Isaiah 2 is one of many Old Testament passages that picture the role of Israel in God’s overall purpose for humanity.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it. (Isaiah 2:2)
Given the events that surrounded the resurrection of Jesus, it makes perfect sense for the disciples to ask Him if the Old Testament promises were coming to pass.
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
Power and Mission
The return of Jesus is something that is only known to the Father. What we do know is that followers of Jesus have the Holy Spirit and are called to be witnesses to the reality of Jesus.
He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)
I will frequently repeat Eduard Schweitzer’s words about the Holy Spirit in this study of Acts. He wrote, “All that Jesus was to His disciples, the Holy Spirit is to us.” The next part of Jesus’ agenda was to be taken out of sight, but He didn’t leave us alone. He gave us the Spirit to be our constant companion.
A witness is someone who truthfully testifies to what they know. People who have been delivered from this world’s destructive system and have become members of God’s rule know what sort of difference that transformation makes. In the Spirit’s power, we are to tell others what happened to us.
Acts traces the movement of the Spirit-empowered witness from Jerusalem and Judea (chapters 1-7), to Samaria (chapter 8), and beyond (the remainder of the book).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit enables us to produce the fruit of the Spirit and to witness. The fruit of the Spirit makes our testimony about a relationship with Jesus attractive to others. Imagine what the response would be if the fruit of the Spirit were present in the majority of Christians today.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The Ascension
The cloud in the Old Testament always represents God’s presence. As Jesus was speaking to His followers, the cloud of God’s presence lifted Him to the right hand of His Father.
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9)
The baptism of the Holy Spirit was possible because Jesus ascended to rule from on high. Paul pointed out a blessing that people like us can experience because of God’s amazing grace.
We were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else, but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:3-6)
Not only was Jesus raised up to a position of power, but His followers are raised to sit with Him in heavenly places. Truly, salvation is deliverance from the world’s system so we can live as citizens of God’s kingdom.
The Between Times
Jesus gave the church the power of the Spirit to make witnessing—through a Jesus-kind-of-life and testimony—our main mission. We live between the times of the already (the coming of the kingdom through Jesus) and the not yet of the kingdom’s full realization.
The angels assured the disciples that though the kingdom may be in the not yet phase, it would still be realized.
While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)
As we live between the times, our job is simple: we are to show the world through word and deed the transformation that takes place when we leave the kingdom of this world and become servants of God’s kingdom.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 1:6-11 on YouTube today.
Real Voices 