Holy Spirit Brings Gospel Power not Earthly Utopia

Acts 1:1-11

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Luke wrote Acts and the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 1:3 it says, “With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,” Theopolis is who Luke has written to in Acts also, “In my former book, Theophilus,…” Luke was also a doctor of medicine, “Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.” Colossians 4:14

The Book of Acts is an account of the work of the Holy Spirit within this world. From this very first chapter, it is made clear that the Holy Spirit is not here to create a new Garden of Eden on this earth. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to promote the Gospel of Christ through people who are reconciled to God through His Son Jesus. Our born-again experience is the Gospel of Christ written on our heart. In the quotes below is the retelling of the conversation between the Lord Jesus and His Disciples. The Disciples thought the Holy Spirit would be to build an earthly nation, but Jesus clarified the matter,

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:4-8

• A written record established verifying Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.
• The Promise of the Holy Spirit.
• Holy Spirit Brings Gospel Power not Earthly Utopia.
• Jesus Christ Will Return from Heaven.

A written record established verifying Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:1-3

The former account which Luke made was the writing of the Gospel of Luke concerning the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke establishes that Jesus is the Son of God with the authority to pour out the Holy Spirit on those who come to Him for the remission of sin. Luke tells about Jesus being born by the Spirit of God through a virgin birth, His death, His resurrection, His ministry on earth for forty days after His resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, and His teachings and doings in between.

The instruction Jesus gave His Apostles before His ascension was to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit was poured out onto them. The Holy Spirit was given to empower them to spread the Gospel of Christ, not to build an earthly kingdom or an earthly utopia of any type. That is what this Book of Acts is all about, proclaiming the testimony of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit. “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5

While Jesus was with His Apostles, He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. They would have a ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit not merely by an outward baptism in water. John the Baptist baptized in water, but Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit.

The Promise of the Father is the giving of the Holy Spirit. Jesus verifies His authority as the Son of God by calling God His Father. When the Holy Spirit was poured out onto the Apostles, it was absolute verification that the Lord Jesus was speaking on behalf of the Living God. What Jesus promises in His Father’s name happens every single time. The Holy Spirit is for anyone who waits in “Jerusalem,” which is the place within our soul made to be the Home of the Holy Spirit. We are not to depart from the place made for fellowship with God, and there we receive the Holy Spirit.

Today, masses of people in every city around the world are departing from “Jerusalem” before the Holy Spirit arrives. They have left to welcome the entity which forms what they think, feel, do, and say as they reject the Holy Spirit. The entity that is able to form thoughts and feelings sits in the temple of God, our body, as if it is God and enables the image of the beast to live and speak through people. By what they say and do, they are living for the “democratic” global culture of the beast in expectation of the creation of an earthly utopia. They discard the eternal hope, the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of Christ. They are conformed to the anti-Christian society as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do.

The Holy Spirit, whom the Apostles were waiting for in Jerusalem, is the power that propelled the Gospel of Christ to global proportions. The Gospel is the testimony of our born-again experience. Before the Holy Spirit, being baptized in water was a sign of committing to God. Of the many people who are baptized in water, none receive the Holy Spirit in that way because it’s only a ceremonial and outward act. The Apostles would be baptized in the Holy Spirit, who is inward and comes with power. There is a huge difference between external definitions of serving Jesus Christ and being defined by the Holy Spirit who lives within.

Holy Spirit not to Create Earthly Utopia but is for Gospel Power.  “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8

When Jesus told the Apostles they would be receiving the Holy Spirit, they had only one question, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” They had the notion that the Holy Spirit would be what they needed to restore Israel to their own kingdom on this earth. They believed that their desire for an earthly utopian might finally arrive with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. One thing we know today, the nation of Israel will never be restored as God’s kingdom on earth because Jesus has already said His kingdom is not of this earth. The Kingdom of God is the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and earth. The work of the Holy Spirit is to prepare people for the return of Jesus Christ by sharing His testimony.

Nobody knows when the Kingdom of God will arrive, and it is certainly not coming with the global goals of the United Nations in 2030, 2050, 3000, or any other future time frame. Jesus Christ returns like a flash of lightning, not gradually over time, “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Mtthew 24:27

There is no utopian global culture, no earthly Garden of Eden. Those promoting the goals of the United Nations for a global culture do not want the Holy Spirit, they reject the need for the remission of sin through Jesus Christ and deny the existence of God. They blaspheme the Holy Spirit as they prohibit the spread of the Gospel of Christ. Not only are they barred from entry into the New Jerusalem, but life on this earth is progressing towards severe tribulation and the eventual Battle of Armageddon.

“For the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness…A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been…The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing will escape them.” Joel 2:1-3 Click here for a post on Joel 2:1-11.

Jesus Christ makes it very clear what the purpose of the Holy Spirit is, to be witnesses to every city on this earth concerning the Gospel of Christ, which is this, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Jesus Christ Will Return from Heaven. “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? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11

When Jesus ascended up, He went beyond the reach of a cloud, so far up that He was fading from eyesight. The Apostles were eyewitnesses to that ascension. They were probably saying their last goodbyes to Him, not thinking that they would see Him again. That is when two Angels approached to remind them that His ascension is not a final goodbye, He will return in the same way that He ascended.

I think of when Paul mentioned the “Third Heaven”,  “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.” 2 Cprinthians 12:2. I envision the blue skies above us to be the first heaven, the space where the stars are to be the second heaven, and the “Third Heaven” is the Heaven where our Lord Jesus ascended to.

When our Lord Jesus returns, it is not a gradual phasing in of an earthly utopia, He will return in the same way He left, He ascended into Heaven when He departed and will descend from Heaven when He returns. “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him…” Revelation 1:7

Again, the Holy Spirit is not for the purpose of creating an earthly utopia. When Jesus Christ returns, He will create a new heaven and earth for the New Jerusalem. That is the home of all Believers, that is our utopia, that is the Paradise of God. The Holy Spirit is given to us to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to prepare every single person for His return.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1