The Chapel of the Ascension, Jerusalem

The Chapel of the Ascension and Surrounding Courtyard

• The Traditional Site of Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven
• Site of the Byzantine Imbomon Church (Church “On the Hill”)
• Current location of the Crusader-period Chapel of the Ascension

Biblical events remembered here:  
(1) The ascension of Jesus into heaven forty days after his crucifixion and resurrection;
(2) The return of Jesus with his people at his second coming.

Possible historical site of:  
(1) The Jewish fire signal used to announce the sighting of the new moon,
(2) The burning of the red heifer to produce the ashes used for cleansing from the impurity of contact with the dead,
(3) The burning of the sin offerings offered up on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). 

The Angel of the Lord: A List of Verses

One of the most important contributions of the early Jewish-Christian community to our understanding of Jesus is the connection they made between Jesus and the Angel (or Messenger) of the Lord.*  This mysterious being appears in several places in the Hebrew Bible.  He has the appearance of a man, yet speaks and acts like God.  This identification was an important early step in the development of the idea of the Trinity:  that the Angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Word of God, is God himself, yet is distinct from the Father.