Ascension Day and PentecostWhen is Ascension Day? Ascension day is the 40th day of Easter and is after the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day. This year it falls on Thursday, 29 May.According to tradition, Ascension Day was first celebrated in 68 AD, however the first written evidence of the Ascension Day Feast occurred in 385 AD.
What is Ascension Day?You will find the Biblical accounts of the Ascension in Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11. The Ascension of Jesus is the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God. The well-known narrative in Acts 1 takes place 40 days after the Resurrection: Jesus, in the company of the disciples, is taken up in their sight after warning them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit; as he ascends a cloud hides him from their view, and two men in white appear to tell them that he will return "in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."This Christian festival may also be known as The Feast of the Ascension, The Ascension of Jesus, Ascension Thursday or Holy Thursday. Pentecost This year, Pentecost is on Sunday, 8 June and follows 10 days after Ascension Day. As detailed above, the event was foretold by Jesus before His Ascension. Pentecost (meaning "the fiftieth day") is a Christian holiday commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After the Ascension, the Apostles had felt lost and alone. So they were strengthened and able to face anything after they were gifted with the Holy Spirit. They were ten able to speak in many languages and also received other spiritual gifts. .
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