Why Future Events?-Part 13

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WHY FUTURE EVENTS? PART 13

In an earlier article we noted a third tragic consequence of the first Adam’s defection from God: all of nature was subjected to a curse that caused radical changes in the world. Later we noted that, in light of this consequence, there is a third thing that God must do in order to fulfill His purpose for history. When He restores His theocratic kingdom to this earth, He must remove this curse and restore nature to its original condition that existed from the time of creation until the fall of Adam. We also saw that, in light of this necessity, Jesus Christ made a significant statement to His apostles (Matthew 19:28). He indicated that, when He, as the Son of man (the last Adam), will sit upon His throne ruling the world in the future theocratic kingdom, nature will experience “the regeneration” or restoration to its original condition.

Christ was not the only person to foretell this future restoration of nature. Acts 3:19-21 records statements that the Apostle Peter delivered to a crowd of Jews in the area of the Temple sometime after the Day of Pentecost (Acts 3:1-11). After Peter told this crowd that they were guilty of rejecting and killing Jesus Christ, but that God resurrected Him from the dead (vv. 12-15), he then commanded them to repent (change their minds concerning Jesus Christ) and convert (turn to accept Him as their Messiah and Savior). Peter indi­cated that this repentance and conversion would be necessary for their sins to be blotted out (v. 19).

In addition, Peter signified that this repentance and conversion would also be necessary in order for “the times of refreshing” to come (v. 19).^[1] This means that the future times of refreshing cannot come until the people of Israel change their minds concerning Jesus Christ and turn to accept Him as their Messiah and Savior. The expression “the times of refreshing” refers to “the Messianic Age”,^[2] the age when the Messiah will administer God’s rule over the entire earth in the future theocratic kingdom.

Peter also indicated that the future times of refreshing cannot come until God sends Jesus Christ from Heaven to be physically present on the earth again (vv. 19-20). He emphasized this further by making the following assertion: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (v. 21). Heaven had already received Christ into itself on the day of His ascension sometime before Peter made these Acts 3 statements (Acts 1:9). The word “until” in the expression “until the times of restitution of all things” indicated that Christ would not remain in Heaven forever (see also Acts 1:10-11). Thus, Peter was signifying that the future times of restitution of all things cannot come until Christ returns from Heaven to earth in His Second Coming after the Tribulation (see Matthew 24:21, 29-30).

The expressions “the times of refreshing” and “the times of restitution of all things” refer to the same times and “mutually explain one another”.^[3] Thus, both refer to the future Messianic Age when the Messiah will administer God’s rule over the entire earth in the restored theocratic kingdom.

The word translated “restitution” in the expression “the times of restitution of all things” had the following basic meaning in ancient secular usage: “restitution to an earlier state” or “restoration”.^[4] Concerning its meaning in Peter’s Acts 3:21 declaration, Oepke wrote that it “cannot denote the conversion of persons but only the reconstitution or establishment of things…. These are restored, i.e., brought back to the integrity of creation,…”.^[5] In other words, Peter was referring to the future restoration of the original order of things that God established on earth at creation.

F.F. Bruce wrote that “the restitution” to which Peter referred in Acts 3:21 “appears to be identical with the palingenesia (‘regeneration’) of Matt. 19:28…the final inauguration of the new age is accompanied by a renovation of all nature (cf. Rom. 8:18-23)”.^[6] This statement implies that Peter’s Acts 3 proph­ecy and Christ’s Matthew 19:28 prophecy refer to the same future restoration of nature to its original pre-fall state.

In light of what has been observed, we can conclude that in Acts 3:19-21 the Apostle Peter was referring to the future Messianic Age that will begin when Jesus Christ, in con­junction with His Second Coming to earth after the Tribulation, will restore God’s theocratic kingdom rule to the earth and also restore nature to its original condition by removing the curse under which it has labored since the fall of mankind away from God.

Jesus Christ and Peter were not the only persons who foretold the future restoration of nature in the Messianic Age. Old Testament prophets and the Apostle Paul did so as well. In our next article we shall examine Paul’s prophecy and other matters related to the future restoration of nature.

For a study of the Kingdom of God concept in the Bible and the different millennial views that have been advocated during the history of the Church, order the following book: Renald E. Showers, There Really Is A Difference (The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, P.O. Box 908, Bellmawr, NJ 08099). Telephone: (856) 853-5590. Fax: (856) 853-9565.

NOTES

1. ↑ the word translated “when” in the expression “when the times of refreshing shall come” indicates purpose—William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament, p. 580.
2. ↑ Arndt and Gingrich, Ibid., p. 63.
3. ↑ Albrecht Oepke, “apokatastasis,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. I, p. 391.
4. ↑ Albrecht Oepke, Ibid., p. 38.
5. ↑ Ibid., p. 391.
6. ↑ Commentary on the Book of the Acts, footnote 36, p. 91.

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