LESSON #1: GOING UP INTO HEAVEN TO COME AGAIN
"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)
Forty days after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven in the sight of the apostles whom He had chosen. Two men, either saints or angels from heaven, stood by them in white apparel and told them that the Lord Jesus would come again in like manner as they saw Him go into heaven. The Lord Jesus Himself testified to his beloved disciple John at the end of His revelation to him on the Island of Patmos, "Surely I am coming quickly." (Revelation 22:20) It is a sure thing that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again to the earth.
LESSON #2: RESTORING THE KINGDOM TO ISRAEL
"Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority." (Acts 1:6-7)
Before the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, His apostles asked Him whether He would restore the kingdom to Israel at that time. They knew that the Lord Jesus was the Christ who would restore the kingdom to Israel, that He was the King who would bring back Israel to its glory as a kingdom as in the days of King David and King Solomon. So, they expected Him to do so at that time. But, the Lord Jesus told them that it was not for them to know times or seasons which God had put in His own authority. It was not at that time that the Lord Jesus would restore the kingdom to Israel but at His return to the earth.
LESSON #3: NOT READY FOR THE KINGDOM
"He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." (John 1:11)
Why did the Lord Jesus not restore the kingdom to Israel shortly after He was raised from the dead? He was ready and qualified to be the king of Israel because when He died, He did not die for Himself but for the nation (John 11:51). In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Simon Peter said to the people of Israel, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36) However, Israel was not ready. Even after He showed them that He was the Christ for about three and a half years during His ministry, they did not receive Him. Therefore, He could not restore the kingdom to Israel at that time. A kingdom only can be established when both the king and the people are ready, that is, the king is ready to govern the people and the people are ready to be governed by the king.
LESSON #4: JESUS PRESENTING HIMSELF ALIVE TO THE APOSTLES
"The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:1-3)
Before the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He showed Himself to all the people of Israel to make them believe that He was the Christ, their king. But, they did not believe in Him. Instead, they rejected Him, and even crucified Him. Only some believed in Him and knew for sure that He was the Christ, especially the apostles whom He had chosen and some disciples. When the Lord Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16) These apostles faithfully followed Him until the end, except Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him. After the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, He did not show Himself to all the people but only to them, because they were the ones who believed and received Him as the Christ. Therefore, He spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God only to them.
LESSON #5: THE KINGDOM FROM HEAVEN
"Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore, He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return." (Luke 19:11-12)
The people of Israel thought when the Christ came, the kingdom of God would appear immediately. They had been waiting for the kingdom to be restored to Israel like in the days of King David and King Solomon. And, they thought the Christ would immediately do that when He came. But, the Lord Jesus explained in a parable that it would not be so. The Christ would indeed come, but He would go again to receive for Himself the kingdom. Only then He would return to restore the kingdom to Israel. The people of Israel did not think that the Christ would be God who became man. They thought the Christ would just be a man like king David. The people of Israel did not think that the kingdom that would be restored to them was the kingdom of heaven on earth. They thought this kingdom would be like the kingdom of the earth just like the kingdom of David and the kingdom of Solomon. The kingdom of heaven must come into the heart in a spiritual way first before it can come to the earth in a physical way. So, the Christ will bring the kingdom of heaven into the heart when He comes, then He will bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth when He returns. The people of Israel did not understand that.
LESSON #6: THE FATHER BESTOWING THE KINGDOM UPON HIS SON
"And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me." (Luke 22:29)
The Lord Jesus is the Son of the Father. As the Son, He was given a kingdom of heaven by His Father. He has been ruling in heaven with His Father. The Father’s plan was to expand this kingdom of heaven to the earth. To expand the kingdom of heaven to the earth, The Father needed to have a people on the earth to start with. So, He made a nation called Israel. One of the meanings of Israel is Prince of God, which is a kingdom name. Starting with Israel, The Father would then expand the kingdom of heaven to the whole earth. He prepared His Son to be the Christ, the king of Israel. To be qualified as the king of Israel, He must be an Israelite, live among them, serve them and in the end die for them. Therefore, He had to become a Man and prepare His people for this kingdom. After He died, He would have to rise again and go to His Father to receive the kingdom of heaven for Israel and then return to set up this kingdom on the earth.
LESSON #7: UNTIL ALL ISRAEL BELIEVE AND BE SAVED
"whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:21)
When the Lord Jesus went up to heaven after His resurrection, He received the kingdom for Israel. He was seated at the right hand of His Father as the Christ, the King of Israel, ready to return to the earth at any time to set up this kingdom. The only problem was the majority of His own people still did not receive Him as the Christ, their King. Only a small number of them believed in Him and received Him as the Christ. So, He sent them to proclaim to all Israel that the Christ whom they had been waiting for had come; that instead of receiving Him, they had rejected Him and killed Him. They also proclaimed to them that the Christ whom they killed had risen from the dead and prepared a kingdom for them. What they proclaimed was the gospel of the kingdom. When the people heard it, many believed, but still many did not believe. They rejected the proclamation and persecuted the proclaimers. Actually, Christ would have return immediately after He received a kingdom for Israel from His Father to set it up on earth if all of the people of Israel believed in Him when they heard the gospel.
LESSON #8: THE LORD JESUS’ LONGSUFFERING TOWARD ISRAEL
“Behold, I am coming quickly!" (Revelation 22:7)
Why did the Lord Jesus said to John His beloved disciple in his vision on the Island of Patmos that He would come quickly? It was because at that time more and more people of Israel believed in the Lord Jesus and received Him as the Christ. So, He was ready to come back to the earth quickly. But, why has not the Lord Jesus come yet? Where is the promise of His coming? The apostle Peter wrote, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord Jesus has been ready to come to the earth since two thousand years ago, but He has not come yet because He is longsuffering toward His people Israel, not willing that any of them should perish but that all should come to repentance and receive Him as the Christ, their King.
LESSON #9: PRAYING FOR ISRAEL TO BE SAVED
"Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." (Romans 10:1)
Recently, many churches all over the world have been talking that the Lord Jesus is coming very soon. However, the Lord Jesus will not come before His own people believe in Him and receive Him as the Christ, their King. As of now Israel still reject the Lord Jesus as the Christ. If the Lord Jesus is indeed going to come very soon, what must happen quickly? All Israel must believe that the Lord Jesus is the Christ. What should we do as the church? We should pray for the people of Israel that their eyes may be open to see that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, and even go to Israel to proclaim to them this gospel of the kingdom if we feel a strong call to do so.
