Father, please send your Son back to us.
Jesus' ascension into Heaven is one of the fundamental teachings of the Bible and we've quickly touched on it already, so here are some additional notes.
From what we are told it happened forty days after his resurrection, but it might have been forty days after his crucifixion (Acts 1:3). What we do know is recorded in Acts 1:9-11
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
From this we learn that Jesus was taken into heaven in a spectacular ceremony where (a) he was alive at the time, (b) people witnessed the event, and (c) we are told he will come back to earth in the same way – ie. people will see it.
Coming back to earth and people seeing it go hand in hand. It is a physical act, like Jesus walking on water. When Jesus appeared after his resurrection, he told Mary not to cling to him (John 20:17) and the disciples were given even more proof that he was not some sort of pagan spirit or ghost.
"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
and he took it and ate before them.
Luke 24: 39-43
Were people often go wrong is assuming that others go to heaven. When Jesus went to Heaven, people saw him and the Bible only records one other, Elijah (1 Kings 2:11) and again someone else witnessed the event - in this case Elisha. If people were going to heaven all the time then I'm sure airline pilots would have noticed by now!
There is one other possibile person who may have gone to Heaven - Enoch (Gen 5:24). It doesn't record that he went into Heaven, only that "God took him".
One example of this misinformed doctrine is the Assumption of Mary. This is based, not on biblical teaching but on Greek and Norse mythology – that those worthy will be given a place on Mount Olympus or in Valhalla. Resurrection versus Heaven became one of the main sticking points to 'selling' Christianity to the masses. As with all sales talk, people want it now, not later. It doesn't make any difference that it's incorrect, people don't want to wait. So switching teachings to include going to Heaven made Christianity much more marketable, which in turn got the Catholic church more money, which meant they could live in more expensive abbeys and have a better way of life without having to work for it. It also meant more power as they could influence the king and those in power. The fact this it's not biblical at all never bothered their conscience.
The Bible is very explicit in this. David was a "man after God's own heart" - Acts 13:22. We can't get much higher praise than that! Yet the Bible says he didn't go to heaven. It says it in black and white - "For David did not ascend into the heavens" - Acts 2:34. Peter knew of the Greek myths and he wanted to tell people that just wishing for something doesn't make it true. But instead of some boring afterlife stuck at the top of Mount Olympus he looked forward to a paradise on earth after we are raised at Christ's coming.
The Bible teaches we die,and we are raised by God at Christ's coming.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thess 4:16
These really are words to be encouraged by, because unlike pagan dogma, these are true.