Am I born again: The Kingdom of God - part 4:

Hello To All:

"When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

As we take the time to consider the above text, from Acts 1:6, we should be reminded, as we were in the previous essay, of how very Jewish the disciples were.  Yes, at this moment, at this last physical meeting with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, they do represent, and are, in fact, the essence of the soon to be established church of Jesus Christ.  But, they were still Jews, with a Jewish history; that has always placed its hope in a Jewish Messiah; and the question they asked, in the above text, is a very Jewish question: "Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

As we consider this question, we need to focus our attention on four key aspects of the question:
1. "Wilt thou?" - The disciples are asking this question of Jesus Christ.  They are acknowledging that He is the one who will restore Israel to being a kingdom of God.
2. "At this time?" - They had the expectation that the restoration could occur at any time - even at the very moment of the asking.
3. "Restore again?" - They are looking for what the Jews once had, a kingdom of God, present in the physical realms.
4. "The kingdom to Israel?" - In the minds of these disciples of Jesus Christ; these disciples, that will soon be the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ; in their minds, they are thinking of and making reference to the earthly kingdom of Israel, with the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob as their King.  This is the same kingdom of God being referenced in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, in John chapter three.

The affirmation of the above conclusions, can, in part, be found in the response of Jesus, to their question. First, He does not rebuke them. He does not tell them that they are in error for thinking and asking in this very Jewish way and context, regarding Jewish history and the future of Israel. Instead, Jesus tells them this, in verse 7: "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." Jesus affirms, to His disciples, who are both Jewish and soon to be identified as Christian, that a restoration of the kingdom to Israel, will take place; but, it will be a future restoration. It will be at a time chosen by God the Father.

Having looked at the response of Jesus, to the question posed by His disciples; it is now time to look at the whole of the King's Book, for additional affirmation of the above conclusions.  This journey should give us deeper insight into the future of Israel; and the relevance of that future to the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus.  But, this will have to wait until our next meeting.  Between now and then, please give prayerful consideration to the following text from Isaiah 9:6-7:

6. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
7. "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus