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"And it came to pass while He blessed
"And when He had spoken these
them, He was parted from them, and
things, while they beheld, He was taken
carried up into heaven."
up; and a cloud received Him out of their
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 and
"And they returned unto Jerusalem
returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and
from the Mount called Olivet, which is
were continually in the temple praising
from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
and blessing God."
And when they were 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 marvelous opening up of the O.T. 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 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).
At the end of Gentile dominion "shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed". Daniel saw in the night visions, and beheld:--
"One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of
days, and they brought Him near before Him; and there was given Him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve Him. His