The Timing of the Kingdom

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Setting

For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God and that is what the next passage of scripture will address.

Paint a picture of the 1st Century:

• Roman rule over the nation of Israel

• Unholy gov’t in authority over them

• Last taste of freedom was from the Maccabean revolt [explain]

• Israel yearned for freedom and autonomy

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Acts 1:4–11 ESV

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 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.”

Recap

Acts 1:4-5 serves as a recap of what we went over last time:

​Acts 1:4–5 ESV

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The command from the end of Luke was to look and stay. This is reiterated again here in verses 4-5. Look for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that is almost here, and stay in Jerusalem until it happens.

It’s easy to miss the significance of this. If you remember, in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God would only come upon people individually and could depart. But, this promise was for them ALL to have the Spirit provided collectively (and as they would find out later, permanently). This was mind-blowingly different from what they would have been use to.

Outline

• The Question

• The Answer – Part 1

• The Answer – Part 2

• The Answer – Part 3

The Question

Are you now restoring the Kingdom to Israel?

Why this question?

Remember, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God during the 40 days he spent with them, post-resurrection

So, this would be a very natural and logical question to ask, but there are 2 issues with the way they asked it:

1- A Physical Kingdom – It seems as though their assumptions of an earthly rule are still lingering. There was a common misunderstanding that the Messiah would come to vanquish the earthly ruling authorities and set up His own, physical Kingdom. You can see this pretty clearly in John 6:15:

​John 6:15 ESV

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

You see, it wouldn’t be surprising if the glory days of the Maccabean revolt still played like a movie reel in their minds. Yes, they lost hope in that happening when Jesus died, but now that he is alive and can’t die again, then surely it will happen now, right??? When will this happen, Jesus?

Remember, The Maccabean Revolt took place from 166-160 BC, so this was in Israel’s recent history. The average generational span is between 25-30 years. So, that’s roughly between 5-7 generations between that time until Jesus’ ascension. To put that into perspective, Peter’s granddad could have been told stories from personal experience by his granddad.

They yearned for the shackles of Rome to be broken and for Israel to be restored to her former glory. That is what the Jews believed would happen and that is why Jesus never fit the false model of the Messiah that was in their heads.

Now, why do I make this assumption? The answer is in the second point…

2- An Exclusive Kingdom – They didn’t just simply ask about the timing of God’s Kingdom. They asked when Jesus would restore the Kingdom to Israel.

Again, they wanted a blissful reign like the time of Solomon governed by their new Messiah. They wanted to see Rome broken at their Master’s feet.

They wanted Israel to be established over the nations as God’s holy, chosen people once again. They wanted an earthly kingdom. They desired the exclusivity of their nation to once again be the global superpower. After all, that’s what Daniel’s vision of the statue meant, right? The stone cleft from the mountain would shatter the lineage of earthly kingdoms, establish itself, and fill the whole earth.

We’ll get to the answer of that question in just a minute, but I want to point out the major flaw in the disciple’s question. For them, it was about a restoration of a previous model, when in reality, Jesus (and the prophets for that matter), had a better plan… a future one that included people from every tribe, nation, and tongue. His plan wasn’t to re-establish Israel alone. The plan was to open the good news of salvation to the entire world.

God made this clear when he wrote through the Prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 49:6

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

The disciples missed that at first. But, once Pentecost hit, it was all they cared about. It should be all we care about.

The Answer – Part 1

A direct question was given a direct answer.

​Acts 1:7–8 ESV

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus gave a gentle, but not-so-subtle reminder that it’s not their business to know the timing of the Kingdom’s arrival. That information was above their pay grade.

If they had been focused on the timing, they would not have been effective in their mission.

We have seen that throughout history:

1844 and the Great Disappointment

According to Wikipedia:

The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller’s proclamations that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, what he called the Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 prophecy during the Second Great Awakening led him to the conclusion that Daniel’s “cleansing of the sanctuary” was cleansing of the world from sin when Christ would come, and he and many others prepared, but October 22, 1844 came, and they were disappointed.

Another prediction for the Rapture of the Church happened in 1988 with the publication of the book: 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.

Again, according to Wikipedia:

Edgar C. Whisenant (September 25, 1932 – May 16, 2001) was a former NASA engineer and Bible student who predicted the rapture would occur in 1988, sometime between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13. He published two books about this, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 and On Borrowed Time. Eventually, 300,000 copies of 88 Reasons were mailed free of charge to ministers across America, and 4.5 million copies were sold in bookstores and elsewhere. Whisenant was quoted as saying “Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong; and I say that to every preacher in town” and “[I]f there were a king in this country and I could gamble with my life, I would stake my life on Rosh Hashana 88.”

When that didn’t happen, he said “whoopsies” and continued to revise his prediction even up until his death.

Surprisingly, more “Predictors” came out of the woodworks, Harold Camping being the most recent example. His first major prediction of the Lord’s return was to take place on September 6, 1994, and when that didn’t happen, he re-calibrated his calculator, and discovered that he was off a bit. It wasn’t 1994. It was going to be May 21, 2011. Many of you may remember it, because there was a huge marketing push. I can remember seeing billboards all over the place encouraging people to be ready. Many quit their jobs and sold their possessions, since they weren’t going to be taken away soon. Why bother?

And, of course, it is now August 2022, and surprise-surprise, we are still here. You see, when the focus becomes about trying to unravel the deep mysteries of God, you miss the basic information that God is putting right in front of your eyes.

The timing doesn’t matter…why? Because we have a role to play which requires our full focus while God manages the timeline.

…And its worth highlighting this sovereign timeframe and pattern that the Father has fixed. He hasn’t written Act 1 and is still developing the plot and climax of the story. It is all written. It is fixed. The word in the Greek depicts the finality of laying a foundation for a building. The Hebrew equivalent is in Genesis 1:17 when God sets the stars in the firmament. In God’s mind, this was a one-time plan that needed no revision. It was designed a particular way and will come to pass in exactly that way, because He did so by his own authority, which is the highest authority there is.

The Mission of the Kingdom

Then, in a spirit of reassurance Jesus says, but…

​Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This is the Great Commission of the book of Acts. If you aren’t familiar with it, I encourage you to memorize it and meditate on it often. Not only does it describe the geographical area of the spread of the gospel, but it is also your marching order.

And, before the map is laid out on the table, Jesus reiterates that this Kingdom is not primarily physical, but spiritual.

Why do I say that? Because they were to receive power from the Holy Spirit. The giver is a Spirit and his gift to us is a spiritual power. The world power here is significant. James Montgomery Boice notes:

So, by virtue of its name, this power is explosive… meaning, it makes an immediate and notable difference. You know when a stick of dynamite goes off, right. That’s not something that catches you off-guard.

To our shame, we downplay this, don’t we? Because we don’t want to come across as rude, intolerant, or arrogant, we try to make the gospel mild, less the person we are witnessing to be offended. That is the exact opposite of what this power does! Let this be a wake-up call to you and I. If a person is to walk away from a gospel conversation with us, may the impact of the gospel be the one thing they do walk away with!

This dynamis power is:

• the same power that Jesus discerned flowed from him when the sick lady touched his garment…

• and for every miraculous work. (Luke 6:19)

• It was the power God used to raise Christ from the dead,

• and it is the power that he will return with in the full display of his glory.

• It is the power in which the Apostles proclaimed the Resurrection of Jesus (Acts 4:33)

This is a power that is not from humans, so no human can take away. It is given by a person who is always with you. And, as we are reminded by Paul, what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal.

So, the real illusion of power is what man has created for himself. The disciples were operating in the the true sense of power as agents of the only Kingdom that will endure for eternity.

This is the substance and reality of the God’s Kingdom, and it is the mission that has been entrusted to you and I.

The Answer Part 2 – The Incarnation

That said, just because we aren’t given the details of the Kingdom being fully realized, doesn’t mean we cannot know anything at all.

The first clue, which isn’t really a clue at all, is given by Jesus himself often as he interacted with the Pharisees:

​Luke 17:20–21 ESV

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

In other places throughout the Gospels, Jesus would say, “The Kingdom has come upon you.”

Not will come upon you eventually at some undefined point in the future. He is it has come. Now. At this very moment in time.

Jesus confirmed to Pilate that he was indeed a King and that his Kingdom was not of this world.

This is further confirmed through parables like the Talents where a Master gave talents to a few of his servants to manage while he was away and upon his return, he rewarded the faithful ones and punished the unfaithful one. In this story, there was a Ruler (or Master) who held authority, who went away, who gave instructions and responsibilities to his servants, and who returned.

In Theological terms, this can be viewed as the Kingdom of God having Already / Not Yet come.

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The Lexham Survey of Theology says:

“Already/not yet” is the view that the kingdom of God has already been inaugurated in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ but will not reach consummation until his return in glory.

When did Jesus bring the Kingdom of God? He brought it with him to earth! It was active during his ministry, and upon his ascension, he put it in the hands of his servants to manage while he is away.

The Kingdom is ALREADY HERE!

If you are not living as though Jesus is ruling and reigning, let this be a reminder that if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you are under the care and authority of the most powerful ruler on planet earth. ALL AUTHORITY is his. Now. Right now, and you are an Ambassador of this Kingdom (says Paul in 2 Corinthians). What you do today matters. What you say, how you conduct yourself, how you care for your neighbor… all of that has significance in God’s Kingdom.

The issue, is that as the world stands today, sin still infects this world, so the fullness of the Kingdom is NOT YET realized.

The Answer Part 3 – The Second Coming

​Acts 1:10–11 ESV

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.”

The disciples stood there jaw-dropped.

Jesus was enveloped in a cloud and taken back into heaven and the event was so enthralling, that they didn’t see two angels standing beside them.

I would imagine that the angels knew about Jesus’ commission to proclaim the good news to the surrounding area and beyond. Surly.

If that’s the case, then perhaps God sent them at that specific time to encourage the men to get moving.

“Hey, what are you doing? I knew the cloud elevator was cool, but Jesus is out of sight now. Why are you still here… chop chop!!”

This is a great reminder that:

We have been reassured that the Master is coming back. The temporal sequence will have a completion date.

We have been entrusted with a task until that day comes.

This is the NOT YET portion. There will come a day when the world will be made new, every tear will be wiped from our eyes, and God will sit on his throne in full view of his redeemed people. But not yet.

All creation groans for this final fulfillment, but as of today, we still live in a fallen world filled with sin, pain, and heartache. This world needs the good news of the gospel:

• We see the effects of our sinful rebellion.

• That rebellion has separated us from God and caused us to become spiritually dead and eternally guilty.

• Jesus came to pay the debt so that we could be declared not guilty, washed clean, and be reconciled back to God.

• And not only reconciled, but adopted as Sons and Daughters who get to live life wrapped in the love of God now (here on earth), and forever in the eternal Kingdom!