And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also 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 just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
a cloud received Him out of their sight - "It is interesting to observe that God first appeared to Israel in a cloud — not a rain cloud, of course, but the shekinah cloud, the visible vehicle of the divine presence and majesty. Enshrouded in what appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, Jehovah Himself led His people through the wilderness (Ex 13:21-22; 1 Cor 10:1) (It has been suggested that this "cloud" was the host of His attending angels. This suggestion is at least not inconsistent with the Scriptural use of the word, for the same root is used in Heb 12:1, where we read of "a cloud of witnesses." This would also agree with the fact He is frequently shown as appearing in "clouds" (plural) and is called, again and again, "the Lord of hosts.") After our Lord had "given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen," it was this cloud that "received Him out of their sight." They could not have looked upon the sight that later blinded Saul of Tarsus. It was not theirs to behold the greater glory of the Son of God as He ascended "far above all." The cloud received Him out of their sight." (CR Stam)
"And that cloud was not a cloud of vapor. It was the same cloud which had appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Shekinah. It was the same cloud of glory which had filled Solomon's temple, which so often in Israel's past history had appeared as the outward sign of Jehovah's presence wit his people The Glory-cloud came to take Him in, to bring Him back to the Father from whence He had come." (A Gaebelein)
in just the same way - The second coming of Christ, like the ascension, will be personal, visible, and to the mount of olives (Rev 1:7; 19:11-16; Zech 14:4).
"This fact should be clearly noted, for it is significant of the distinction between the ministries of the twelve apostles and Paul. The twelve had seen Christ only on earth, never in heaven, while with Paul it was the very opposite. He had never seen Christ on earth and only in heaven. This distinction is further seen in the matter of His return, for of His actual return to earth we read: "And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Lk 21:27). But of our Lord's coming for us, the member of His Body, we read: "...the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air..." (1 Thes 4:16-17). Israel's calling and prospect were earthly; ours are heavenly. He will return to earth to reign over them, but first he will call us to heaven to be with Him. Indeed, positionally we are already raised from the dead with Christ and, as members of His Body, are made to sit together in the heavenliest, blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3; 2:4-6)." (CR Stam)
"However, we must beware of confounding this event given here with that blessed Hope, which is the Hope of the church. The Coming of the Lord is His visible Coming as described in the prophetic books of the Old Testament; it is His coming to establish His rule upon the earth. It is the event spoken of in Daniel 7:14 and Rev 1:7. When He comes in like manner as He went up, His Saints come with Him (Col 3:4; 2 Thes 1:10). The Hope of the church is to meet Him in the air and not to see Him coming in the clouds of heaven. The coming here "in like manner" is His Coming for Israel and the nations. The Coming of the Lord for His Church before His visible and glorious Manifestation, is revealed in 1 Thes 4:16-18. It is well to keep these important truths in mind. Confusion between these is disastrous. He left them to enter into the Holy of Holies, to exercise the priesthood which Aaron exercised on the day of atonement, though our Lord is a priest after the order of Melchisedec. And when this promise of the two men in white garments is fulfilled, He will come forth to be a priest upon His throne." (A Gaebelein)
"What, then, was the prophetic significance of the ascension? Basically it bespoke the divine displeasure at the rejection of Christ (even though God was to offer another opportunity for repentance) and foretold the judgment to be visited upon His enemies (Ps 110:1). Prophetically the Lord also ascended, however, that He might send the Holy Spirit to sustain and empower His own in preparation for the great tribulation and His return to reign. We must not forget that according to prophecy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the harbinger of the great tribulation and the day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-31). As in the law the feast of Pentecost preceded that of Trumpets, so in prophecy the true Pentecost was to precede and introduce the trumpets of the great tribulation. The prophetic Scriptures know nothing of a dispensation of grace between." (CR Stam)
a cloud received Him out of their sight - "It is interesting to observe that God first appeared to Israel in a cloud — not a rain cloud, of course, but the shekinah cloud, the visible vehicle of the divine presence and majesty. Enshrouded in what appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, Jehovah Himself led His people through the wilderness (Ex 13:21-22; 1 Cor 10:1) (It has been suggested that this "cloud" was the host of His attending angels. This suggestion is at least not inconsistent with the Scriptural use of the word, for the same root is used in Heb 12:1, where we read of "a cloud of witnesses." This would also agree with the fact He is frequently shown as appearing in "clouds" (plural) and is called, again and again, "the Lord of hosts.") After our Lord had "given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen," it was this cloud that "received Him out of their sight." They could not have looked upon the sight that later blinded Saul of Tarsus. It was not theirs to behold the greater glory of the Son of God as He ascended "far above all." The cloud received Him out of their sight." (CR Stam)
"And that cloud was not a cloud of vapor. It was the same cloud which had appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Shekinah. It was the same cloud of glory which had filled Solomon's temple, which so often in Israel's past history had appeared as the outward sign of Jehovah's presence wit his people The Glory-cloud came to take Him in, to bring Him back to the Father from whence He had come." (A Gaebelein)
in just the same way - The second coming of Christ, like the ascension, will be personal, visible, and to the mount of olives (Rev 1:7; 19:11-16; Zech 14:4).
"This fact should be clearly noted, for it is significant of the distinction between the ministries of the twelve apostles and Paul. The twelve had seen Christ only on earth, never in heaven, while with Paul it was the very opposite. He had never seen Christ on earth and only in heaven. This distinction is further seen in the matter of His return, for of His actual return to earth we read: "And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Lk 21:27). But of our Lord's coming for us, the member of His Body, we read: "...the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air..." (1 Thes 4:16-17). Israel's calling and prospect were earthly; ours are heavenly. He will return to earth to reign over them, but first he will call us to heaven to be with Him. Indeed, positionally we are already raised from the dead with Christ and, as members of His Body, are made to sit together in the heavenliest, blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3; 2:4-6)." (CR Stam)
"However, we must beware of confounding this event given here with that blessed Hope, which is the Hope of the church. The Coming of the Lord is His visible Coming as described in the prophetic books of the Old Testament; it is His coming to establish His rule upon the earth. It is the event spoken of in Daniel 7:14 and Rev 1:7. When He comes in like manner as He went up, His Saints come with Him (Col 3:4; 2 Thes 1:10). The Hope of the church is to meet Him in the air and not to see Him coming in the clouds of heaven. The coming here "in like manner" is His Coming for Israel and the nations. The Coming of the Lord for His Church before His visible and glorious Manifestation, is revealed in 1 Thes 4:16-18. It is well to keep these important truths in mind. Confusion between these is disastrous. He left them to enter into the Holy of Holies, to exercise the priesthood which Aaron exercised on the day of atonement, though our Lord is a priest after the order of Melchisedec. And when this promise of the two men in white garments is fulfilled, He will come forth to be a priest upon His throne." (A Gaebelein)
"What, then, was the prophetic significance of the ascension? Basically it bespoke the divine displeasure at the rejection of Christ (even though God was to offer another opportunity for repentance) and foretold the judgment to be visited upon His enemies (Ps 110:1). Prophetically the Lord also ascended, however, that He might send the Holy Spirit to sustain and empower His own in preparation for the great tribulation and His return to reign. We must not forget that according to prophecy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the harbinger of the great tribulation and the day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-31). As in the law the feast of Pentecost preceded that of Trumpets, so in prophecy the true Pentecost was to precede and introduce the trumpets of the great tribulation. The prophetic Scriptures know nothing of a dispensation of grace between." (CR Stam)
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