P. Derek Overfield PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

The account in Acts 1 also seems to be
Gnostic Epistu1a Aposto10rum 51: 91
And after he had said this and had
ended the discourse with us, he said
again to us, "Look! after three days
and three hours he who sent me will
come that I may go with him". And as
he spoke there was thunder and lightning
and an earthquake, and the heavens
divided and a bright cloud came and
took him away and we heard the voice
of many angels as they rejoiced and
praised and said "Assemble us, 0 priest,
in the light of glory". And when he
had come near to the firmament of
heaven we heard him say "Go in peace".
Although the words underlined are dependent on Acts 1:9,
the citation does not seem to know of any period of
40 days between resurrection and ascension. Here the
ascension, although different from the resurrection,
takes place on Easter Day itself.
In this description
there is an obvious combination of theophany and the
NT accounts of both resurrection and ascension.
The last reference that demands our attention takes us
back to the theology and thought-forms of Ephesians.
Here we refer to the Coptic De Resurrectione (= Epistle
to Rheginos) 45:24-28 where we read: 92
Then therefore, as the Apostle said,
we suffered with him and we rose with
him and went to heaven with him.
behind the description of the ascension in the anti­
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