If the book of Acts is all about Jesus working to establish God’s kingdom, that prompts us to ask quite naturally, what exactly is the kingdom?
Ultimately the new heaven and earth is the kingdom of God. It is the place where God rules and is acknowledged as King. It is the New Jerusalem where there is peace and prosperity. The wonderful vision we find in Psalm 72:1–20.
Jesus’ answer to the disciples makes it clear that for the moment his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that is present now but not yet in all its fullness. Now the Spirit will empower the apostles to be his witnesses. Now they are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. Now the kingdom will spread from Jerusalem to Judea and elsewhere. Now Christ is working to gather his church from all the nations. But not yet is it the time of final consummation. Not yet is it the time for the public judgment of those who oppose God’s King. Not yet is it the time of glory. First he will go away and they will witness, later he will come again.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”