The ascension of the Lord Jesus brings to mind a rather benign and pastoral scene. We see the Lord Jesus slowly leaving the earth with hands outstretched until a cloud takes Him from the view of his watching disciples. The book of Revelation, however, takes a much more dramatic approach to this event. An enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads awaits the birth of a child so that he might devour that child the minute it is born. But before the dragon can devour this child, it is snatched up to God and to his throne.

The enormous red dragon is that ancient serpent we meet in Genesis 3. His seven heads represent wisdom and his ten horns represent power. His seven crowns represent his authority, with which he deceives people. The woman about to give birth is figurative of the church of old in anticipation of the birth of Christ. The snatching up of the child to God and to his throne is the story of the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For all the drama of how the ascension is presented in Revelation there is also something disturbing. What is disturbing is that while Christ ascends unto the safety of heaven, the church is left behind to deal with the ongoing assaults of that ancient serpent. Do you see the paradox of the ascension? On the one hand Christ is caught up to God and his throne while on the other hand his followers are left behind to endure all manner of struggles and persecutions.

At first glance this turn of events seems alarming. But upon further examination it really is not troublesome. Being left behind is not upsetting for believers when two things from this chapter are kept in mind. One, the struggles and persecutions of the church come as a consequence of the great dragon being hurled down from heaven. He is hurled down because Christ ascended to heaven having defeated him by his death and resurrection. The suffering of the church is a reminder that Christ has gained the victory over sin and Satan. The attacks of Satan upon the church are fuelled by his rage that he could not devour the child and so as a last resort he makes war on the rest of the woman’s offspring, that is, the church of the new dispensation. We see him attacking in the different ways Revelation speaks of: the beast of the sea, which represents physical threat; the beast from the land, which represents spiritual deception; and the harlot, which represents material seduction. The church today is attacked from within and from without by these very things. But with Christ on his throne ruling all the nations with his iron sceptre, we know that He defends and preserves her against all her enemies.

There is something else that teaches us not to be disturbed by the ascension. It is the fact that God has prepared a place for the church in the desert. We are left behind, but by no means are we left alone in this spiritual battle. For what is the significance of the church being in the desert? The desert is the place where God’s people learn that He alone nourishes and cares for them. It is where the helpless are protected by God’s power and nourished by his Holy Spirit. When one thinks of the desert and the people of God, one thinks of Israel in the wilderness learning to live not only on the bread God provided but on every word that came from his mouth. The mouth of Satan constantly spews out lies in order to deceive the followers of Christ. Their refuge is found in the desert where they learn to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the ascended Lord Jesus Christ.

The paradox of the ascension underlines the key teaching of the book of Revelation, namely, that things are not always as they seem. It is not the ugly monsters of the book who are victorious. It is the child snatched up to God and his throne who is victorious. He is coming and He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. His name is King of kings and Lord of lords and all who are holding to his testimony will be snatched up to meet Him in heaven.