Acts 1:11

The way the angels bear witness to the men of Galilee could look like mere repetition. But, as we well know, there is — there can be — no such thing in the book of God. What we see in this testimony is lovely fullness, divine completeness. From it we learn that the very same Jesus who left this earth, and went up into heaven in front of many witnesses, will come in the same way as they had seen Him go into heaven. How did He go? He went up personally, literally, actually. It was the very same person who had just been talking with them as a friend. They had seen Him with their eyes, heard Him with their ears, handled Him with their hands.

He will come as He went (Acts 1:11). "On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east." To this earth He is coming, not to the new earth in the eternal state. According to the Scriptures, He will come back to the same world where He suffered.

After the Lord's supper, the Lord had told the disciples that He was going to the Father. The first comfort He gave them was that He would come again and take them to Himself in the Father's house, where He was going to prepare a place for them… There He speaks of His coming to bring His own into the Father's house. Here the word is of His glorious appearing, when He will make Himself seen from the place where He has gone… Here it is His return in glory, and it will be like His going away.

He will yet come in the same way to the same place, the Mount of Olives, when He takes His rightful place of glory and majesty. Nothing here says how long the wait would be, and the rapture will of course take place before this.

The angels turn their gaze from heaven, where Christ had gone, toward the earth to which He will come. At first we might wonder at this. Surely it was a right thing to look up to heaven where Christ is? Yes, at the right time it will be right, but that moment had not yet come. As we listen to Peter preaching to the nation, we can understand why the disciples' thoughts were to stay a while on earth. Peter says to the guilty nation, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus" (Acts 3:19-20). This was the final message in grace to the guilty nation. If they will repent, Jesus will come back to earth.

Note very carefully — to the disciples who were looking up after Jesus, the angels' word is, "Why do you stand looking into heaven? This same Jesus will so come," etc. Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw Jesus there, "the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God," and prays that his spirit may be received by Him.

They knew, on the word of the Lord, that the Father would soon fulfil His promise in the gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead of the kingdom being restored to Israel, they were to be witnesses of Christ everywhere, to the ends of the earth. And they had this assurance: the Lord Jesus, who had just gone up, would come in the same way as they saw Him going to heaven.

The Lord Himself declared it in His love, and the angels revealed it. Either way, the first thing in the Saviour's heart, and in what God reveals, is that He will come again. The gift of the Spirit during His absence is immense, and the place redemption has given God's people here below is immense for ever. But their hope is, and the height of their joy will be, to see the Saviour as He is, to be always with Him, like Him.