14
you'.
The Ascension
`And when He had spoken
`And it came to pass, while
these things, while they beheld,
He blessed them, He was parted
He was taken up; and a cloud
from them, and carried up into
received Him out of their
heaven'.
sight'.
(Notice how each supplements
the other. The Gospel tells us,
`He was parted from them',
but does not say how. Acts
adds
the
information
concerning `the cloud'; Acts
also adds statements regarding
the angels and the second
coming of the Lord).
The Apostles' return
`And they worshipped Him,
`Then returned they unto
Jerusalem from the Mount
and returned to Jerusalem with
called Olivet, which is from
great joy: and were continually in
Jerusalem a sabbath day's
the temple, praising and blessing
journey. And when they were
God'.
come in, they went up into an
upper room .... These all
continued with one accord in
prayer and supplication'.
Each separate item that we see repeated in this introduction is worthy of study, but for our present purpose we
must pass over everything else, and concentrate our attention upon the question of the apostles given in Acts 1:6.
The fact that Luke inserts the word `therefore' in this verse, shows that the apostles' question arose out of that
marvellous opening up of the Old Testament Scriptures mentioned in Luke 24:44 and Acts 1:3:
`When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again
the kingdom to Israel?' (Acts 1:6).
It is beyond the powers of any man to attempt what the Lord alone could do, but we are permitted to turn to
the same Scriptures that He used and see some of the references to the restoration of Israel and their kingdom, which
will enable us to appreciate the force of the apostles' question.
To cover the whole ground we, too, must begin at `Moses', but for the present let us be satisfied with a few
references from those prophets who wrote during or after Israel's captivity. To Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel said:
`Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and
glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He
given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all' (Dan. 2:37,38).