Transcript
“In the midst of a storm, a little bird was clinging to the limb of a tree, seemingly calm and unafraid. As the wind tore at the limbs of the tree, the bird continued to look the storm in the face, as if to say, ‘Shake me off; I still have wings.’
“Because of Christ’s resurrection, each Christian can look the experience of death in the face and confidently say, ‘Shake me off; I still have wings. I’ll live anyway.’”
Through Christ, we have victory over death. The post-resurrection appearances of Christ over a period of 40 days gave the apostles the confidence, boldness, and strength to minister as Christ’s witnesses and suffer persecution for His name. And the knowledge that Christ lives can do the same for us!
In Acts chapter 1, we learn more about what happened in Acts 2, by the things the risen Savior taught His disciples before He ascended to heaven and returned to the Father.
“To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).
Acts 1:3 is the only place we learn that the period between Christ’s resurrection and ascension was 40 days. The post-resurrection appearances during this time include:
- Near the tomb, seen by Mary Magdalene.
- On a road near Jerusalem, seen by the women returning from the tomb.
- On the road to Emmaus, seen by two men.
- To Simon Peter in Jerusalem.
- In the Upper Room, seen by 10 of the 11 apostles.
- In the Upper Room 8 days later, seen by all 11 apostles.
- By the Sea of Galilee, seen by 7 of the apostles.
- On a mountain in Galilee, seen by the 11 apostles.
- Seen by over 500 disciples.
- Unknown location, seen by James, the Lord’s half brother, and then by “all the apostles.”
- On the Mount of Olives, seen by the apostles.
During the 40 days after His resurrection, the Lord taught His apostles, ate with them, and showed them the scars of His crucifixion. He appeared again and again.
The sum total of all of it was “many infallible proofs,” numerous, undeniable, thoroughly convincing proofs. There was zero doubt that Christ rose from the dead.
This is the only place that the Greek word translated as “infallible proofs” is used in the New Testament. It means that from which something is surely and plainly known with absolute certainty.
It refers to evidence so incontrovertible that it could be used in a court of law. This was not circumstantial evidence. This was eyewitness testimony.
The Apostle John wrote in his first epistle, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).
Showing Himself alive by many infallible proofs for 40 days, the Lord was preparing His apostles to bear testimony to Israel that the One Whom they had crucified was undeniably alive and risen from the dead. The apostles’ message to Israel was that she should now turn to Him in repentance and faith and accept Him as their Messiah and the Son of God.
Acts 1:3 teaches that they BOTH saw and heard Him over those forty days. When they heard Him, He spoke “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
“Things pertaining to the kingdom of God” is a good title for the four Gospels and their theme and content. The earthly “kingdom of God” was Christ’s consistent and only message for the apostles to take to Israel.
Matthew: “But seek ye first THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
Mark: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into THE KINGDOM OF GOD” (Mark 10:25).
Luke: “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in THE KINGDOM OF GOD is greater than he” (Luke 7:28).
John: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see THE KINGDOM OF GOD” (John 3:3).
When you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you read about “things pertaining to the kingdom of God,” and Christ continued to teach and reinforce this with His apostles for 40 days after He rose from the dead.
The Lord had preached and told Israel that the Kingdom was “at hand” (Matt. 4:17), and this is why the Book of Acts is so important in our Bibles, because in it we learn why the kingdom Christ promised was temporarily postponed.
Acts 1:4-5: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
After referring to the infallible proofs of Christ’s resurrection and teaching in Acts 1:3, Luke relates a meeting the disciples had with the Lord in Jerusalem.
The risen Savior commanded them to remain in Jerusalem and to “wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me.” Prior to His death and resurrection, in the Upper Room, the Lord had told the apostles about the coming of the Spirit:
“But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (John 15:26).
The Lord reminded His apostles, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.” We find two baptisms in this one statement by the Lord, a wet baptism and a dry one, a physical baptism and a spiritual baptism.
The Lord taught the apostles that they were to be baptized or identified with the Holy Spirit. This is what happened in Acts 2. This baptism with the Spirit, however, was not the baptism of Jews and Gentiles into one Body.
Our baptism into Christ “by the Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13) is part of the revelation of the mystery, which had not yet been revealed during the time of the Gospels and early Acts and was still “hid in God” (Eph. 3:9).
The baptism with the Spirit the Lord referred to in Acts 1:5 was a baptism for miraculous power. In Luke 24:49 the Lord told the apostles, “behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the power to be witnesses of Christ and to testify effectively to His resurrection.
Their bold witness, accompanied by the ability in the Spirit to perform miracles in Christ’s name—casting out demons, raising the dead, speaking in tongues, and healing—gave undeniable testimony to Christ’s resurrection and identity as Israel’s Messiah.
The purpose for this was that Israel should believe in Jesus as “both Lord and Christ” and repent of crucifying their Messiah (Acts 2:36-38) as Peter preached at Pentecost in Acts 2.
In Acts 1:5, the Lord said the same thing that John the Baptist said when he foretold of Israel’s baptism with the Spirit in Mark 1:8: “I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”
John, however, gives the added detail that Christ would be the One Who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. In this, we find a contrast between Israel’s baptism at Pentecost and the Church’s baptism under grace.
At Pentecost, Christ was the Baptizer Who identified and joined those who had believed with the Holy Spirit.
Under grace, the Holy Spirit is the Baptizer who identifies and places those who have believed into Christ: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” 1 Cor. 12:13 says.
The order is reversed. In the first, at Pentecost, Jesus Christ was the One performing the baptism from heaven, and the One being used for the baptism was the Holy Spirit on the earth. In the second, under grace, the Holy Spirit is the One performing the baptism on the earth, and the One into which believers are being baptized is Christ in heaven.
These spiritual baptisms also have different results. The baptism at Pentecost resulted in power, miracles, and the ability to speak in tongues. The baptism under grace results in a living union with Christ and His Church, which is His Body.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit and His power was reserved for kings and prophets, and occasionally everyday people, if and when the Lord wanted to accomplish something extraordinary. The filling of the Holy Spirit was a rare gift and given only temporarily.
He filled and empowered certain individuals for a brief time and for a specific purpose and then departed. This baptism at Pentecost, though, was to be a permanent presence of the Holy Spirit. This was new!
However, it was also part of prophecy and the new covenant: “I am the LORD…And shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD” (Ezek. 37:13-14).
Christ told His apostles that this baptism would take place “not many days hence.” God had a timetable of observances for Israel under the law and her prophetic program. Pentecost means fiftieth and was 50 days from the Feast of Firstfruits.
Christ showed Himself alive for 40 days and then He ascended to heaven. Therefore, 10 days after Christ’s ascension, the feast of Pentecost took place and the Holy Spirit was sent in fulfillment of prophecy. It really was as the Lord said, “not many days hence” that they were to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:6-8: “When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
“And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Suppose you were given the opportunity to ask the Lord one question. What would you ask Him? Our questions would likely center around reassurance of our hope or maybe a “why did this happen” question. Or perhaps it would be, “When will the Rapture take place?”
In Acts 1:6, the apostles were on the Mount of Olives speaking to the Lord for the last time before He departed the earth, and we find their last question for Him and His response.
They asked Him about their hope: the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel. Believers under prophecy looked forward to that day when the glory of Israel would be restored in the earthly kingdom of their Messiah.
Throughout His earthly ministry, and during His 40-day post-resurrection ministry, the Lord spoke “of the things pertaining to the kingdom” (Acts 1:3).
In accord with this, the apostles had a question about “the kingdom of God.” Their question was “When? Will You establish it now?”
By their question, you see the apostles’ conviction that Jesus Christ is Israel’s Messiah. After spending over three years with Him, and seeing Him for 40 days following His resurrection, they fully believed it.
So they were simply wondering when His Kingdom would happen, and they were hopeful that it was imminent as they asked “…wilt Thou at this time?”
The apostles yearned for the day when the Messiah’s kingdom would be established on the earth, and Israel would be regathered to dwell in the Promised Land in peace and safety, with Christ, the Seed of David, ruling over them in righteousness from David’s throne in Jerusalem.
Likewise, when we in the Church think about our Blessed Hope and being caught up in the air to forever be with the Lord in heaven, we’re very much like the apostles in their question; our hope too is that it will take place sooner rather than later and during our lifetimes.
Notice also that the apostles’ question concerned the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel. That’s all they knew. They knew nothing of the Body of Christ.
And the Spirit coming at Pentecost wasn’t about the beginning of the Church but rather “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
When Christ told His apostles of the baptism with the Spirit, they concluded that the restoration of Israel’s Kingdom must be very near.
In the disciples’ minds, the coming of the Spirit and the coming of the promised kingdom were linked, because the prophetic Scriptures joined the two, as we see in Isaiah 32:15-18:
“Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high…Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”
Notice how the Lord answered their question in Acts 1:7. It wasn’t, “I’m not going to restore the Kingdom to Israel.” Their understanding of the promised Kingdom and that He would restore it to Israel as her Messiah was correct.
Christ’s answer was that it is going to happen, but when it happens is in the Father’s hands and under His authority.
An important condition had to be fulfilled before that Kingdom would come. That condition was Israel’s national repentance and acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah.
This never happened. Israel continued in her unbelief and rejection of Christ. And when Israel’s leaders stoned Stephen, she fell. Instead of Israel’s fall resulting in Daniel’s 70th week and the prophesied Tribulation, however, God turned to the nations and ushered in a previously unknown, hidden dispensation of grace.
And this present dispensation has delayed the fulfillment of the prophecy of Christ restoring the Kingdom to Israel.
It will happen one day though. Christ’s earthly Kingdom will be established, but not until after this dispensation has finished its course with the Rapture, and after the 7-year Tribulation. Only then will the world see Christ’s Second Coming and the establishment of the prophesied Kingdom of God.
They asked about the future, the Lord taught His apostles what they PRESENTLY needed to concern themselves with: being His witnesses in His absence in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that they were to receive on the day of Pentecost.
Like ripples that widen from the place where a stone is tossed into a pond, the apostles were commissioned to begin their ministry at Jerusalem, then the surrounding, southern part of the region of Palestine in Judea, then north to Samaria, and then “unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
This widening circle was the order for the commission the Lord gave His apostles.
The Lord’s commission for the apostles had a worldwide scope and outreach because God loves and has always loved the world. However, according to the prophetic program, it was for Israel to be a channel of blessing to the world.
Therefore, Israel needed to be reached first before they could be the light to the rest of the world. The plan for this commission was in keeping with Mark 7:27: “Let the children [of Israel] first be filled.” Only then were the Gentiles to be blessed.
Today under grace though, Gentiles are blessed in spite of Israel’s unbelief, because “through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:11). And in this age, there is no order of places for us to go to make the gospel of grace known.
We just go to the world and tell all people. “We are ambassadors for Christ,” and we beg anyone and everyone “in Christ’s stead” to “be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).
Acts 1:9-11: “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Did you hear about the guy who was a big fan of whiteboards? He found them quite remarkable. On the Mount of Olives, after the Lord gave them His parting commands and commission, “He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
The ascension was a REMARKABLE event, yet it is described so simply! The restraint which Luke used in writing this points to the inspiration of the Word, because it is not customary for men to handle such unusual and extraordinary events with such reserve.
Luke wrote that “a cloud received Him out of their sight.” In the past, Jehovah led His people through the wilderness as a pillar of CLOUD by day and a pillar of fire by night.
When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, “a CLOUD covered the mount.” And Exodus 24:16 says, “And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai.”
When Moses finished the Tabernacle “a CLOUD covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Ex. 40:34).
During Christ’s earthly ministry, when Peter, James, and John went on a Mount with Christ, He transfigured before them.
And Luke 9:34-35 says this, “While [Peter] thus spake, there came a CLOUD, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the CLOUD. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.”
This cloud that received Christ out of their sight was the glory cloud of God’s awesome presence and majesty. Christ returned to heaven where He had come from.
He had descended in humility and He ascended in glory, and the Shekinah glory cloud received Him out of man’s sight into the Father’s presence and to the right hand of God.
We must not anticipate revelation or read Ephesians into Acts. Christ’s ascension here was in fulfillment of prophecy, and the prophets had said nothing and knew nothing of the ascension of Christ to God’s right hand to be the Head of the Church, the Body of Christ.
The ascension as explained here was according to prophecy and “pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
His ascension to God’s right hand under prophecy was about God’s divine displeasure at the rejection of Christ and foretold the judgment to be visited upon His enemies.
Regarding the ascension, Psalm 110:1 reads “The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” Peter brings this passage up and applies it to Christ’s ascension in his sermon on the day of Pentecost.
Prophetically, the Lord ascended that He might send the Holy Spirit to empower Israel as witnesses of His resurrection, and to sustain her during the 7 year tribulation and in preparation for His return to reign.
Psalm 110:1 predicts a waiting time between the seating of Christ at God’s right hand “until” the Father makes Christ’s foes His footstool and Christ returns to defeat His enemies and set up His kingdom. This waiting time was going to be a short amount of time of around 8 years if everything had continued according to the prophetic timetable.
However, because of the current dispensation of grace and God turning to the Gentiles to have a program with us, this delayed the promised earthly kingdom.
After the Rapture, however, and then the 7-year Tribulation, the rejected Messiah will return to earth at His second coming to defeat His enemies at the Battle of Armageddon and establish His earthly kingdom, occupying the throne of David and reigning over Israel and the world from Jerusalem.
Now, humorously in my mind, the apostles were standing there looking steadfastly toward heaven with their mouths hanging open as the Lord went up.
And again without any expression of shocked surprise, Luke narrates the appearance of two men in white apparel.
These were angelic beings who appeared on earth in the form of men. It’s probable that these were the same two angels who appeared at the tomb in shining garments following Christ’s resurrection.
The two angels along with the glory cloud in this passage draws my thoughts to the Holy of holies and the ark of the covenant. When God’s presence was in the Holy of holies in the temple, the glory of the Lord filled it, and on top of the ark was 2 angels, 2 cherubims.
The angels asked the apostles, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?” Their question has the idea of “Why are you looking longingly?” Or “Why are you looking as if you’re losing someone?”
These two messengers gave the apostles assurance that Christ would come back to Israel, just as He had been taken from them: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, SHALL SO COME in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
And in like manner as He went into heaven, at the future Second Coming, Luke 21:27 reads, “And then shall they SEE the Son of Man COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).
He ascended from the Mount of Olives, at the Second Coming He will return to the Mount of Olives and His feet will stand upon it. He ascended visibly, He will return visibly and every eye shall see Him.
He ascended gloriously, He will return with power and great glory. He was received up in a cloud, He will return “coming in a cloud.”
He ascended physically, literally, dramatically, unmistakably, and He will return at His Second Coming physically, literally, dramatically, unmistakably.
But the Second Coming is not our hope. It is Israel’s hope. Our hope is the Blessed Hope of the Rapture prior to the 7 year Tribulation. And it could happen at any time.
Thus, we are taught to be looking for Christ every day. Philippians 3:20: “For our [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
After Christ’s ascension to heaven, the stage was set for the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit to be sent to Israel in fulfillment of Christ’s words as well as Old Testament prophecy. That’s what happened in Acts 2 and we’ll look at it in more detail in our next couple episodes.