Letters from Adina - #39

Letter XXXIX. The Ascension of Jesus.

“Why gaze ye up into heaven, ye men of Galilee? This same Jesus whom ye have seen go into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have now seen him ascend.”

Bethany, Forty Days after the Resurrection. 

Dear Father,

With joy that nearly deprives me of the power to hold my pen, and with trembling fingers that make the words I write almost illegible, I make known to you the wondrous event which will mark this day for all time as most worthy to be noted among men.

On the fortieth day, my dear father, early in the morning, He left the house of Mary and Lazarus, where He had sat watching with us all night, speaking to us of the glories of heaven, and the purity of heart and of life that must be possessed by all who should enter it.

“Lord,” said Martha, as he went, “whither goest Thou?”

“Come and see,” He answered. “Whither I go ye shall know, and the way ye shall know; for where I am ye shall also be, and all those who believe in me.”

“Lord,” said Mary, kneeling at His feet, “return at noon, and remain with us during the heat of the day.”

“Mary,” answered Jesus, “I am going to my father’s house. There thou shalt one day dwell with me in mansions not made with hands. Follow me, and thou shalt know the way thither.Through temptation I have first trodden it, through suffering, through death, and through resurrection from the dead. Thus also must thou and all who love me follow me. To my friends, the’ gate of the tomb opens into the world of life eternal.”

Thus speaking, He walked slowly forth towards the hill of Bethany, not far from the place where Lazarus was buried.

He was followed not only by Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and John, my cousin Mary and myself, each of us expecting from his words and manner, that some new and great thing would come to pass; but by all the disciples, who had presently joined him near the place of burial at the foot of the hill.

There were at least five hundred persons in all, moving on with Him ere He reached the green hill-side beyond the village; for all followed Him, expecting to hear more glorious tidings from His lips of the life beyond this.

“He goes to the hill to pray,” said one of His disciples. “Nay,” said Peter, “He prays not since His resurrection as before. He has no need of prayer for Himself, who has conquered sin, Satan, death, the grave and the world.”

“He goeth to show us some mighty miracle, from the power and majesty that dwelleth in His face,” said Thomas to me, gazing upon the Lord with awe; for each moment as He went His way up the hill, His countenance grew more glorious with a certain godlike majesty, and shone as the face of Moses descending from Mount Sinai.

We all drew back with adoring fear, and alone He proceeded onward, a wide space being left by us between ourselves and Him.

Yet there was no terror in the glory which surrounded and shone out from Him; but rather a sacred brightness, that seemed to be the very light of holiness and peace.

“Thus He appeared,” said John, to us, “when we beheld Him transfigured in the mount with Elias and Moses.”

The hill, which was not lofty, was soon surmounted by our Lord. He stood upon its summit alone.

We kept back near the brow of the hill, fearing to approach Him, for His raiment shone now like the sun, while His countenance was as lightning.

We shaded our eyes to behold Him. All was now expectation, and looking for some mighty event—what it should be we knew not!

John drew nearest to Him, and upon his knees, with clasped hands looked towards Him earnestly; for he knew, as he afterwards told us, what would come to pass; Jesus having enlightened him the night before.

Joyful tears were on his face as he gazed, with blinded eyes - as a man gazes at the noon-day sun - upon his Divine Master.

It was a sight, dear father, impressive beyond expression. The hill was thronged with an expectant, awe- stricken multitude, who knew not whether to remain or fly from the glorious majesty of the presence of the Son of God.

The blue sky spread out its mighty arch above the hills with but a single cloud. At the foot of the hill towards the holy city, lay the gardens of Gethsemane, where Jesus loved to walk, and where He was taken. Jerusalem, with its towers, pinnacles, palaces, and gorgeous Temple, glittered in the distance; and Calvary, studded with fresh Roman crosses, stood out to view in the clear air.

The tall cypresses which grew above the tomb of Joseph, where He had lain, were also visible. Jesus seemed for a moment to survey these scenes of His suffering, of His ignominy and death, with the look of a divine conqueror. He then turned to His disciples and said -

“Ye have been with me in my sorrows, and you now shall behold my glory, and the reward which my Father doth give me. To-day I go from you and ascend to my Father and your Father. Remember all things which I have taught you concerning my kingdom.

Go forth and teach the glad tidings of salvation to all men, and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Thus speaking, in a voice that thrilled every heart with joy unutterable, He stretched forth His hands above their heads and blessed them, while all fell down also, with our faces to the ground, to receive His blessing.

He then lifted up His eyes to the calm blue depths of heaven, and said -

“And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self - with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”

As he spoke, we raised our faces from the ground, and beheld Him rising from  the earth, ascending from the hill-top into the air with a slow and majestic motion; His hands outspread over us who were beneath as if shedding down blessings upon us all.

The loud shout of wonder which arose from five hundred voices at seeing Him soar away into the sky, was followed by a profound and awful silence, as we watched Him rise and still rise, ascending and still ascending into the upper air, His whole form growing brighter and brighter, as the distance widened between Him and the earth.

Upon our knees, speechless and marvelling, we followed His ascent with our amazed eyes, not a word being spoken by any among us; but our hearts might have been heard beating in the wonder of that moment.

Lo! in the far off height of heaven, we beheld suddenly appear a bright cloud, no larger than a man’s hand, but each instant it spread and grew broader and brighter, and swift as the winged lightning, descended through the firmament, until we beheld it transformed into a glittering host of angels, which no man could number, countless as the stars of heaven.

As these shining legions descended, they parted into two bands, and sweeping along the air, met the ascending Son of God in mid sky! The rushing of their ten thousand times ten thousand wings, was as the sound of many waters.

Surrounding Jesus, like a shining cloud, they received Him into their midst, and hid Him from our eyes, amid the glories of their heavenly splendor.

Now came to our ears the sounds of the angels’ song, a sublimer strain than earth ever heard before.

While we stood gazing up into the distant skies, hoping, expecting, yet doubting if we should ever behold Him again, two bright stars appeared, descending from the height of heaven towards us.

Immediately we saw that they were angels. Alighting on the place Jesus had left, they said to the eleven – “Why gaze ye up into heaven, ye men of Galilee? This same Jesus whom ye have seen go into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have now seen him ascend.”

Thus speaking, they vanished out of our sight.

There is now, no more condemnation of those who believe in Him and accept Him; for in His body He took our sins, and His precious blood, as that of a lamb without blemish, hath cleansed them forever.

Doubt not that He is Messias. Hesitate not to accept Him; for in Him is the fulfillment of Moses, and of the Law, and of the prophets. He is the very Shiloh who should come and restore all things - unto whom be glory, power, dominion, majesty, and excellency evermore.

Your loving daughter,

Adina

Next Letter

LADY DONNA PROGRAM

The new Lady Donna Immersion in Spirituality, Academics and Citizenship @ the "I AM" School will study abridged excerpts of the Letters from Adina taken from Reverend Ingraham's original edited version of 'The Prince of the House of David', published by Cassell & Co. Ltd (1903), that reveal remarkable insights into the Living Etheric Record left by Beloved Jesus's Ministry in the Holy Land.