Hello Richard:

You said:

1. Please explain why the Creed doesn't bring out the fact that Jesus didn't ascend into Heaven until 40 days later.
   
   It's interesting that you would see a need to have the Creed include the 40 days of Jesus'
   post-Resurrection appearances. As you know, the Creed only mentions the most basic points of faith about God necessary for salvation.
   
   Jesus:
   
   
• performed miracles
• preached amazing sermons, and
• prayed fervently for His disciples

all which are recorded in the Gospels and none of which are spoken of in the Creed.

I have never made the assumption that the Ascension happened immediately after the Resurrection simply because the Creed doesn't mention it. Perhaps others do jump to this conclusion, but it's not a necessary one to jump to.

You said:

2. Why does it say, in the Apostles' Creed, . . . He rose again from the dead?
   
   This is an interesting grammatical question. I think we need to see the word rose as meaning coming to life, and in His Resurrection, He came to life again. The first time, obviously, was in His conception. If one of my colleagues knows the Latin word for rose, that is used before its translation into English, this might become clearer.

Thanks,

Paul

Hi, Richard —

To rise means to get up. Or, to quote Merriam-Webster:

to assume an upright or standing position : get up from lying, kneeling, or sitting.

You rise every morning. Rise and shine! as they say.

Someone who dies no longer rises. Consequently, someone who did live, but died, and is now resurrected, rises again, i.e., get up again from a lying position.

Eric