Daily Thoughts from Acts: Jesus Is Coming! (Acts 1:9-11)

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”  (Acts 1:9-11 ESV)

Can you put yourself there, with the disciples, talking and walking with the resurrected Jesus until he starts rising into the sky?  What are you feeling?  What is going through your mind?  Are you scared, worshipful, confused, worried, full of joy?  The Master is leaving.  Now what?  Then suddenly there are two angels standing among you, announcing his return.  Seriously, will you take a few minutes to try to imagine this?

There can be no kingdom without the king.  And though it is acknowledged that a king can in some ways rule from afar, the promise of the Old Testament is that God will rule His kingdom from earth, personally among us.  With Jesus’ ascension into heaven it is apparent that the times or seasons the Father has fixed by His own authority for the kingdom to come are not yet.  And so the angels make clear that Jesus will return in the same manner as he left.

Are we to think of heaven as somewhere out there in the universe, in one particular solar system of some particular galaxy?  No, heaven must be “outside” of the universe, having existed before the universe began, in a dimension, most likely, that we cannot perceive.  The kingdom prophecy of Daniel 7 says the one like a son of man who will take the reins of the kingdom from the Ancient of Days will come on the clouds out of that heavenly dimension and defeat all his enemies and make them submit to him forever.

I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13–14, ESV)

In the meantime Jesus is ruling and accomplishing through the church the kinds of things this account of Luke’s will show us.  We are told elsewhere that Jesus is interceding for us while in heaven as well as preparing all things for his return (Romans 8:34; John 14:1-3).  But we are looking with great anticipation to the day Jesus returns the same way left – bodily, personally – but this time in a way everyone will see (Matthew 24:25-27) and no one can deny.  Come, Lord Jesus.