The book of Acts opens with Luke's account of the day when Yeshua was taken up to heaven after He had, by the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit), given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. He had appeared to them eleven times over a period of forty days, following His resurrection, revealing more of the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
Now for the last time He was gathering them together, commanding them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised, "...which," He said," you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Ruach Ha Kodesh not many days from now.
The disciples understood that Yeshua was the One sent forth by the Father to be the ruler in Israel (Mic 5:2, John 17:6-8). Therefore, sensing the finality of this day, their last reported words to their Savior were, "Lord is it now that you are restoring the Kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).
We can learn quite a bit from their question. First, the first century state of Judea, even with Herod's temple, which Yeshua had called His Father's House was not the restored Kingdom of Israel (Luke 2:49). Likewise we can conclude that the present secular state of Israel is not the restored kingdom. Secondly, the question was not, 'Are you going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?' It was, 'When are you going to restore it?' These disciples had spent three and a half years with Yeshua, and over the preceding forty days received instructions regarding the Kingdom of God, and it is obvious they believed that His mission was to restore the Kingdom to Israel. This is further borne out by Yeshua's brother, James.
James, as the leader of the early Church, addressed the only gathering reported in Scripture of the apostles and the elders, after the upper room experience. Summarizing their meeting, he said, "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 'After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David [restore the Davidic Kingdom], which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the gentiles who are called by My name,'" (Acts 15:14-17).
Is it Important for Us to Believe What Yeshua's Disciples Believed?
Yeshua, in His high priestly prayer in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of John, reporting to the Father, says:
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do...I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word....I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours....I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:4-21 KJV).
The question was, "Is it important for us to believe what Yeshua's disciples believed? The answer is a resounding, 'YES!' if we want to be included in Yeshua's prayers."
Yeshua's answer to His disciples' question regarding when the Kingdom would be restored to Israel was, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:7-8).
Yeshua is saying, some two thousand years ago, that the Father has already set the time or epochs (Greek: " kairos," an occasion, i.e. set or proper time) when the kingdom will be restored to Israel.
Undoubtedly the question as to when the kingdom will be restored to Israel has been the same question asked by forty-nine generations of disciples who followed. Now we in the fiftieth, the Jubilee generation, are asking the same question. Yeshua, who came in the first Jubilee generation from Noah, proclaimed boldly in a Nazareth synagogue, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me...to proclaim liberty to captives"(Isa 61:1). Setting the captives free is the first part of Jubilee. The second part is outlined in the rest of Chapter 61: "Restore the land and return the captives to their own land "(See Restoring Israel's Kingdom, Chapter 14).
We are some two-thousand years closer to the time which the Father has fixed! Could we be the generation that will see the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by the two men in white clothing who stood beside the disciples as Yeshua was lifted up. The two men in white said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Yeshua, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:9 - 11).
Are we the generation that will cross the finish line, or will we do as the last forty-nine generations have done, passing the baton to the next generation? If we are destined to pass the baton, let us pass it in the best shape possible. Surely the Father expects no less of us than He expected of the first disciples, which was to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. However, if we are indeed that final generation we must accomplish that which our Father expects of us in this hour. Meeting His expectations requires that we know what is expected of us. Addressing the following key questions, which we will do in the weeks ahead, will be extremely helpful:
○ What must be restored to restore the kingdom Israel?
○ Why was the Davidic Kingdom divided? And why has the Father allowed some twenty-nine-hundred years to pass since its division?
○ What geographical area will this restored kingdom occupy? Who will be its citizens?
○ How important are numbers? What will it take to fulfill the promise to bring Ephraim back to the land until no room can be found for him" (Zec 10:-10).
○ Romans 11:25, "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;" raises several questions. What is the mystery? Who are these Gentiles? Is fullness talking about numbers or maturation, or both?
○ In Chapter Three of Exodus the Father appears to Moses at the burning bush and outlines the plan for the First Exodus. This is His first attempt at establishing His Kingdom on earth. The fulfillment of His plan is detailed in the books of Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua. Does Scripture outline a similar plan for the Second Exodus and the successful establishment of His Kingdom?
○ Are we seeing the beginning stages of the Second Exodus taking place? If we are actually in the throes of the unfolding of the Second Exodus, what needs to happen to complete it? And just what part does each of us have? In other words, what is expected of us, His Messianic forerunners?
Like Joshua's two spies our unifying call is, "Surely YHVH, the Lord our God has given all the land into our hands" (Jos 2:24). Our challenge, like Joshua's, is filling the land with Israelites. In the Messianic Age the filling will be accomplished by leading the descendants of the household of Israel from the northland and from all the countries where they have been driven back to their own land (Jer 23: 1-8).
The Apostle Peter has provided some excellent insight that will help us in gaining the understanding we need to successfully accomplish the integral part we are destined play in our Father's plan to restore the Kingdom to Israel. We will consider Peter's guidance in our next report, Fulfilling Our Destiny.
Angus
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