Mark 16:19-20
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Being that the New Testament was originally written in Greek, we shall study this scripture using Strong’s Greek Lexicon as our guide. We look to the Greek language because during the years the New Testament was written between 50 and 100 A.D., Greek was the language of scholarship and academia.
In this verse of scripture according to Strong’s Greek Lexicon, “the right hand” in English is translated from the Greek word dexious. Dexious according to Strong’s is defined as:
Dexious. dex-ee-os’; from G1209: the right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usually takes): — right (hand, side).
Scholars give two definitions for this word dexious. The first definition is a literal definition and is stated as the right (direction) or the right hand (physical attribute). The second definition scholars give to this word is a metaphorical definition. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. A metaphor is a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract. The metaphorical definition for the word dexious is stated as a place of honor or authority.
The Word of God supports this metaphorical definition of the right hand being a place of honor and authority.
Genesis 48:13-20
13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus, he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Psalm 118:14-16
The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. 16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
An abstract object is something you cannot perceive with your five senses: Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound. God who is spirit (John 4:24), by this definition, is something abstract. Heaven, the place where God dwells, by definition is also something abstract.
It stands to reason and is logical that in this verse of scripture, “the right hand” of God is not referring to a literal place but a metaphorical place of honor and authority. This place of honor and authority is where Jesus Christ is seated in Heaven.
Hebrews 1:3
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
In this verse, it states that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. If we look at the Greek Words and their definitions just as we did with Dexious (the right hand), we get a better understanding of what the author was conveying.
“sat down (Kathizo) at the right hand (Dexious) of the Majesty (Magalosyne) on high (Hypselos)”
Kathizo, kath-id’-zo; another (active) form for G2516; to seat down, i.e. set (figuratively, appoint); intransitively, to sit (down); figuratively, to settle (hover, dwell): — continue, set, sit (down), tarry.
Dexious. dex-ee-os’; from G1209: the right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usually takes): — right (hand, side).
Megalosyne, meg-al-o-soo’-nay; from G3137; greatness, i.e. (figuratively) divinity (often God himself): — majesty.
Hypselos, hoop-say-los’; from G5311; lofty (in place or character): — high (-er, -ly) (esteemed).
In this exercise I would like to take the Strong’s definitions and translate this verse in different English words and still in a way that is consistent with the definitions of the Greek Words themselves.
Interpretation:
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when Jesus had by Himself purged our sins, settled and dwelled at the place of honor and authority of greatness, in the loftiest most highly esteemed place of God’s presence
As we read this interpretation, we form an understanding of where it is that Jesus ascended. We know that God is spirit and He is also omnipresent which means He is present everywhere at the same time. God’s spirit is everywhere, here on earth and at the same time in the heavens. What are the heavens and where was Jesus received up into in Mark 16, verse 19?
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Hebrews 4:14
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
2 Corinthians 12:2
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
In Genesis 1, verse 1 and in Hebrews 4, verse 14, the plural form “heavens” is used to indicate there is more than one heaven. In 2 Corinthians, verse 2, Paul tells us how many heavens there are when he said the third heaven.
What are the three heavens that Paul is speaking about here in this verse. This is important so we can truly understand the meaning of the right hand of God.
The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven which surrounds the earth and holds the air that we breathe. The second heaven is the celestial heaven or what we refer to as outer space. It is the space where the moon, planets and stars are located. The third heaven is the home of God where He dwells. It is outside of the universe that is bound by time and space. The third heaven is eternity. It has no beginning and no end and has always been. The first and second heavens were created in the beginning by God who dwells in the third heaven.
1st Heaven – James 5:17-18
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
2nd Heaven – James 5:19
And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
2nd Heaven – Matthew 24:29
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
3rd Heaven – Deuteronomy 10:14
Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it.
3rd Heaven – Psalm 148:4
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
We have understanding about the heavens and we know the third heaven is eternity where God dwells. We know that it is the third heaven that Jesus Christ was received up into. We know He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. What is the right hand of God? The right hand of the throne of God is the highest place of honor and authority in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Hebrews 12:2
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus Christ is not physically and literally sitting at God’s right hand. God is spirit and does not have a physical right hand. The right hand is not referring to a literal direction here either. It is not to the right of God. Jesus Christ is seated at the metaphorical right hand of God which is the highest place of honor and authority in the Kingdom of Heaven, in eternity. God who is spirit, only made Himself one body. He made this one body when He manifested Himself in the flesh as Jesus Christ. Just as you an I would put on a coat or a robe, God made a robe of flesh and covered Himself with it. God who is spirit without body or blood needed a body and blood to offer Himself up as a sacrifice for the salvation and redemption of the human race.
John 1:1-4
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
The only body God has is the body of Jesus Christ, the body that was created when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus Christ. Being there is only one body of God, then there is only one right hand (physical attribute) of God and that right hand belongs to Jesus Christ. Therefor, Jesus cannot be sitting at the literal right hand (physical attribute) of God because His own hand is the literal right hand of God. Jesus also cannot be sitting to the literal right (direction) of God because how can Jesus, who is God manifested in the flesh or Immanuel, God with us, be sitting to the right of His own self.
Mark 16:19-20
So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
The “right hand” of God in Mark 16, verse 19 is not a literal direction or physical attribute. It is the metaphorical place where Jesus Christ ascends up into. The right hand of the throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven is the Most-High place in eternity where God dwells as Jesus Christ.