Introduction
In Acts chapter 1 we read that after spending forty days with his disciples Jesus “was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (1:9). The disciples at this point returned to Jerusalem to await the promised Holy Spirit, but what happened to Jesus after he was hidden by the clouds? Peter gives us the answer in 1 Peter 3:22 where we read that Jesus ascended “into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” The ascension is the enthronement of Jesus, the King of kings, and the establishment of his kingdom. The Old Testament is not silent in this matter; Daniel foresaw this ascension and enthronement long before the events of Acts:
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
The Kingdom Is Present
The claim that Daniel 7:13-14 is fulfilled at the ascension of Jesus is often rejected because the prophecy in Daniel is assumed to be picturing Jesus’ second coming. With this assumption the kingdom is something in the future; we are still waiting for Jesus to establish his kingdom. But this is not so. The kingdom is here; the King has been enthroned and has established an eternal kingdom, the physical representation of which is the Church. If a person is a Christian then they are in the Kingdom of God and Jesus is their King.
It’s strange that people will claim that Jesus is Lord and King and yet deny that he has a kingdom, but this is exactly what many do when they look forward to a future kingdom and are blind to the presence of the kingdom today. If Daniel is correctly understood it becomes clear that at the ascension in Acts 1 Jesus is enthroned and established his kingdom which shall never be destroyed.
Daniel’s Prophecy
Timing of the Prophecy
It’s not our purpose to go through an in-depth analysis of Daniel’s prophecy’s here, but a few points are in order. In Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar is given a dream of a statue which represents various earthly kingdoms. The most common understanding throughout the history of the church is that the statue represent Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. We read that “in the days of those kings [(i.e. Rome)] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people” (Daniel 2:45).
If it is correct that God will establish this eternal kingdom during the Roman empire, then it is also the case that Daniel 7:13-14, where the Son of Man is “given dominion and glory and a kingdom…his kingdom shall not be destroyed,” also takes place during the Roman empire. This is exactly what we find in the gospels and Acts: Jesus was born in the Roman empire under the reign of Augustus and ascended during the reign of Tiberius.
Descending or Ascending?
Daniel 7:13-14 is often assumed to be a vision of the Son of Man (i.e. Jesus) descending from the Ancient of Days (i.e. The Father) in order to judge the earth; however, a closer inspection will show that Daniel’s vision should be seen, not as the descending, but as the ascending of the Son of Man. In Daniel 7 the Son of Man does not go forth from the Ancient of Days, rather he “came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.”
Also, in Daniel 7 the Son of Man does not present the kingdom to the Ancient of Days, rather the Son of Man is receiving the kingdom. Contrast this to 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, “Then comes the end, when he [(Jesus)] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” At Jesus’ second coming he does not receive the kingdom, he delivers to the Father the kingdom over which he is already reigning.
The Ascension of the Son of Man
So we see that Daniel 7:13-14 depicts the Son of Man ascending to the Ancient of Days in order to receive his kingdom, not descending to judge the earth. Are there any other connections that would support the claim that Daniel 7:13-14 is fulfilled at Jesus’ ascension in Acts 1? First of all there is the obvious descriptive connection of the cloud. Acts 1:9 and Daniel 7:13 flow together almost perfectly and together give the earthly and heavenly perspective of Jesus’ ascension: “as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” “and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.”
Beyond the physical description we can also see Jesus looking forward to the establishment of the kingdom and the disciples reflecting upon its reality. Jesus says in Mark 9:1 that “there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (cf. Matthew 16:28). The book of Acts opens with Jesus teaching his disciples about the kingdom of God (1:3) and closes with Paul in Rome “proclaiming the kingdom of God” (28:31). We are told in Colossians 1:13 that “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Peter tells us that Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
More examples could be given, but this is sufficient to show that the Scripture teaches that the ascended Jesus is King over his kingdom today.
Conclusion
When Jesus ascended in Acts 1 he was enthroned at the right hand of God and established his kingdom. There will be a future return of Christ when every knee shall bow (Romans 14:11), but the kingdom is already present and active today. Any person who has repented, put their trust in Jesus as Lord, and been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins is currently a citizen of Jesus’ kingdom. How ought we to react to this knowledge of being citizens of the Kingdom? As we are told in Hebrews 12:28, “let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
Studies in the Bible 