⁶ When they therefore were come together, they askedasked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdomkingdom to Israel?

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 ownown powerpower.

⁸ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy GhostGhost is come uponupon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

⁹ And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

¹⁰ And while they looked stedfastly toward heavenheaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

¹¹ Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heavenheaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heavenheaven, shall so comecome in like manner as ye have seen him gogo into heavenheaven.

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In Acts 1:6-11, we read of the ascension of Jesus along with the promise of his return, which has been a major source of hope and anticipation for Christians for the past two millennia. I still remember, as if it happened yesterday, the fever of the spiritually and emotionally charged people praying and crying for the return of Jesus Christ at a Pentecost Sunday evening service back in 1986, when I was a youth member of a Korean Presbyterian church in Korea. I would like to explore what the promise of return meant to the disciples and the first Christians and in what way this can still be significant to us living in the 21st century.