The Ascension - Acts 1:6-11 - Comments by Mike Kines

The disciples asked Jesus about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. The prophets in the Old Testament had said that the kingdom would belong to Israel. However, Jesus told them that it was not the right time for that. He said that they would receive the Holy Spirit and be witnesses for him throughout the earth. This is the pattern we see in the book of Acts, where the gospel message spreads from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. This continues to happen today, especially with the use of the internet and social media. We want everyone to have the opportunity to hear and believe in Jesus so they can be saved. Acts chapter 1 verses 6-11, Hadon the cross, he had been buried, he rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples, and Jesus spent 40 days with his disciples after his resurrection before he ascended back to the Father. And right before he ascended back to the Father, he was having a conversation with his disciples and they asked him, when is God going to restore the kingdom to Israel? I remember the first time I read that, I was like, why are they, what are they asking him about a kingdom? And if you go back and you read the Old Testament, you'll find out that the prophets in the Old Testament, the prophets in Israel said that the kingdom would belong to Israel. And this was an everlasting promise that God made. The Messiah would reign over the kingdom of Israel and this would be an earthly kingdom. I talked about that the Messiah would sit on the throne of his father David and reign over the nations of this world. And we know that that is going to happen because the book of Revelation makes it clear that when Jesus comes back, he is going to rule the nations with a rod of iron. And the promises to Israel are going to be fulfilled. But at that time, it was not the right time. These disciples were unaware that there was going to be a 2000 year intermission between the time when Jesus came the first time and his return. So we're still waiting on the Lord Jesus to return. But when he does return, he is going to come back in the same way that he left when he ascended up into heaven. The disciples were standing there looking at him ascending into heaven and there were angels that came and spoke to these men and said, Jesus is going to come back in the same way in which he left. He's going to come back. He's going to just as he ascended up into heaven, he's going to return back to this earth in this class. He'll set foot on this planet once again. And so we're looking forward to that day. We're looking forward to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So those promises will be fulfilled in Israel. But Jesus told them at that time, he said, now is not the time to focus on that. He said the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit was going to come and they were going to be witnesses for the Lord, starting in Jerusalem and then Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. And that's exactly the pattern that you see of what happened throughout the book of Acts. This section here really shows us the pattern of how the gospel message progressed from these 12 disciples and spread out from Jerusalem throughout Judea and Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth. And of course, that has still happened to this day. And so in one sense, the book of Acts has never been completed. It still happened today. The gospel is still continuing to spread. And there may have never been a time like today where we have an opportunity to share the gospel with people using things like the Internet, websites and all types of social media to spread the gospel so that every person will have an opportunity to hear the message that Christ died for our sins and he was buried and he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures and that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So that's a message that we want to make sure that every person has an opportunity to hear and every person has an opportunity to believe the testimony about the Lord Jesus and so that they can be saved. Amen. Well, guys, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and the Lord give you peace.