John 6 they therefore rejected it." Jesus' response, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? (John 6:60-61) could be interpreted as: or it could mean William Robertson Nicoll suggests that "the second interpretation gives the better sense: you will find it easier to believe I came down from heaven, when you see me returning thither". In John's Gospel, Jesus' ascension "to where he was before" takes place through His death and resurrection: the Ascension on the Mount of Olives 40 days after Jesus' resurrection is not recorded in John's Gospel.
Entering Heaven alive and ancestor of Noah. The Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between "The Ascension", in which Christ rose to heaven by his own power, and "The Assumption" in which Mary, mother of Jesus, was raised to heaven by God's power. (Enoch and Elijah are said in scripture to have been "assumed" [experienced assumption] into heaven.) On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII, acting "ex cathedra", issued "Munificentissimus Deus", an authoritative statement of official doctrine of Roman Catholicism. In Section 44 the pope stated: The doctrine is based on Sacred Tradition that Mary, mother of Jesus, was bodily assumed into heaven. For centuries