Acts 1:1-11
Jesus Ascends to Heaven
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
John 21:24-25
John Wrote About Jesus and What He Did
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 20:30-31
The Purpose of John's Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
How can I prove to someone that Abraham Lincoln existed?...And why do I believe that Abraham Lincoln existed?...I have never seen Abraham Lincoln, but I have read about him...There are several books about Lincoln, by different authors and that helps me believe that he did exist and was President...I have seen a couple of movies about him...I have seen old pictures of him...That really is pretty much it, I have read about this President, and what he did...I do believe that he existed, and there are others who believe that he lived, because we have read about him in books or saw his picture, even though they never saw him...People have read what he has done and that he was one of our presidents...We believe basically that what we have read about him is infallible proof that he existed...The same might be said for someone further back in history...Julius Caesar and why do we believe that Caesar existed...We have read about him and believe what we have read...This information about Lincoln and Caesar gets orally passed around at first and then someone one someday wrote about them...Others might believe the two men existed or pick up books to read about them and either believe in them or they don't...Basically we believe in past men and women, especially of very old historical figures and that they existed because what was written about them...We often have no pictures or photos of people in old history that existed a long time ago...I do not know what Caesar looked like, except by sculptures, because no cameras were around in his time...
If we do not believe what is written in the books of older historical figures when we read about a Lincoln or a Caesar existing are we denying the truth about these two men and what they did in history, if they did exist...
The authors of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us their personal stories of Jesus...John, an eyewitness and Disciple of Jesus, says that he is the Disciple that testifies to the things and wrote them done...Luke then writes in the Book of Acts that Jesus presented Himself to His Disciples and gave them many convincing proofs that He was alive...Jesus appeared to His Disciples over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God...On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about...For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”...Luke says Jesus gave His Disciples convincing proof that He was alive and well -even after His death...So the Disciples saw Jesus was well even after His original death on the cross and it is written about...We can either believe what we read or we can choose not to believe what is written in the New Testament Books...