Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 1:7
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
7. It is not for you, &c.] During the tutelage, as it may be called, of His disciples, our Lord constantly avoided giving a direct answer to enquiries which they addressed to Him. He checked in this way their tendency to speculate on the future, and drew their minds to their duty in the present. Cp. Joh 21:21-22.
in his own power ] The word here rendered power is not the same as that so rendered in the following verse. The sense of this first word is “absolute disposal,” and we might well render it authority.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
It is not for you to know – The question of the apostles respected the time of the restoration; it was not whether he would do it. Accordingly, his answer meets precisely their inquiry; and he tells them in general that the time of the great events of Gods kingdom was not to be understood by them. They had asked a similar question on a former occasion, Mat 24:3, Tell us when shall these things be? Jesus had answered them then by showing them that certain signs would precede his coming, and then by saying Mat 24:36, But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. God has uniformly reproved a vain curiosity on such points, 1Th 5:1-2; 2Pe 3:10; Luk 12:39-40.
The times or the seasons – The difference between these words is, that the former denotes any time or period that is indefinite or uncertain; the later denotes a fixed, definite, or appropriate time. They seem to be used here to denote the periods that would mark or determine all future events.
The Father hath put … – So entirely had the Father reserved the knowledge of these to himself, that it is said that even the Son did not know them. See Mar 3:32, and the notes on that place.
In his own power – That is, he has fixed them by his own authority, he will bring them about in his own time and way; and therefore it is not proper for people anxiously to inquire into them. All prophecy is remarkably obscure in regard to the time of its fulfillment. The reasons why it is so are such as the following:
- To excite people to watch for the events that are to come, as the time is uncertain, and they will come like a thief in the night.
(2)As they are to be brought about by human agency, they are so arranged as to call forth that agency. If people knew just when an event was to come to pass, they might be remiss, and feel that their own efforts were not needed.
(3)The knowledge of future scenes of the exact time, might alarm people, and absorb their thoughts so entirely as to prevent a proper attention to the present duties of life. Duty is ours now; God will provide for future scenes.
(4)Promises sufficiently clear and full are therefore given us to encourage us, but not so full as to excite a vain and idle curiosity. All this is eminently true of our own death, one of the most important future scenes through which we are to pass. It is certainly before us; it is near; it cannot be long delayed; it may come at any moment. God has fixed the time, but will not inform us when it shall be. He does not gratify a vain curiosity; nor does he terrify us by announcing to us the day or the hour when we are to die, as we do a man that is to be executed. This would be to make our lives like that of a criminal sentenced to die, and we should through all our life, through fear of death, be subject to bondage, Heb 2:15. He has made enough known to excite us to make preparation, and to be always ready, having our loins girt about and our lamps trimmed and burning, Luk 12:35.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. The times or the seasons] . Times here may signify any large portion of a period, aera, or century-such as an Olympiad, lustrum or year; and seasons, the particular part, season, or opportunity in that period, c., in which it might be proper to do any particular work. God has not only fixed the great periods in which he will bring about those great revolutions which his wisdom, justice, and mercy have designed, but he leaves himself at full liberty to choose those particular portions of such periods as may be best for the accomplishment of those purposes. Thus God is no necessary agent-every thing is put in his own power, , under his control and authority nor will he form decrees of which he must become the necessary executor. The infinite liberty of acting or not acting, as wisdom, justice, and goodness shall see best, is essential to God, nor can there be a point in the whole of his eternity in which he must be the necessary agent of a fixed and unalterable fate. Infinite, eternal liberty to act or not to act, to create or not create, to destroy or not destroy, belongs to God alone, and we must take care how we imagine decrees, formed even by his own prescience, in reference to futurity, which his power is from the moment of their conception laid under the necessity of performing. In every point of time and eternity, God must be free to act or not to act, as may seem best to his godly wisdom.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our Saviour blames their curiosity about such things as are not necessary to be known; and yet though our Saviour does not in his answer tell them what they desired to know, he tells them what is more expedient for them to know. The petition of wicked men, nay, of devils, (as when they crave to go into the swine), is sometimes granted according to their will. But the prayer of the disciples of Christ is answered to their best advantage, though it does not seem to agree to the matter of their desire.
It is not for you to know the times or the seasons; how long any mercy shall be deferred; when it shall be given.
The Father; who is fons et origo Deitatis; to whom Christ, especially as Mediator, and in our stead, refers all things.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. It is not for you to know thetimes, &c.implying not only that this was not thetime, but that the question was irrelevant to their present businessand future work.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said unto them,…. To his disciples,
it is not for you to know the times or the seasons; meaning, not the times that are past from Adam to Christ; as how long the world stood; when the flood came; when Sodom and Gomorrha were burned to ashes; when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, and the law was given to them; when the kingdom of Israel began, and when the Jews were carried captive, and when they returned; when the sceptre departed from Judah, and Daniel’s weeks had an end: or the particular seasons of the year, and the times for planting, ploughing, sowing, reaping, c. but when should be the time, the day, and hour of the coming of the son of man, when he shall set up his kingdom in a more glorious manner, and the kingdoms of this world shall become his or when the kingdom shall be restored to Israel. This, by the Jews, is said to be one of the seven things hid from men k:
“seven things are hid from the children of men, and these are they; the day of death, and the day of consolation, and the depth of judgment, and a man knows not what is in the heart of his neighbour, nor with what he shall be rewarded, and “when the kingdom of the house of David shall return”, and when the kingdom of Persia shall fall.”
Which the Father hath put in his own power; and not in the power of a creature, no, not of the angels; see Mt 24:36 wherefore it is vain and sinful, as well as fruitless, to indulge a curious inquiry into these things, or into the times and seasons of what is future; as of the time of a man’s death, of the end of the world, of the second coming of Christ; only those things should be looked into which God has revealed, and put into the power of man to know by diligent search and inquiry. Says R. Simeon l,
“flesh and blood, (i.e. man), which knows not , “its times and its moments”, (and so the Vulgate Latin renders the words here), ought to add a void space to the blessed God, who knows the times and moments.”
k T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 54. 2. Vid. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 65. fol. 57. 4. l Apud R. Sol. Jarchi in Gen. ii. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Times or seasons ( ). “Periods” and “points” of time sometimes and probably so here, but such a distinction is not always maintained. See Ac 17:26 for in the same sense as for long periods of time. But here some distinction seems to be called for. It is curious how eager people have always been to fix definite dates about the second coming of Christ as the apostles were about the political Messianic kingdom which they were expecting.
Hath set (). Second aorist middle indicative, emphasizing the sovereignty of the Father in keeping all such matters to himself, a gentle hint to people today about the limits of curiosity. Note also “his own” () “authority” ().
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The times – the seasons [ – ] . Rev. properly omits the article. The former of these words, time absolutely, without regard to circumstances; the latter, definite periods, with the idea of fitness. His own [ ] . Stronger than the simple possessive pronoun. The adjective means private, personal. Often used adverbially in the phrase kat’ ijdian, apart, privately. See Mt 17:1; Mt 24:3.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And He said unto them,” (eipen pros autos) “He responded or replied to them,” to the Apostles and other members of the assembled brethren, the church “ye”, who had assembled with Him, Act 1:3-6.
2) “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons,” (ouch humon estin gnonai chronous e kairous) It does not exist (in the will of the Father) (for) of you all to recognize the chronological times or the eras of time,” With regards to the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. Like Daniel who repeatedly inquired of the Lord for definitive details regarding the final 42 months of Israel’s trouble was told to forget it, leave it to others who would understand in their times, so our Lord spoke to His church regarding the restoration of Israel, Dan 11:45; Dan 12:1; Dan 12:4; Dan 12:6-10; Dan 12:13.
3) “Which the Father hath put in His own power.”(hous ho pater etheto en te idia eksousia) “Which chronological times and eras (seasons of time) the Father placed, fixed, set or located (held) in His own authority; and when that time comes, approaches, the “wise shall understand,” and those then living and watching, the church “ye,” the children of light,” shall understand, that that day shall not “come upon them unaware.” This is the revelation theses of Daniel, Jesus, and Paul, Dan 12:10; Luk 21:3-36; 1Th 5:1-5; Heb 9:28.
How long, as a chronological event, or when the season of the church’s witness to the Gentile World, to all nations will be over, fulfilled, or completed, no one knows, but there are sufficient prophetic events that have been, are being, and only a few that may yet be fulfilled, so that true Bible believers and church members must not let that day of our Lord’s return come upon them unawares, asa thief in the night, to find them unexpectant or unprepared, Mat 24:37; Mat 24:42; Mat 24:44; Mat 25:1; Mat 25:5-13; Mar 13:33-37.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
7. It is not for you to know, etc. This is a general reprehension of the whole question. For it was too curious for them to desire to know that whereof their Master would have them ignorant; but this is the true means to become wise, namely, to go as far forward in learning as our Master Christ goeth in teaching, anal willingly to be ignorant of those things which he doth conceal from us. But forasmuch as there is naturally engendered in us a certain foolish and vain curiosity, and also a certain rash kind of boldness, we must diligently observe this admonition of Christ, whereby he correcteth both these vices. But to the end we may know what his meaning is hereby, we must mark the two members which he joineth together. “It is not for you” (saith he) “to know those things which the Father hath placed in his own power.” He speaketh, indeed, of the times and seasons; but seeing there is the like reason in other things, we must think this to be a universal precept, That being contented with the revelation of God, we think it an heinous crime to inquire any further. This is the true mean between the two extremes. The Papists, that they may have somewhat wherewith to cloak their gross ignorance, say for themselves, that they omit the hidden mysteries of God, as though our whole faith and religion did consist upon any thing else than upon the hidden mysteries of God; then may we take our leave of Christ and his gospel, if we must abstain utterly from the hidden mysteries of God. But we must keep, as I said before a mean herein; for we must be desirous to learn so far as our heavenly Master doth teach us; but as for such things as he will have us ignorant of, let mine be so bold as to inquire after them that we may be wise with sobriety. Therefore, so often as we are vexed with this foolish desire of knowing more than we ought, let us call to mind this saying of Christ, “It is not for you to know.” For unless we will burst in against his will and commandment, this shall have force and strength enough to restrain the outrageousness of our wits.
Now, as touching the foreknowledge of times, Christ condemneth only the searching out thereof which reacheth beyond the measure of God’s revelation; and that is to be noted out of the second member, as before I have said, “which the Father hath placed in his own power.” Truth it is, that God hath in his own power winter and summer, and the rest of the seasons of the year, cold and heat, fair weather and foul. But because he hath testified that the course of the years shall be perpetual, (Gen 1:14,) he is said not to have placed that in his own power which he hath revealed unto men. What thing soever the philosophers or husbandmen do comprehend or understand by art, by learning, by judgment, or experience, all that doth God not retain unto himself, because he hath after a certain sort revealed it unto them, (Gen 8:22.) The same opinion must we have of the prophets; for it was their office to know those things which God did reveal. But we must be ignorant of the secret events of things, as touching the time to come; for there is nothing which may make us more slack in doing our duties, than too careful an inquisition herein, for we will always take counsel according to the future event of things; but the Lord, by hiding the same from us, doth prescribe unto us what we ought to do. Here ariseth a conflict, because we will not willingly suffer God to have that which is his own, namely, the sole government and direction of things which are to come; but we cast ourselves into a strange and inordinate carefulness. To conclude, Christ forbiddeth us to apply those things unto ourselves, which God doth challenge as proper to himself alone. Of this sort is the foreknowledge of those things which God hath taken to himself to govern and direct, according to his own pleasure, far contrary to our opinion, and otherwise than we could invent. (26)
(26) “ Supra ingenii nostri captum,” beyond the reach of our minds.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) It is not for you to know the times or the seasons.The combination of the two words is characteristic of St. Luke and St. Paul (1Th. 5:1). The answer to the eager question touches the season rather than the nature of the fulfilment of their hopes. They are left to the teaching of the Spirit and of Time to remould and purify their expectations of the restoration of Israel. What was needed now was the patience that waits for and accepts that teaching.
Which the Father hath put in his own power.Better, as free from the ambiguity which attaches to the present version, which the Father appointed by His own authority.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. The times or the seasons Without confirming, denying, or correcting their notion, postponing the right informing of their views to the Pentecost, Jesus gently reproves their impatience in regard to the time. He gives an admonition which Christians of all ages would do well to note. The attempting by prophetic calculations to fix the precise date of any future event reduces the Scripture to a mere fortune-teller’s manual. Few errors within the limits of Christianity have been more dangerous or disgraceful in effect either upon the credit of the Bible, or upon the mind of the individuals. The word times here signifies the great current, and seasons the particular points or epochs of time.
Put in his own power A very striking expression, indicating that the Omnipotent reserves for his own decision the great events of the world, and especially the world’s “last things.” God is his own counsellor, and, like a wise sovereign, keeps his own secrets of state. Nay, more, the free actions of men being undecreed are intrinsically alternative, and able to proceed in either of diverse ways. See note on Mat 11:23; Mat 11:25, and Rom 2:1-10; Rom 8:29-30. Israel was able to accept Messiah-Jesus. And had all Israel been thus true to her national mission, the Pentecostal outpouring would not have been confined to the precincts of an upper room. The latter glory would have forthwith filled the temple and the nation, and such would have been its wondrous manifestation of splendour and of power that Rome would have bowed the knee, and the fulness of the Gentiles would have been gathered in. Christ would have even seen the travail of his soul and been satisfied. The consummation and the advent might have been hastened by centuries, perhaps by millenniums. The Father thus reserves the times and seasons in his own power, in view of the contingencies of the world’s future events and courses. (See note Act 2:1.) This reservation by the Father is in striking harmony with our Lord’s declaration in Mar 13:32, where not only men and angels, but even the Son, is excluded from a knowledge of the day and the hour. (See our note.) This declaration of our Lord furnishes the key-note for St. Paul’s times and seasons, 1Th 5:1, and other similar passages.
Bengel remarks, however, “The thing itself is true, otherwise there would be no time for the thing.” True, it may be replied; but what the true nature of the thing is that is, of the restoration of the kingdom or nationality to Israel our Lord stops not to explain. It may be that the true kingdom the Church of God is to be restored to the natural Israel only by his becoming a part of the true Israel. And this is implied by the universal spread of the Gospel, described in Act 1:8. Thus much is certain, that the New Testament contains not one explicit literal declaration that the Jewish nation is to be so restored to the land of Palestine, or that Jerusalem is to be again the local head of the theocracy or kingdom of God. Neither Jerusalem nor the Jew is recognised as a distinct department or element in the new dispensation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has set within His own authority.” ’
Jesus’ reply is basically that they must leave the more distant future, and questioning how the Father will go about things, in the hands of God and not take a morbid interest in the matter. At this point in time that future was hidden. It had nothing to do with them. God alone had the right to decide such matters, and they were outside human speculation. We can compare here how Jesus used the same method in dealing with Peter’s questions about John’s death (Joh 21:22). It was simply a way of saying, ‘mind your own business’. But He, Jesus, was now issuing His orders and telling them what their present business was. What God would do in the future, and when He would do it, were matters to be left in His hands and not to be speculated on, but what they had to do now was quite clear.
We must not in fact assume that all the disciples had the same view as each other on such matters. Many theories were rife in Judaea and Galilee at the time, and many differing views were held about what Messiah would do and be when he came. Nathaniel may well have had very different views from James and John. But it was not Jesus’ purpose to sort out those views at this time. They would simply have been a diversion. Rather they were to put them to one side. They had to forget their hopes of earthly glory and concentrate on the task in hand. There was a job to be done, and it was that that they must concentrate on.
‘Times or seasons.’ The phrase includes both when those things will be and what will occur during them. They are not to be taken up with either. This was not a time for waiting and speculating it was a time for acting and doing. The same command comes to us today. ‘Leave your speculating about the more future to one side, and get out and witness both with lip and life (compare ‘to do and to teach’ in Act 1:1), until every person in every land has had fully presented to them the Gospel and has been given the opportunity to respond.’ We repeat again, this does not mean that we must not seek to interpret all parts of the word of God, but it does mean that that should not become a hindrance to our full and complete service for Jesus Christ, or cause our different interpretations to hinder our working together.
If Jesus were to say the same today He might well declare, ‘Beware lest you let doctrine about the Second Coming, and especially speculation about its details, take up too much of your time, or divide you and prevent you from fulfilling your responsibility to be a combined witness to Jesus Christ, for in the end what God will do can safely be left in His hands. What matters most for you is that you concentrate on the task in hand and present to people the truth about Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection and present Lordship.’ (He could also have safely added, ‘because in the end you will all have got it partly right and partly wrong’).
For ‘the times’ see especially Act 3:19; Act 3:21 which refer to ‘the times of refreshing’ and the ‘times of restitution of all things’. Those are the times that they are permitted to know about, the former preparatory for it and signifying the blessing that was coming on the church though the life-giving activity of the Spirit as they went forward to prepare for His return in the new age that had come, and the latter referring to the final introduction of the everlasting Kingdom when all would be restored. But Acts also refers to ‘times past’ (Act 14:13) when nations were allowed to walk in their own ways, the ‘times’ of man’s ignorance (Act 17:30), referring to the past and present time of man’s darkness, and ‘the times before appointed’ (Act 17:26) when nations settled in their various places. All these times, says Jesus, are in God’s hands. ‘Seasons’ usually refers to the various ‘seasons’ which occur within those ‘times’ (see Act 14:17; Act 20:18). Basically Jesus is saying that it is futile for men to try to work out God’s timetable, for only He knows it and He does not reveal it (not even to His Son – while he was on earth – Mar 13:32). What we are to recognise of those times and seasons is that they will come suddenly and unexpectedly (1Th 5:1-3).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
f
Act 1:7 f. Jesus refuses to answer the question of the disciples; not indeed in respect of the matter itself involved, but in respect of the time inquired after, as not beseeming them (observe the emphatic ); and on the contrary ( ) He turns their thoughts, and guides their interest to their future official equipment and destination, which alone they were now to lay to heart. Chrysostom aptly says: , , .
] times or , in order to denote the idea still more definitely, seasons . is not equivalent to , but denotes a definite marked off portion of time with the idea of fitness . See Thom. Mag. p. 489 f.; Tittm. Synon. N. T. p. 41. On , which is not equivalent to , comp. here Dem. Ol. 3 : ;
] has established by means of His own plenitude of power . On , comp. Mat 21:23 .
The whole declaration (Act 1:7 ) is a general proposition , the application of which to the question put by the disciples is left to them; therefore only in respect of this application is an ad hanc rem perficiendam to be mentally supplied with . Bengel, however, well observes: “gravis descriptio reservati divini;” and “ergo res ipsa firma est, alias nullum ejus rei tempus esset.” But this res ipsa was, in the view of Jesus (which, however, we have no right to put into the question of the disciples , in opposition to Hofmann, Schriftbew . II. 2, p. 647), the restoration of the kingdom, not for the natural, but for the spiritual Israel, comprehending also the believing Gentiles (Rom 4:9 ), for the (Gal 6:16 ); see Mat 8:11 ; Joh 10:16 ; Joh 10:26 ; Joh 8:42 ff. al. ; and already Mat 3:9 .
. . . ] power, when the Holy Spirit has (shall have) come upon you , Winer, p. 119 [E. T. 156].
] namely, of my teaching, actions, and life, what ye all have yourselves heard and seen, Act 5:21 f., Act 10:39 ff.; Luk 24:48 ; Joh 15:27 .
. ] denotes the sphere of the apostles’ work in its commencement and progress, up to its most general diffusion; therefore is not to be explained of the land , but of the earth ; and, indeed, it is to be observed that Jesus delineates for the apostles their sphere ideally . Comp. Act 13:47 ; Isa 8:9 ; Rom 10:18 ; Col 1:23 ; Mar 16:15 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Ver. 7. It is not for you ] This key God carries under his own girdle.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 .] This is a general reproof and assertion, spoken with reference to men , as forbidden to search curiously into a point which Omniscience has reserved the times and seasons of the future divine dealings. But it is remarkable that not , but , is here used; and this cannot fail to remind us of that saying ( Mar 13:32 ), , , , . It may be observed however, that the same assertion is not made here : only the times and seasons said to be in the power of the Almighty Father, Who ordereth all things . The Knowledge of the Son is not here in question, only that of the disciples . It is an enquiry intimately connected with the interpretation of the two passages, but one beyond our power to resolve, how far, among the things not yet put under His feet, may be this very thing, the knowledge of that day and hour . Bengel attempts to evade the generality of the : ‘qu apostolorum nondum erat nosse, per Apocalypsin postea sunt significata.’ But signified to whom? What individual, or portion of the Church, has ever read plainly these in that mysterious book? There is truth in Olsh.’s remark, that the Apostles were to be less prophets of the future, than witnesses of the past; but we must not so limit the , nor forget that the . has very seldom been imparted by prophecy, which generally has formed a testimony to this very fact, that God has them in His foreknowledge, and, while He announces the events, conceals for the most part in obscurity the times .
. .] not synonymous; as Meyer observes, is always a definite limited space of time, and involves the idea of transitoriness. See also Tittmann, N. T. Synonymes, pp. 39 45.
. . .] Some (De Wette, al.) render ‘hath appointed by His own power;’ I should rather take . as in ch. Act 5:4 , in His own power , and understand by kept , ‘(hath) placed,’ as E. V. But the aor. sense should be preserved: the period referred to being that of the arrangement of the divine counsels of Redemption.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 1:7 . : Blass regards the two as synonymous, and no doubt it is difficult always to maintain a distinction. But here may well be taken to mean space of time as such, the duration of the Church’s history, and the critical periods in that history. , (Ammonius). A good instance of the distinction may be found in LXX Neh 10:34 : , “at times appointed”; cf. 1Th 5:1 . So here Weiss renders: “zu kennen Zeiten und geeignete Zeitpunkte”. In modern Greek, whilst means weather , means year , so that “in both words the kernel of meaning has remained unaltered; this in the case of is changeableness, of duration” (Curtius, Etym. , p. 110 sq. ); cf. also Trench, N. T. Synonyms , ii., p. 27 ff.; Kennedy, Sources of N. T. Greek , p. 153; and Grimm-Thayer, sub v. . , authority , R.V. either as delegated or unrestrained, the liberty of doing as one pleases ( ); , power , natural ability, inherent power, residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or , which a person or thing exerts or puts forth so is ascribed to Christ, now in one sense, now in another, so also to the Holy Spirit as in Act 1:8 ; cf. Act 10:38 , Luk 4:14 , Rom 15:13 ; Bengel, Luk 4:36 , and Grimm-Thayer, Synonyms. Sub v. .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts
THE ASCENSION
THE UNKNOWN TO-MORROW A New Year’s Sermon
Act 1:7
The New Testament gives little encouragement to a sentimental view of life. Its writers had too much to do, and too much besides to think about, for undue occupation with pensive remembrances or imaginative forecastings. They bid us remember as a stimulus to thanksgiving and a ground of hope. They bid us look forward, but not along the low levels of earth and its changes. One great future is to draw all our longings and to fix our eyes, as the tender hues of the dawn kindle infinite yearnings in the soul of the gazer. What may come is all hidden; we can make vague guesses, but reach nothing more certain. Mist and cloud conceal the path in front of the portion which we are actually traversing, but when it climbs, it comes out clear from the fogs that hang about the flats. We can track it winding up to the throne of Christ. Nothing is certain, but the coming of the Lord and ‘our gathering together to Him.’
The words of this text in their original meaning point only to the ignorance of the time of the end which Christ had been foretelling. But they may allow of a much wider application, and their lessons are in entire consonance with the whole tone of Scripture in regard to the future. We are standing now at the beginning of a New Year, and the influence of the season is felt in some degree by us all. Not for the sake of repressing any wise forecasting which has for its object our preparation for probable duties and exigencies; not for the purpose of repressing that trustful anticipation which, building on our past time and on God’s eternity, fronts the future with calm confidence; not for the sake of discouraging that pensive and softened mood which if it does nothing more, at least delivers us for a moment from the tyrannous power of the present, do we turn to these words now; but that we may together consider how much they contain of cheer and encouragement, of stimulus to our duty, and of calming for our hearts in the prospect of a New Year. They teach us the limits of our care for the future, as they give us the limits of our knowledge of it. They teach us the best remedies for all anxiety, the great thoughts that tranquillise us in our ignorance, viz. that all is in God’s merciful hand, and that whatever may come, we have a divine power which will fit us for it; and they bid us anticipate our work and do it, as the best counterpoise for all vain curiosity about what may be coming on the earth.
I. The narrow limits of our knowledge of the future.
I need not remind you how merciful and good it is that it is so. Therefore coming sorrows do not diffuse anticipatory bitterness as of tainted water percolating through gravel, and coming joys are not discounted, and the present has a reality of its own, and is not coloured by what is to come.
Then this being so-what is the wise course of conduct? Not a confident reckoning on to-morrow. There is nothing elevating in anticipation which paints the blank surface of the future with the same earthly colours as dye the present. There is no more complete waste of time than that. Nor is proud self-confidence any wiser, which jauntily takes for granted that ‘tomorrow will be as this day.’ The conceit that things are to go on as they have been fools men into a dream of permanence which has no basis. Nor is the fearful apprehension of evil any wiser. How many people spoil the present gladness with thoughts of future sorrow, and cannot enjoy the blessedness of united love for thinking of separation!
In brief, it is wise to be but little concerned with the future, except-
1. In the way of taking reasonable precautions to prepare for its probabilities.
2. To fit ourselves for its duties.
One future we may contemplate. Our fault is not that we look forward, but that we do not look far enough forward. Why trouble with the world when we have heaven? Why look along the low level among the mists of earth and forests and swamps, when we can see the road climbing to the heights? Why be anxious about what three hundred and sixty-five days may bring, when we know what Eternity will bring? Why divert our God-given faculty of hope from its true object? Why torment ourselves with casting the fashion of uncertain evils, when we can enter into the great peace of looking for ‘that blessed Hope’?
II. The safe Hands which keep the future.
Whatever the future may bring, it will be loving, paternal discipline. He shapes it all and keeps it in His hands. Why should we be anxious? That great name of ‘Father’ binds Him to tender, wise, disciplinary dealing, and should move us to calm and happy trust.
III. The sufficient strength to face the future.
The Spirit of God is the true Interpreter of Providence. He calms our nature, and enlightens our understanding to grasp the meaning of all our experiences. The Spirit makes joy more blessed, by keeping us from undue absorption in it. The Spirit is the Comforter. The Spirit fits us for duty.
So be quite sure that nothing will come to you in your earthly future, which He does not Himself accompany to interpret it, and to make it pure blessing.
IV. The practical duty in view of the future.
b The great remedy for morbid anticipation lies in regarding life as the opportunity for service. Never mind about the future, let it take care of itself. Work! That clears away cobwebs from our brains, as when a man wakes from troubled dreams, to hear ‘the sweep of scythe in morning dew,’ and the shout of the peasant as he trudges to his task, and the lowing of the cattle, and the clink of the hammer.
c The great work we have to do in the future is to be witnesses for Christ. This is the meaning of all life; we can do it in joy and in sorrow, and we shall bear a charmed life till it be done. So the words of the text are a promise of preservation.
Then, dear brethren, how do you stand fronting that Unknown? How can you face it without going mad, unless you know God and trust Him as your Father through Christ? If you do, you need have no fear. To-morrow lies all dim and strange before you, but His gentle and strong hand is working in the darkness and He will shape it right. He will fit you to bear it all. If you regard it as your supreme duty and highest honour to be Christ’s witness, you will be kept safe, ‘delivered out of the mouth of the lion,’ that by you ‘the preaching may be fully known.’
If not, how dreary is that future to you, ‘all dim and cheerless, like a rainy sea,’ from which wild shapes may come up and devour you! Love and friendship will pass, honour and strength will fail, life will ebb away, and of all that once stretched before you, nothing will be left but one little strip of sand, fast jellying with the tide beneath your feet, and before you a wild unlighted ocean!
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
unto. Greek. pros. App-104.
for you = yours.
know. Greek. ginosko. App-132.
the times, &c. = the great time, &c. A Hebraism, plural of majesty. Figure of speech Heterosis. App-6.
in. Greek. en, as Act 1:6.
power = authority. App-172.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7.] This is a general reproof and assertion, spoken with reference to men, as forbidden to search curiously into a point which Omniscience has reserved-the times and seasons of the future divine dealings. But it is remarkable that not , but , is here used; and this cannot fail to remind us of that saying (Mar 13:32), , , , . It may be observed however, that the same assertion is not made here: only the times and seasons said to be in the power of the Almighty Father, Who ordereth all things . The Knowledge of the Son is not here in question, only that of the disciples. It is an enquiry intimately connected with the interpretation of the two passages, but one beyond our power to resolve, how far, among the things not yet put under His feet, may be this very thing, the knowledge of that day and hour. Bengel attempts to evade the generality of the :-qu apostolorum nondum erat nosse, per Apocalypsin postea sunt significata. But signified to whom? What individual, or portion of the Church, has ever read plainly these in that mysterious book? There is truth in Olsh.s remark, that the Apostles were to be less prophets of the future, than witnesses of the past; but we must not so limit the , nor forget that the . has very seldom been imparted by prophecy, which generally has formed a testimony to this very fact, that God has them in His foreknowledge, and, while He announces the events, conceals for the most part in obscurity the times.
. .] not synonymous; as Meyer observes, is always a definite limited space of time, and involves the idea of transitoriness. See also Tittmann, N. T. Synonymes, pp. 39-45.
. . .] Some (De Wette, al.) render hath appointed by His own power; I should rather take . as in ch. Act 5:4, in His own power, and understand by kept, (hath) placed, as E. V. But the aor. sense should be preserved: the period referred to being that of the arrangement of the divine counsels of Redemption.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 1:7. , not for you is it) He does not say, It is not for you; but not for you (not your part) is it; in order that the emphasis may be on the [Engl. Vers. loses this point]. Comp. by all means Joh 4:38, ,-, not ye-others have; and not unto thee (it appertained), but to the priests, 2Ch 26:18; and , Not to us and to you belongeth the office of building, etc., Ezr 4:3. It is a kindly repulse, and an impressive description of the Divine Reserve; and yet its aim is not to censure but to teach. He does not say, It is not part of your right and office to ask; but He says, Not yours is it to know. The Father has not ordered that this should he in your power, but has reserved it to His own power, that He should Himself know and do. Comp. Mat 24:36, Of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Not yours is it, saith He; from which it is not a legitimate inference, that it will not be the privilege even of others hereafter. The Revelation of the Divine economy has its successive steps: 1Pe 1:12, Unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported, etc.; Mat 11:11; Rev 1:1.- , the intervals (periods) or times [the times or the seasons]) The question of the disciples is corrected, and the general term, , at this interval (period), is determined by another term being added, , the intervals (periods) or times, as we have elsewhere shown. Let it be generally observed in this place, that something longer is meant by than by : ch. Act 7:17; Act 7:20, As the time ( ) of the promise drew nigh, In which season () Moses was born. Justus Jonas writes, It is enough that you know from the Scriptures that it is about to come to pass that all things shall be restored; but when this is about to be, belongs to GOD.-, which) To pry into the times reserved to GOD, is the part of mere curiosity: not to concern ones self about what has been revealed, is the part of a petty or a drowsy mind: Dan 9:2; 1Pe 1:11, Searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify; Rev 13:18. The things which did not as yet belong to the apostles to know, were afterwards signified by the Apocalypse. The more general enunciation of truths does not derogate from the special revelation which follows subsequently. Peter also has it said to him in this place, Thine it is not, altogether as in Joh 21:22-23, What is that to thee?- , the Father) Mat 20:23, To sit on My right hand is not Mine to give, but-to them for whom it is prepared of My Father; Mat 24:36.-, hath put) Therefore the thing itself is sure: otherwise there would be no time of the thing.- , in His own power) At the time of the farther revelation, and especially of the actual fulfilment, even those things which heretofore had rested in the Fathers power, are known.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
It: Act 17:26, Deu 29:29, Dan 2:21, Mat 24:36, Mar 13:32, Luk 21:24, Eph 1:10, 1Th 5:1, 1Th 5:2, 1Ti 6:15, 2Ti 3:1
which: Mat 20:23, Mar 10:40
Reciprocal: Gen 17:21 – at Exo 12:41 – selfsame Jos 6:10 – until the day Job 14:13 – appoint me Job 24:1 – seeing Job 33:13 – giveth not account Psa 31:15 – My times Psa 75:2 – receive the congregation Psa 102:13 – the set Ecc 3:17 – for Isa 40:2 – warfare Dan 11:27 – yet Dan 12:8 – but Hab 2:3 – the vision Zec 14:7 – which Mar 9:1 – the kingdom Mar 13:4 – General Luk 13:23 – And Luk 17:20 – when the Luk 21:7 – when Joh 7:6 – My time Joh 21:21 – Lord Gal 4:4 – the fulness
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
The specific time or date of the plans of the Father were not to be announced beforehand to the apostles. That is why they were told to tarry in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit, and then they would know all they needed to know to carry on the work for which they had been called.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 1:7. And he said unto them. The Lords reply in the 7th and 8th verses tacitly sanctions their expectation of a great restoration, but gravely rebukes the self-seeking impatience of His Jewish followers, and by His broad command respecting their preaching and work, sweeps away all exclusive Jewish interpretation of that restoration being only intended for Israel. The whole teaching of the Acts showsthat in the sight of God all men were alike, and might share in the same blessingsHis witnesses were to carry the good news of salvation to the uttermost part of the earth.
It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. In spite of this warning, many of the Churchs noblest servants in different ages, from the age of the apostles to our own days, have tried to fix these times; surely these ever recurring mistakes should call men back to consider the last words of the Lord whenever these vain attempts are made to fix times and seasons for the great restoration of all things. That day and that hour is known to the Father only.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 6
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
TIMES AND SEASONS
7. Probably a better translation of these Greek words would be periods and epochs. You plant out a peach orchard. Then follows a period running over a number of years during which the trees flourish and yield their fruits. Eventually they get old and diseased, and the fruit is not only imperfect in quality but much reduced in quantity, so that it no longer pays to perpetuate the enterprise. The fruit bearing period is past and a revolutionary epoch supervenes. You dig the trees up by the roots, make fuel of trunks, roots and branches, plough and harrow the ground as virgin soil and proceed to pitch another crop on an entirely different agricultural line. So, in the Divine administration, we see these periods occupying rolling centuries and wound up by miraculous Divine interventions, developing memorable epochs and superinducing a new order of things. The Eden period terminated in the sad calamity of the Fall; the antediluvian, with the Flood; the patriarchal, with Egyptian slavery, plagues, and destruction in the Red Sea. The Mosaic dispensation, launched amid the thunders and earthquakes of Sinai, adorned with many prophets, saints and martyrs, finally degenerated, like its predecessors, into dead formality and hollow hypocrisy, rushing madly into the bloody scene of Calvary, fast ripening for destruction by the invasion of the Roman armies. The Gospel dispensation, the last of all in the grand preparatory for the coming kingdom, though inaugurated amid the unprecedented glories of Pentecost, pursuant to prophecies has already degenerated into worldly ecclesiasticisms, fast ripening for destruction. It is not your prerogative to know the periods and epochs, which the Father placed in his own authority. The appointment of the day of His coming is fanatical, as this is known to the Father only. However, it is our privilege to know the time of the end, the precise time being known only to the Father, from the simple fact that it is probably impossible for any human being to know the exact chronology. Professors Totton and Dimbleby, evidently the greatest chronologists of the present age, define the expiration of the Gentile times in the last vernal equinox (1898). The lunar chronology finishes the Gentile times seven years ago; the calendar chronology, thirty-five years hence, and the solar chronology, in seventy years. If we take Daniels tribulation period, forty five years, to intervene between the rapture of the Bride and the coming of the King, we may certainly be on the constant lookout, because by the majority of chronologists the coming of the Lord to steal away His Bride is over-due. That we are living in the time of the end of the Gentile dispensation and in the Millennial dawn, is certainly indubitable.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the {f} seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
(f) That is, the proper occasions that provide opportunities for doing matters, which occasions the Lord has appointed to bring things to pass in.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus did not correct the disciples for believing that the messianic kingdom would come. [Note: See John A. McLean, "Did Jesus Correct the Disciples’ View of the Kingdom?" Bibliotheca Sacra 151:602 (April-June 1994):215-27.] He only corrected their assumption that they could know when the kingdom would begin and that the kingdom would begin in a few days.
Amillennialists do not believe that God will restore an earthly kingdom to Israel as Israel but that He will restore a spiritual kingdom to the church, which they believe has replaced physical Israel as "spiritual Israel" or "the new Israel." Premillennialists believe that since the promises about Messiah’s earthly reign have not yet been fulfilled, and since every reference to Israel in the New Testament can refer to physical Israel, we should anticipate an earthly reign of Messiah on the earth following His second coming.
"Jesus’ answer to the question about restoring the reign to Israel denies that Jesus’ followers can know the time and probably corrects their supposition that the restoration may come immediately, but it does not deny the legitimacy of their concern with the restoration of the national life of the Jewish people." [Note: Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts , 2:15.]
"This passage makes it clear that while the covenanted form of the theocracy has not been cancelled and has only been postponed, this present age is definitely not a development of the Davidic form of the kingdom. Rather, it is a period in which a new form of theocratic administration is inaugurated. In this way Jesus not only answered the disciples’ question concerning the timing of the future Davidic kingdom, but He also made a clear distinction between it and the intervening present form of the theocratic administration." [Note: Pentecost, p. 269.]
Jesus’ disciples were not to know yet when the messianic kingdom would begin. God would reveal the "times" (Gr. chronous, length of time) and "epochs" (Gr. kairous, dates, or major features of the times) after Jesus’ ascension, and He would make them known through His chosen prophets (cf. 1Th 5:1; Revelation 6-19).
"In Act 3:20 [sic 19], the phrase chosen is kairoi anapsuxeos (seasons of refreshing). . . . In other words, the last days of fulfillment have two parts. There is the current period of refreshing, which is correlated to Jesus’ reign in heaven and in which a person shares, if he or she repents. Then at the end of this period Jesus will come to bring the restoration of those things promised by the Old Testament." [Note: Darrell L. Bock, Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church, p. 57.]
"There is a close connection between the hope expressed in Act 1:6 and the conditional promise of Peter in Act 3:19-21, indicated not only by the unusual words ’restore’ and ’restoration . . .’ but also by the references to ’times . . .’ and ’seasons . . .’ in both contexts. The ’times of restoration of all that God spoke’ through the prophets include the restoration of the reign to Israel through its messianic King." [Note: Tannehill, 2:15-16.]