⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, ⁴⁷ and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ^49 (A)And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”

Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven^(B)

^50 (C)Then he led them out of the city as far as Bethany, where he raised his hands and blessed them. ^51 (D)As he was blessing them, he departed from them and was taken up into heaven.^{[a] 52} They worshiped him and went back into Jerusalem, filled with great joy, ⁵³ and spent all their time in the Temple giving thanks to God.

1 ^(A)Dear Theophilus:

In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work ² until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles. ³ For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God. ^4 (B)And when they came together,^[a] he gave them this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. ^5 (C)John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven

⁶ When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?”

⁷ Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. ^8 (D)But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ^9 (E)After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them ¹¹ and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”