Topic: Act of Apostles
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. (Acts 1:9-12 KJV)
After Jesus promised His disciples on the Holy Spirit and their next mission assignment, it was His departure to be with His Father. Remember, Jesus promised us to return to the earth to take us to Heaven. In the Book of Revelation said that we will be governing the new earth with Him. So, we don't need to be wondering about our future plan with Him. God left us with His Words of Promise-the Bible (Basic Information Before Leaving the Earth).
Let's read what Paul said about the second coming of Christ in I Thessalonians 4:16-18: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." In this passage of the Holy Scripture, Paul said that all the people will see His returning. Even though the word "rapture" in the Bible, those who believe in Him "shall be caught up together with them in the clouds." Just stop and think a moment about what Paul had seen in his vision. It would be our reunion with Jesus Christ.
So, why His disciples should be surprise about Jesus' ascending to Heaven? They didn't need to be surprise. Everything what Jesus taught them was leading up to their turn to continue to do His mission. Whole Book of Acts is not about the birth of Christianity, because, as I said previously, God is careless about our religious group title. We don't hear the teaching on the Second Coming of Christ enough. It's all about our needs, not establishing our relationship with Jesus Christ. As we see and hear today's news, there are many global tragedies are happening, especially in Middle East as the prophecy is revealing to us. If your church would not be teaching on the Second Coming of Jesus and other biblical prophecies, you'd be missing very point about why we see many tragedies around the globe today.
Are you ready to meet Jesus Christ? God is holding back His judgment against America, but it would not last. Do you have your relationship with the Heavenly Father? If not, I like to encourage you to develop your personal relationship with Jesus Christ today. First, confess your sins and invite Jesus Christ to your life. Paul said in Romans 10:9-11, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." There is no sinner prayer formula. Instead, you just talk to God at where you are now. Secondly, I'd like to encourage you to find a good solid biblical teaching church and Christian friends. They can help you to build strong relationship with God. If you'd need further assistance, you can email me at mgjcministries@mgjcweb.org or visit my ministries website at www.mgjcweb.org for further resources.
