“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’” (Act 1:9-11, ESV).
This passage of Scripture, is both a rapture verse, revealing how Jesus left the disciples and ascended back into the eternal realm, but it is also like the previous passage I examined (2 Thess. 1:4-10), which is an allusion to Christ’s second appearance at the end of Israel’s seventieth-week/seven-year Tribulation Period. This Scripture does not go into detail about the second coming but nonetheless it does allude to it.
The background behind this passage is this: The last time Jesus and his disciples met – while they were in their earthly bodies – they asked him if he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel at that time (1:6). I wrote in chapter ten, “A Sign Given at The Mount of Olives,” that this question likely was birthed in their thoughts because they thought Jesus was going to use his power and authority to restore Israel to national independence again. At the time they asked this question, AD 32, Israel had not been a sovereign state since 605 BC, the year Nebuchadnezzar first besieged Jerusalem while Jehoiakim was Judah’s king. That year Jehoiakim and the first round of Israelites were deported to Babylon; the prophet Daniel was among this group. The Babylonian armed forces also transferred Israel’s temple articles to the temple of their god, Marduk (2 Chron. 36:5-6; Dan. 1:1-2).[1]
Keep in mind, the disciples at that moment had little to no knowledge about the rapture of the church or Christ’s second appearance back to the earth—that they could truly understand anyhow. They heard his teaching on the Mount of Olives about the seventieth-week of Israel/seven-year Tribulation Period, his second coming, the rebirth of Israel’s sovereignty, and the rapture of the church (Matt. 24:9-44), but they were not able to understand it fully when they heard it. It was the apostle Paul who began to reveal these endtimes events to the church a little clearer through the revelations he had received. And both Peter and John had this revelation revealed to them also, but that was years after they had asked Jesus if he was going to restore Israel’s sovereignty at that time.
Jesus told them before his crucifixion that he was going to leave them for a while, to go to his Father’s house, but he reassured them that he would come back to get them (Jn. 14:2-3). So, they may have thought that the time period between his crucifixion and his resurrection was what he meant when he said he was going to leave them and then come back for them. They may have figured that he was now back to stay with them for good. This is why they assumed he would restore Israel to its glory by engineering a coup d'état against the Roman Empire, since it was obvious the Romans could not kill him and keep him dead. Also, when they heard him earlier suggest that the temple would be destroyed (Matt. 24:1-2) they may have discussed among themselves that its destruction would be a result of an Israeli revolt engineered by Jesus.
The idea of Israel’s sovereignty being restored mulled around the minds of the Zealot Jews (a political movement that tried to incite the Jewish people to rebel against the Roman Empire) during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry—it may have been the reason why Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus’ location at Gethsemane, in order to get him to use his miraculous power to restore Israel’s sovereignty (this is one of a few theories to why he gave up Jesus to the chief priests). If this theory is correct, then it could have been the reason why Judas was gripped with deep guilt when he witnessed Jesus being condemned, he even returned the thirty silver coins (Matt. 27:3). In his mind he had sinned against Jesus, betraying innocent blood, realizing that he was not there to overthrow the Roman occupation of Israel after all (Matt. 27:4).
The disciples walked with Jesus for forty days after his resurrection, seeing him do some amazing things during that short period of time, like walking through walls, suddenly appearing and disappearing, while also not forgetting the miracles he released before his crucifixion, so they likely thought it was either now or never the time to reinstitute Israel’s sovereign kingdom. Instead, he tells them that they are not to know times or times that the Father has determined by his power (1:7). The times or times in Greek is: χρόνους ἢ καιροὺς (chrónous í kairoús). Some English versions translate chrónous í kairoús as, times or seasons, and, times or dates, and, times or periods, and, times or epochs (take your pick of any version). Chrónous (or chronos) refers to both a long or short period of time, time measured in quantity or time measured exactly; like a timeline. Kairoús (or kairos) refers to a definite measure of time, an appropriate measure, a fixed or special time, like an epoch, or a season, or set time or certain day.
To be clear, Jesus is answering the disciple’s question about the restoration of the sovereign state of Israel, and if he would bring about its restoration at that time. But he tells them that the times (chrónous) and times (kairoús) are determined by the Father and he keeps them a mystery. He does this to keep the fallen angels (the rulers, powers of darkness, etc.) unaware of his appointed times, so they can do nothing but guess at the plans of God. If they know the exact time or procedures of God’s plans, they would set in motion catastrophes and diversions to disrupt his appointed times. Like the crucifixion of Christ and what its purpose was for. If they would have known that killing Jesus would bring about the fulfilment of the woman’s offspring crushing the serpents head (Gen. 3:14-15) then they would not have tempted the Jewish religious leaders to crucify him (1 Cor. 2:6-8). They knew the seed of the woman would crush Satan one day (or at least they thought he would try), because Yahweh said it would, just not how it would happen or the day it happened. Satan tried many times through the centuries to kill off the woman’s offspring so that her seed would not strike his head, he may have even had a good idea that Jesus was her seed that was sent to do the job. He just did not know that by killing him was the means by which he and the other fallen angels would be defeated.
These times and times include upcoming events like the rapture of the church, and the beginning of Israel’s seventieth-week. The specific or set day (kairoús), that these two events will occur are not only a mystery to the church but also the world and the fallen angels. God kept the season or epoch (era or generation) for these two divine events a mystery up until a certain point in time, the rebirth of the state of Israel (1948). Jesus, by a word of prophecy, had revealed the generation they will occur (Matt. 24:32-34), just not the day both will happen (the rebirth of Israel set in motion the timing of these two events, revealing the generation they would happen). The season or epoch of when these events would occur was kept hidden to the world – and to the Christian that does not understand endtimes prophecy – until the rapture of the church and Tribulation was in its season, but the specific day (kairoús) of these two events is still a mystery until the day they both occur. The fallen angels would have known beforehand the day when Israel would be reborn, because they knew it would happen, and they can do math (Isa. 66:8). They knew the Seven Times Proviso, a stipulation administered by God that Israel would have to go through if they did not repent after being punished for breaking his covenant (See chapter #9, “Israel’s Rebirth”). You can read the stipulation in Leviticus 26:1-46, which is an extension of God’s punishment upon the nation of Israel by seven times the initial years of punishment (Lev. 26:18, 21, 23-24, 27-28). This is why Israel lost its sovereignty in 605 BC (circa 3156), and did not regain it until 1948 (circa 5709). Because Satan and his fallen angels have divine intelligence, they knew to the day when the state of Israel would be re-established, this is why they tried to eliminate the Jews in the first part of the 20th century, and many times before that throughout history. This was not a mystery to them, and to anyone that knew the Leviticus stipulation, Jewish history, and endtimes prophecy. And the day of the second appearance of Christ is not a mystery to them either, nor anyone that understands endtimes prophecy, once the seventieth-week of Israel begins.
It is not a mystery contrary to the belief of those that do not know the difference between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Israel’s Messiah to redeem the remnant Jews. In chapter nine, “Israel’s Rebirth,” I have written that the seventieth-week portion of the 490 years decreed for Israel (Dan. 9:24) to be done with their rebellion will be an exact total of 2,520 days. The Seventieth-Week/Tribulation Period begins the day the covenant is forced upon Israel and the Palestinian Authority (Dan. 9:27). The Seventieth-Week/Tribulation Period ends with Christ coming to redeem Israel (Rev. 19:11-21). So, the fallen angels and anyone else with a calculator can figure the day of Christ’s second appearance once the Antichrist forces the treaty, it will be exactly 2,520 days (seven, 360-day years). Times (chrónous) and times (kairoús) that the Father does not want revealed before the day they happen are kept well hidden by him, although Scripture does show that he will give a heads-up by revealing the generation of that mystery.
After Jesus had informed the disciples that they will receive – miraculous – power (transliteration: dynamis) when the Holy Spirit comes upon them (1:8a), meaning when they get filled or baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of being able to speak in a foreign language—tongues (2:1-4), Jesus was raptured into the eternal realm right before their eyes (1:9). The disciples had already received the Holy Spirit that made them born-again forty days before this when Jesus had breathed on them, telling them to receive the Spirit of God (Jn. 20:22). This was the evening, of the day he was raised from the dead, on the first day of the week (Jn. 20:1-9, 19-20). The disciples could see Jesus ascend into the troposphere until he was out of sight because of a cloud. Jesus was caught up into heaven in a quiet and serene manner compared to the prophet Elijah, who was raptured into the heavenly realms in a whirlwind as a chariot of fire and horses of fire lifted him off the earth before the eyes of his disciple, Elisha (2 Kgs. 2:1, 11-12).
While the disciples watched Jesus ascend into the troposphere two men dressed in white were suddenly standing among them (1:10). The Greek term used that the English versions translate as men is, ἄνδρες (transliteration: ándres). Ándres refers to the male gender (masculine), as in plural adult males. Because Luke had written that the two men were suddenly among the disciples, in other words, they came out of nowhere, and he records they were dressed in white garments, which represents being separated or being holy in God’s sight, we must assume he was indicating that these two males were angels and not just mere men—the way the writer described their sudden appearance and the garments of these two individuals was on purpose. These two angels informed the disciples that even though Jesus ascended into the heavenly realms he will likewise one day comeback to the earthly realm (1:11). What they were implying was: The disciples witnessed Jesus ascend into the heavenly realms with their very eyes, and one day there will be people witness him descend from heaven to the earthly realm with their very eyes. This will happen at his second appearance (Rev. 19:11-21). As we notice from the Scripture reference in Revelation, chapter nineteen, Christ’s descent from heaven to the earth at his second appearance will not be as quiet and serene as his ascension back into the eternal realm after his first appearance.
Picture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_of_Jesus
