6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Message: The Glorious Return of Christ
Time: Clearly written by Luke, this book follows the lives of Peter and then Paul after Jesus' ascension into heaven. The book was completed about 62 AD as Paul sat in prison. It provides an account of the growth of the Church and spread from Jerusalem, from a small group of frightened believers in Jerusalem transformed into an empire-wide movement of people who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and it should help us to be bold and have zeal in our walks with God.
What the Lord is Saying: In reviewing the subjects of eschatology, one subject that everyone seems to be able to agree upon is Jesus Christ's return. And this passage in Acts 1 is one of the clearest.
Acts 1 begins with the apostles witnessing Christ's return to the earth - over 40 days and speaking of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is inheriting eternal life. It comes about by receiving a gift by God through Jesus Christ. And it is the work of the Holy Spirit, as mentioned in verse 5 when it mentions being baptized with the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 6 the apostles follow up by wondering if the kingdom of Israel will be restored. The apostles are eager for the ultimate outcome. But then Jesus reinforces His words spoken in verse 5 the work of God's children, "You shall be baptized..." by saying that the time of restoring the kingdom of Israel is not for the apostles to know. The apostles do not need to know and we can find comfort in this and that God is in control of these outcomes.
Rather, the apostles have a responsibility - to be His witnesses. And yet this responsibility is not by their own doing. But rather in verse 8, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
They are wanting something, but Jesus instead says, salvation of His people is what is needed and God will not leave them stranded but instead through the Power of the Holy Spirit in their lives they will be able to preach the Gospel, usher in the kingdom of God. And ultimately this will probably result in what they are asking, for Israel to be restored.
I spoke to someone yesterday who was studying Eschatology and he was mentioning Christ's return and dates and I mentioned I don't study this much and maybe because I believe I need to heed these words - that those details are not for me to know or work on discovering, but instead I have a mission now and it is to preach the gospel. It is to get out God's truth. It reminds me that over and over that I can be deceived and people can be taking off course of preaching the gospel. We must guard against this. Jesus clearly tells the apostle their mission - be my witnesses.
The return of Christ is glorious. It is personal. He rose from the dead and spent 40 days with His people. He will do this again. He will be seen. The apostles saw Him personally and visually. And it is glorious. He leaves earth by a cloud. Exodus 40:34 -- Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. A cloud is there with the glory of the Lord. God is to be glorified. He raised Jesus and He brings Him out of the earth and so we can expect He will return again with God's glory.
The angels spoke -- This Jesus will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.
Summary: We can all agree that Jesus Christ will return. In the meantime, we are to focus on being His witnesses by the power of the Holy Spirit in us.
Promise: Do not be found idle upon Christ's return.
Prayer: O Lord, you are majestic and Your ways are perfect and true. Help me to stand by Your word and not to get distracted by other things, even things that may be about discovering You. I want to be faithful to the calling You have sent me to do. Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit and His power to do this work.
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