The Father Keeps His Promises

Acts 1:4-8 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; The Christians were all assembled together for fear of persecution from the Jewish counsel(Jn.20:19). The disciples safest place to stay was in Jerusalem and to lay low under cover. When they gathered together it would be in their own homes away from the public. Jesus, who was about to depart to be with The Father, commands that they wait for the promise of the Father; the Helper, who is The Holy Spirit., as prophesied by Jesus(Jn.16:7). 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." John baptized with water. Here we can discuss a little bit about 'believers baptism'. When John came preaching a message of repentance and faith in the Lamb who will take away the sins of the world, he was dipping his disciples in the waters of the Jordan. This baptism was a outward agreement with God for those who are repenting are being cleansed (symbolically) of sin(Matt.3:6). However, the one who has the power to take away sin, was the Light of the world, who John was only able to prepare the way for(Matt.3:3). In other words, John’s baptism only prepared the hearts of these disciples to know and receive Jesus Christ the Lamb of God(Matt.3:11;Jn.1:29). Therefore Jesus is declaring to his chosen apostles that the baptism they are about to undertake is greater than that of John’s, but once this baptism comes upon the church it is “united” to John’s baptism of repentance(Acts 2:38,39). The two baptisms become one when the church is fully birthed by the Holy Spirit. Therefore when one is baptized by the Holy Spirit, one is also baptized in the waters of repentance and life unto God(Jn.3:5;Tit.3:5). The sybmolism of being buried into the water represents Christ's death, and the raising out of the water represents the cleansing and new life, being resurrected with Christ(Rom.6:4;Col.2:12). Jesus assures them that, not many days from now, the church in Jerusalem will receive the promise of the Father who will not leave them as orphans(Jn.14:18), but will empower them with the mission of the Gospel(Matt.28:19). 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" All of these Jewish believers being together, agreed and expected, that Christ would restore the kingdom to Israel. It is important to understand “the mind” of this question. These Jewish believers are still holding on to promises given to them handed down through their ancestors in the Words of God written on Sacred Scripture. These promises can not change. They also believed in the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. Therefore Jesus doesn’t rebuke them for not understanding, but encourages them that the time is not yet ready for that to come. In other words, they are not to worry about it at this point. When all things are fulfilled and made ready for His coming in judgment, then He will restore Israel as the Nation of nations. Mic 4:6-13 6 "In that day," says the Lord, "I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted; 7 I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever. 8 And you, O tower of the flock, The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, To you shall it come, Even the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem." 9 Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. 10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth daughter of Zion, Like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, You shall dwell in the field, And to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered; There the Lord will redeem you From the hand of your enemies. 11 Now also many nations have gathered against you, Who say, "Let her be defiled, And let our eye look upon Zion." 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor. (Rev.14:20;Rev.19:15) 13 "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make your horn iron, And I will make your hooves bronze; You shall beat in pieces many peoples; I will consecrate their gain to the Lord, And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth." NKJV 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. It was not for them to know when but, only that God has predetermined the time and boundaries in which we will live. He has also predetermined the seasons in which we grow in our understanding of God’s Word. This is an authority that the Apostles are not given, but is a reserved right for the sovereign Lord of creation(Acts 17:26). 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Here is the answer to why the kingdom is not ready to be restored to Israel. Israel has a heart problem. Israel hates their God. They just handed their Master and King over to be killed by the Romans(Matt.27:37). Their heart is not ready for Christ’s kingdom. They refuse to be ruled by His Law and Grace. Therefore the kingdom will not come until the church, which is the new entity or instrument, that God chose to declare His message of repentance and faith in Christ alone until all the world comes to the fulness of it's fruition. Israel as a nation forfeited that privledge when they rejected their Messiah(Matt.21:43). However, this doesn’t change God’s promise to them because they are elect and God will save them in the season that they cry out to Him(Rom.11:4-5; 25-36), but as I understand the prophetic vision of John it will be during the time period when God is unleashing His wrath upon the whole world(Rev.7:15). Yet, in love God preserves a remnant for Himself in Israel to be protected and to worship Him through this great tribulation(Rev.14:1). The rest of the book of Acts gives a detailed account of how the Apostles and the church went to the ends of the earth as witnesses to Christ and His Father, who by the Holy Spirit, are One God in full agreement being distinct persons having one essence, Col 2:9-10 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. NKJV

Heb 2:10-13 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You." 13 And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me." NKJV