A question and then ascension

Good morning. It is really great to be moving into the Acts of the Apostles. I've really been excited about not only just going through it step by step, but also looking ahead and just seeing the great changes that the Lord made in the lives of the apostles. Certainly, Acts focuses primarily on Peter and on Paul. but in all of their lives radical changes and the Lord moved in wonderful and miraculous ways. One of the things that I have considered is because I like to have a dramatic presentation rather than relying on pictures and artwork and that sort of thing in great part. We're going to be making use of a movie that was made of the Book of Acts back in 1994.

And hopefully, we'll get past some of the big names and the associations there. For example, Dean Jones plays Luke. And hopefully, you're not just always reminded of the Herbie movies when you see that. And we'll also have James Brolin as Peter. And hopefully, you won't be thinking about Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure, right? So at any rate.

But in Jennifer O'Neill as Lydia, if there are ever actors with issues, she's one of them. She is a believer, as was Dean Jones, who went home to be with the Lord a little over a year ago. James Brolin, not sure about him. Jennifer O'Neill, I say actors with issues, been married nine times. She did become a believer, and she's written a book, 2004, From Fall to Forgiveness. So she's a genuine believer and really knows the Lord.

So anyway, others in the movie are lesser knowns, and that's fine. will also be, because they made the movie in Tunisia and Morocco and South Africa, will occasionally from time to time be kind of correcting some of the background. For example, they show this as the two angels described as men. in the passage we'll look at today. And while that's some background that they use there, the actual background looks more like this. I have about 10,000 black and white early photos before things got changed in the modern times that I draw from in order to say, okay, this is what it really looked like as opposed to the background that they'll use. So, we'll be adventuring through the Acts of the Apostles here.

The Apostles, of course, were given multiple miraculous gifts, and they were able, as a kind of a super gift of being an apostle, to draw upon all the various spiritual gifts that were given, including miraculous ones. That didn't mean that they knew everything ahead of time. I think that's an important perspective. They had a variety of surprises come upon them. rather constantly.

They didn't know, for example, we got a picture of the crowd gathering at the Day of Pentecost. They didn't know what day the Holy Spirit was going to be given. They didn't know what it would look like What would they experience? What would happen when the Holy Spirit was given? They didn't know that in advance.

There were also new circumstances that kept cropping up along the way, and we'll point those out. They went into new cultures and political realms all the time. Even though what we see is within the Roman Empire, there's still a lot of different leaders and different kinds of leaders. in the political realms in which they went, and lots of different cultures that they went to as well. But God did things in ways that the apostles had never seen before. So they were constantly going into new situations. I think that's something we can look at and anticipate, is that they're learning how do I convey the gospel in this situation, in that situation, among these people. And we find that they actually did a marvelous and amazing job considering they were constantly being surprised by what they encountered. God revealed truth through them never before known or told. New things.

So today's passage, Acts 1-11, is the end of Christ's coming in ministry on the earth. We'll see that, the last appearance of Christ in his ministry on the earth. And even at that, it's after he is resurrected. It's his last time physically with the disciples.

And it's just 10 days before the beginning of the church, that is towards the end of the passage. 10 days before the beginning of the church, the body of Christ. We know that now, the disciples didn't know that. They didn't know when the Holy Spirit would be given and when this church would begin.

It marks the ending, and this is big, the ending of the principle of the law through the law of Moses as accomplished by Christ. It is because of Christ's death on the cross that we died to the law. Every single one. Every single law. We died to the law and to the principle of law. That was accomplished by Christ. It was accomplished on the cross. And it's just 10 days before the beginning of the principle of grace.

The reigning principle, as we call in Romans 5.21. And so grace comes in, total, complete, absolute grace. It's the operating system for the church. And that was about to come in, and they were to learn about what that meant.

Here's Acts 1, 1, and 2, which we looked at last week. The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom he had chosen. So this first account that we've been looking at for actually two years, can you imagine that? Dr. Luke had written this first account to Theophilus.

He described the people and events from before the birth of John the Baptist, not just before the birth of Christ, but before the birth of John the Baptist, to the ascension of Christ, and that was the whole gospel of Luke, as we call it. So Luke had written that entire account to Theophilus, addressing it to him, and that account So in this account in Acts, Dr. Luke will have a crossover point, providing more detail about Christ's ascension. He had put that very succinctly at the end of the Gospel of Luke, but he's going to give us detail, we'll be looking at this morning, about Christ's ascension. Then he'll move forward in time from there, starting with the time of waiting for the Holy Spirit. What do you do while you're waiting for the Holy Spirit to come, right? So that's what this next passage is going to be about.

Here's Acts 1.3, to these he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proves appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Now one thing, and of course we've seen this in detail in the Gospel of Luke, Christ had been crucified.

This was a complete and total shock to these men. They were shocked, they were stunned, they were horrified, They were dismayed. They were disappointed. They had lost hope. And so Christ had been crucified. And these guys were still catching up to this. This was 40 days earlier that this had taken place. Christ was not the victim of people or circumstances, of course. He was instead a volunteer for his crucifixion, which the disciples couldn't understand either. Imagine Christ is going to be crucified and He says, essentially, let's do this. Let's do this.

And He did it because He loved you and He loved me. And He gave Himself deliberately for you and for me. And believe it or not, while the disciples were horrified and crucified, He did it for the joy set before Him. Isn't that stunning? That's amazing to ponder.

He was given a king's burial. He was buried with about a hundred pounds of burial material, including the cloth and the aloes, which we said was not the aloes like you typically buy today, but it's aloes, wood and spices. Typically, that would be more like about 30 pounds. And this, by the way, was also very expensive. So he was given a very expensive king's burial that only held him for less than two days in terms of actual hours.

He was raised early on the third day and he showed himself to individuals, to small groups, and up to 500 people at one time. And many saw him multiple times over a period of 40 days, especially these disciples. Not one person, even among the followers, expected his resurrection. None of them expected it, and some even continued to doubt for weeks afterwards. They just couldn't believe what they were seeing and hearing. They eventually did, but initially lots of doubt. During the 40 days after Christ was raised, not only did he appear to many of his disciples and followers, he also appeared to his brother James.

Now, we have to remind you that Jesus' brother James and his brothers, all of Jesus' half-brothers, if you will, did not believe in Christ. John chapter 7. Did not believe in Christ, and as a matter of fact, they hated him. So when Jesus appeared to James, this is a radical change of perspective, change of emotions, right? For James to have come around and his brothers, as we'll see before we get to the end of chapter 1, and his brothers, and they all come from, I hate this guy and I want him dead, to being believers and a part of the church. That's a radical thing. James was so convinced by Christ that James and all his brothers became believers. And Christ spoke of many things, including the kingdom of God.

Here's Acts 1, 4, and 5. Gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised. Which, he said, you heard of from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. First of all, he commanded them. What did he say? Don't leave Jerusalem. See, previously, Peter had said, I'm going fishing. And others went up fishing with him. This time he's going to tell them, don't leave Jerusalem.

Stay here. Wait for what the Father had promised. And what's that? You'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Those things. He contrasted it there with John the Baptist who baptized with water. That was physical and symbolic. It meant that you identified with John's message. It was physical and symbolic.

The next big thing that's going to happen will not be physical and symbolic. The Holy Spirit coming upon you is not symbolic. It will be the Holy Spirit with the multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit, and you won't wait long. It will be a matter of days. He didn't tell them exactly how long. He didn't say it's going to be on the day of Pentecost. But just wait. It'll be a matter of days.

The Holy Spirit will come. He didn't tell them what it will look like when the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus had told them that the Holy Spirit would be sent on the night before he was crucified, as they were having the Last Supper. Here's John 15, 26 and 27. which was on May 2nd 33 AD when the helper comes whom I will send to you from the father that is the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father he will testify about me and you will testify also because you've been with me from the beginning so what Acts chapter 1 verses 4 and 5 tells us is consistent with this passage we just read in John 15 26 and 27 And one of the key things to look at this is that all three persons of the Trinity are involved with the beginning of the church.

Notice that? All three persons of the Trinity are involved with the beginning of the church. That's all of us together. The message of the New Testament is also that all three persons of the Trinity are deeply and intimately involved with each one of us.

Now, one of the things to realize here, there was a time for waiting and a time for action. You notice that? And that's true of us too. There is a time for us to wait and a time for us to act. There's also a time for waiting for God to act. And that was very clearly laid out by Jesus at this point. You need to wait and not act. You need to stay here. You know, wait until God acts.

The Holy Spirit will come. Turns out the Holy Spirit would be given on a day when thousands of Jews would be gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. But they didn't know that. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would be given to the disciples gathered there in Jerusalem. Then the gospel would go out to places far and wide. It was by God's design that it happen on that day, as we'll see. But for now, wait. Wait.

As we go through the book of Acts, we'll be seeing this word baptized, or some variant, baptized, baptizing, etc. Used in different ways and we're going to want to look at it very carefully at how it is used and what is meant Oftentimes Christians can get kind of depending on their background Sort of a fixed idea of what is baptized mean and we we need to go through the book of Acts looking at it carefully What does it mean in each context? Also, the Holy Spirit is given to new groups four times in the book of Acts and and once to an individual specifically mentioned, the word baptized is typically not used to describe the Holy Spirit coming into the hearts of people who believe. So that's very interesting. So as we look at that, we'll be taking a closer look and seeing what that means and how it's used and what's intended. What sort of picture should we have in our mind by the use of that word?

All right, so here's Acts 1.6. This is on May 14, 33 AD.

So when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? So the kingdom here means the reign of Christ following the second coming. John wrote about it being a thousand years long. And by the way, he's the only one who writes about it being a thousand years long. Six times in Revelation chapter 20. in which Israel will be in its land. That kingdom is also called the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the millennial kingdom, a term we sometimes use. And we'll have Christ as the king of Israel and as the king of kings and lord of lords over the Gentile nations. Specifically, that title is his rule and role over the Gentile nations.

Here we have a diagram, as you have on page two of your handout, or you should. This is showing in graphical form the first and second coming. And so we have the first coming, and here Christ is about to ascend in this passage we're looking at here. And then the church age beginning on the day of Pentecost, and then that continuing until the day of the rapture. I hope it's today, and I don't get to finish teaching.

And then follows the seven-year tribulation period, and then at the end of that, the second coming, beginning the, as it's called, the millennial kingdom, kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, or sometimes, as in this passage, just the kingdom. Following that is the new heavens and new earth and the eternal state.

Now, just to give you an idea, what did they ask to restore the kingdom to Israel? And what they were looking at when they used that word, restore, is looking back to the time of David and Solomon, when the nation of Israel was one, the nation of Israel ruled with no other over them. And so just to give some point of comparison, in the red here in this map, That's today's nation of Israel, including the Palestinian territories within it. So you get an idea of the size. When David and Solomon were reigning, the extent of the kingdom is shown by the yellow coloring there, which includes what is now modern Israel and the Palestinian territories. So much bigger it went all the way up to into What is now other nations including Syria and Damascus Damascus was under David and Solomon you imagine that okay and an area much farther to north to the north all the way to the Euphrates River for a small section there and So that's what they were looking to, but actually Genesis 15, 18 through 21 spells out the outline of the future nation of Israel, and Ezekiel 48 lays out the assignment by tribe within that outline, and it's a much larger area, not just the restoration, but of what David and Solomon had, but a much larger area encompassing parts of, or all of, eight different countries.

So, an amazing difference there. So, you can imagine here, put yourself in the place of these disciples. Here they are on this day in which the Lord is going to ascend. It doesn't sound from their questions that they understand that He's going to ascend, right? Moments after their questions.

Imagine that they understood only the gospel of the kingdom real clearly. It was clear enough that Jesus sent them out, and that's recorded in Matthew chapter 10. He sent them out to tell the gospel of the kingdom to people at two by two. Go out into the countryside and into the towns and cities and tell them the gospel of the kingdom. And they knew it and understood it and could preach that. And they went out and did preach that and came back and reported back to Christ what had happened.

The disciples did not, however, understand the gospel of substitution. That is, Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again. As we talked in our elective earlier, the content of the gospel. Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins, was buried, and rose again. That's the gospel. They didn't really understand that until after Christ was raised.

And in fact, they were still to learn more things about it after this time we're reading about this morning. So they were asking about the kingdom, because in fact that was a subject they understood much better. So they just wanted to get some clarification.

But put yourself in the place of the disciples. Okay, you've been going around with Christ for about three years, spending lots and lots of time listening to Him and discussing things, asking questions, And then this terrible, horrible thing happens where Christ gets crucified, and they actually bury him, and then he gets resurrected, and none of it was expected. And then come to find out that's exactly what God had in mind, and they're just in shock. They have this complete disorientation.

And now finally they're coming back to say, okay, that was all painful and very confusing, but are you going now to establish the kingdom for Israel? Are you back to that? And Jesus is saying, no. I've got something else, and then I'm going to leave. I'm going to tell you something real quick, and then I'm going to go.

So their question reveals what they didn't understand. but would eventually catch up to. They did not yet understand that they were to be central to a very different plan and entity than the kingdom. The church is not the kingdom. God is not building some invisible kingdom here among the church.

These 11 men would come to discover what they had signed up for over the years and decades that followed. How would you like to have somebody come up to you and say, OK, there's a whole bunch of stuff that's going to happen to you and you're going to find out about it and you're going to be radically changed and you're going to go out and change the world and you're going to have to commit your life to this. Sign here. With somebody covering the words that you're signing, right? It's essentially what he asked them to do.

These 11 men would discover what they had signed up for over the years and decades that followed. Here's Acts 1-7, again, May 14, 33 AD. He said to them, it is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by his own authority. One perspective that we get from scripture, and we get it from various places, is that the Father is the one who calls the time spans and critical moments of everything here on planet Earth. That's the Father's role.

Okay, now! Right? Not yet, not yet, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, not, not, not, not yet, now! Right? So it's the Father that calls all those critical moments and spans of time. There is much about those times that is not revealed in advance to us or anyone else.

God the Father has inherently the authority to set those specific critical times and the epochs of time. That's His to call. Here's Galatians 4, 4 and 5. When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that He might redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. There's a lot we could say about that, but look at this key thing. When the fullness of the time came. Time is passing and passing and passing, and now is just the right time. God sent forth His Son.

Do it now. Here's Romans 5, 6. While we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Do it now. At the right time. In the Jewish wedding traditions, the father would go tell the son, go get your bride. And similarly, the father will tell Christ, go get your bride. that we call the rapture, the taking up of the church.

Here's Revelation 5.9.

It says, worthy are you to take the book and break its seals, that's speaking to Christ, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. On earth, the tribulation period will begin after the rapture at the moment that the Antichrist signs a treaty that allows Israel to re-establish the sacrifices at the temple. In heaven, that tribulation period will be started when the Father hands the Son the scroll of seven seals. That moment, Christ is the only one worthy to open that scroll, break those seals. The Father calls the time in heaven.

Here's Ephesians 1, 9 through 10, and this is expanded and explained version, so it'll be different from what you have in your Bibles. He, the Father, made known to us in the church through the apostles and prophets the previously unrevealed mystery of his will according to his kind intention which he, the Father, purposed in Christ from the plan and perspective of God the Father's administration of all things, which we now know includes the church, toward the full completion and the final stage of the earthly times, that is, the summing up and the bringing into submission of all things in Christ in the Millennial Kingdom, including all the things in the heavens and on the earth.

Here's Acts 1.8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth.

Back when the disciples had been assigned to go out and preach the gospel of the kingdom, he told them, go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Do not even go on a road that leads to the Gentiles. This is a message only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel in Israel now. Here he tells them something quite different.

You'll be my witnesses here in Jerusalem where this starts. and Judea, the surrounding countryside, and Samaria to the north, and even to the remotest part of the earth. And we'll be exploring as we look at the apostles over the next couple of weeks, where did they end up in their last days?

Now for the one thing, the disciples were not to move ahead of time to do what God wanted done, and they were not to give it their best effort, and they were not to do it in their own strength or on their own. Jesus did not say, give it the old college try, go for it, right? Wait. As we make the point here with the graphic, a false start is not a head start, right? A false start is not a head start.

They were to wait until the moment when the Holy Spirit had come upon them, and He didn't tell them, here's what that's going to look like. He didn't tell them even when, other than to say, it'll be days from now. The Holy Spirit will empower them for what comes next, because that is what God wants. And by the way, the Holy Spirit has not asked you to do anything for which He has not empowered, enabled, and energized you to do it.

Same as for them. Here's John 15, 26 and 27 again. When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me, and you will testify also, because you've been with me from the beginning."

So the disciples were told in advance, what? That the Holy Spirit would come, that they would testify, and by the way, that's the same as bear witness, same Greek word. They would testify, bear witness of Christ, and then the Holy Spirit would empower the disciples turned apostles, to testify, that is, bear witness about Christ. They were also qualified to bear witness because they had been with Christ from the beginning. So they needed to be fully qualified before they began.

Here's Acts 1.9 After he had said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Now, notice he didn't say, okay, I'm going to go now. He just went whoop. After he just said these things, can you imagine their mindset? Look, we just asked you a question. We've got a lot more questions, right? And this whole confusing time of you getting crucified and buried and resurrected and all that, I mean, we've got to get some things settled here. And Christ doesn't say, now look, I'm giving you guys a five-second warning. I've just told you, the Holy Spirit's going to empower you. He didn't even say bye. Just whoop, right then. Gone.

Christ was lifted up. It's also said, or used in alternate words, he ascended or was raised up to the heavenlies. But there was good reason for Christ to be lifted up into the heavenlies as the disciples watched. Christ had to be raised up into the heavenly places so he could be seated at the right hand of the Father. So that he could carry out his high priestly ministry.

But wait, there's more! And it's not A middle-of-the-night ad, right? Okay. Now we're going to look at John 16, 5-7. Because that's, I think, a real relevant verse here. He had, in fact, said things that would have repaired them. But now I am going to Him who sent me, and none of you ask me where you're going. But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you."

So Christ in the heavenlies, seated at the right hand of the Father, carrying on His high priestly ministry is exactly what we need. That's exactly what we need. The Holy Spirit is coming to carry out His multiple ministries. And that's also exactly what we need, and exactly what they needed too. They just didn't know it yet.

Here's Acts 1.10, And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. And this, of course, is where I have the corrective slide to give you the proper background.

The Gospel of Luke at the end says that though Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives, it was on the side towards Bethany. This is Bethany as it was over a century ago, in 1880, colorized. And it gives you probably a better idea of what the environment looked like as Christ was ascended. So all eleven of the disciples were gazing intently as Christ was raised up into the sky.

And wouldn't you? I mean, it's not like, okay guys, five second warning here. You know, one, two, three, lift off, right? None of that. It's just, okay, I'm going to answer your question, even though it isn't the answer you were expecting. And not even a goodbye, just whoop, he's gone. And he was caught up in the cloud out of their sight. And they're going, wow, right?

But right then, as they're still looking up, these two men angels as we take them, appeared beside them asking why they were all gazing into the sky. It's very interesting that the angels who appeared to those who were coming to the empty tomb also asked questions. So I think that's an interesting point here. Angels come and they ask questions, not just inform, but they also ask questions. So why are you looking up into the sky?

These men were clothed in white and were standing right beside them. So we've seen men appearing as angels before. That's Luke 24, 1 through 7 is another instance. It's not the only one. And that's how they're described. These are just men, but apparently angelic creatures having always the appearance of a man. We don't have any description of an angel appearing as a woman. And by the way, you find me the passage that says that angels have two wings. Anyway, that's a separate assignment. Okay.

Acts 1.11.

They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. So Jesus didn't just vanish and vaporize, right? He didn't just dissipate. He was taken up from the eleven disciples on purpose. Leaving them was on purpose and for a purpose.

Not only would the Holy Spirit come soon, but Christ would come back. And that's what these angels have to tell them immediately after asking the question. So why are you looking up in the sky? He will come back bodily. He will even come back to the Mount of Olives. And at that time, he will establish his kingdom for Israel. Let's take a look at that.

Here's Acts 1.11, which is actually this. He will come again. This is fulfilled in Zechariah 14, 3 and 4.

Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on the day of battle. And that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. Same place, right? which is in front of Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley so that the half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. But the Lord will come again and what will happen? His feet will be on the Mount of Olives again. By the way, you know that earthquake fault that There it is, right there on the Mount of Olives. It's ready. It's ready for his return.

Now you have on page four, and we're not going to go through this in detail, but just a reminder that people talk about the Battle of Armageddon and it's really a campaign of Armageddon. It's eight stages within the campaign, begun by the assembling of the armies of the Antichrist in Har Megiddo, that is the Megiddo Valley, inland from Haifa, which is the port city now. Then there are those eight stages. The last of those stages is the victory ascent on the Mount of Olives. And what you see there is Zechariah 14, 3 through 5, that we just read a portion of here. That is a part of the campaign of Armageddon, and it's the last part. It's the last part. But Christ will come again, as the angel said, Just as you saw Him leaving, He will come again, and He will come again to the same place, the Mount of Olives.

Now, as far as we have any written record, the disciples would not know that they had been identified with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection for another 16 years. Imagine going through this thing, and they're just horrified that Christ is crucified. They're just completely despondent and utterly disappointed to see Christ buried. Totally shocked to universal unbelief that Christ would be resurrected. Not having any idea that in those things they were identified with him from his crucifixion, to his burial, to his resurrection.

They would not have any idea for about another decade and a half from as far as we can tell. As far as we have any written record, the disciples would not know about being identified with Christ's ascension that they had just witnessed and seeding until 27 years later. Can you imagine that? What's 27 years from now? Seems like a long time, doesn't it? More than a quarter of a century from now You imagine waiting that long to discover here.

I was horrified by this crucifixion Here I was just completely Dejected and despondent at Christ's burial shocked and stunned and unbelieving at his resurrection and then totally puzzling Christ just suddenly A sense. And to discover a quarter of a century later, after witnessing that, oh, do you mean I was spiritually identified with Him in that? I had no idea. Wow. What a thought. What a realization to come to.

We find also Christ also had to be in heaven so that we could be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. If that ascension which puzzled the disciples. Here's the angel saying, so why are you gazing up into heaven? Which actually shouldn't make us wonder. But here they are puzzled only to discover that Christ was ascended and seated and we with him. We're blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and that took 27 years to be revealed Wow Christ had to be Ascended and seated in the heavenly so that we had set our minds on things above Why else would you set your mind on things above right I Where Christ is, there in the heavenly places, were to set our minds. And so what puzzled them and what they didn't know and understand was something that's absolutely essential for us to know and understand. He had to be there so that we could be blessed there, in the heavenly places, in Christ, and so that we could set our minds on things above as a way of living.

The disciples are all going to see the Lord again. They are all going to see the Lord again at the same moment that we do. Isn't that amazing? They're going to see Him again, same moment we do. And we, the disciples, and you and me, will all come back with Him too.

Ever been to Israel? You're going to be there. Even if you've never been there physically. You've been there already, spiritually speaking. Even if you didn't get there on a jetliner. You've been there, spiritually speaking. You are going to come back with Him. Everything that happened that puzzled the disciples and baffled them, took them decades to come to understand. What an amazing thing. We'll see Him again at the same moment the disciples do, when He comes. Back, we're going to come back to that same place that He's coming back, that the angels talked about. We'll be with Him. Won't that be great? Let's pray.

Lord, we thank You for what You've revealed, what You've made known to us. We thank You for these truths that we can grow in. We thank You that as we look at how stunned and amazed these disciples were to learn these things over years and decades of time, that we too can grow in these things, learning in years and decades of time. And we thank you for that marvelous hope that we have and the knowledge that we will never stop growing and never stop knowing. Thank you for that. In Jesus' name, amen.