit memorable he went up first and than out... perhaps outright disappearing would not have been the best given the socio-cultural contexts of those fisherman back than

[Pekka]

Are you trying to say Jesus was PC? Blasphemy! You will die of thousands of illnesses in your butt!

[OneFootInTheGrave]

PC - why not... for the ones he works with he is definitely nice