Acts
1:9-11 - The Ascension
By Dan Maines
"And
after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were
watching, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight. And as they
were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold,
two men in white clothing stood beside them, and they said, 'Men of
Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has
been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you
have watched Him go into heaven.'" (Acts 1:9-11 NASB)
This
passage is often misunderstood as pointing to a future, physical
return of Jesus. But as a Preterist, I understand this as a reference
to His coming in judgment, which took place in AD 70. He ascended in
the clouds, but the cloud was not the focus - it was His power and
glory. The angels said He would come in the same way, meaning in the
same manner, not the same form. He left in power and was enthroned in
heaven (Acts 2:33-36), and He returned in power and glory - just as
He said He would (Matthew 24:30).
The judgment that came
upon Jerusalem was very real and very literal. The temple was
destroyed, the city was leveled, and the old covenant system was
brought to an end. This was not some abstract or symbolic event - it
was the visible manifestation of Jesus' authority and the fulfillment
of His promise to return within that generation (Matthew
24:34).
Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:16, "Therefore
from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have
known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no
longer." (NASB)
This reinforces that we are no longer
looking for a fleshly Jesus to return. His kingdom is not of this
world, and His presence is not tied to a physical body on earth. He
now reigns in glory, and His return was seen in the events of AD 70,
when He came just as He promised - on the clouds, with power and
great glory.
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