I'm standing on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem, and this mount has so many memories in Christian history.

This is where Jesus and His disciples spent a lot of time.

And after He had died and risen from the dead, we find that later He comes to this place, having spent approximately 40 days with His disciples.

And it was from this location, somewhere near to where I stand, that Jesus parted from the earth, ascended back to the Father, from which He will come again.

This is recorded in Luke's writings in Luke chapter 24 and also Acts chapter 1.

But let me just read a small portion here from Luke at the very end, and then turn to Acts 1 to discuss a little more depth about what was going on as He gave His last words in the flesh to His disciples before He ascended bodily back to the Father.

It says, "Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He parted from them and carried up into heaven.

And they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, which was located right behind me, praising and blessing God."

But when you get to the book of Acts, which is another account that Luke wrote to a man by the name of Theophilus, Jesus gives a little more detail than what we see in Luke's Gospel.

Look with me in the text.

He goes into a number of statements.

But the disciples at this point said to Jesus, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

What a question.

They assume that now that you've accomplished all the deeds that were talked about in Isaiah 52 and 53, which he finally got them to understand after his resurrection,

that he would then turn back to the promises that had been given to the Jewish people under Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the kings and the prophets.

That he would once again restore Jerusalem to its height, that he would once again restore the Jewish people in the fullness that God had intended for them, that David would once again possibly be king, or at least Messiah himself would be king from here.

They assumed a lot of things, and really they were accurate in their understanding of that, but their timing was off.

Notice the words of Jesus after they say, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom?"

He says, "It's not for you to know.

The times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own authority, but you shall receive power."

Notice the words, "but."

He says, there is a time and a season that God will bring about the things that you were talking about, but it's not now.

Be busy about the task that I've given you now, and let the other things take care of themselves.

And so he says, the Father has taken care of these.

You be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth.

Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?"

I want you to know I would be doing the same thing, wouldn't you?

I don't see people fly much.

Here's Jesus just ascending, and the cloud is taking him out of their sight, and they're just watching it as it goes up and up and up until they can't even see.

And they stand by and say, why are you watching this?

You've got something to do.

You can't spend your time out here.

He says, the fact is, this same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.

You understand what we have here?

Jesus ascended back to the Father, where He is right now at His right hand, until the time to come, which is in the Father's authority.

From somewhere near to where I stand.

But Zechariah 14:4 tells us something else.

It tells us, in fact, that not only did Jesus ascend to this earth and — excuse me — descend to this earth and ascend back into heaven,

but also that He will once again someday descend back to this very location.

Notice the statement: then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.

And in that day, when God has come back to destroy the enemies who try to destroy the Jewish people, it says in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, where we stand right now,

which faces Jerusalem on the east.

Geographically, it's right on.

And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley.

Half of the mountain shall move toward the north, which is that direction, half toward the east — excuse me, toward the south.

Then you shall flee through my mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal; as you shall flee, as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

Well, the point of it is, in the text, is this.

Jesus ascended literally back into heaven in the same body in which he rose from the dead.

He shall also descend from heaven back to the same place from which he ascended, and he will make a way of salvation for his people Israel in that day.