Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 3:21
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
21. whom the heaven must receive ] and retain, as we are witnesses that He has been taken up into heaven.
until the times of restitution ] Better, restoration of all things, i.e. at Christ’s second coming. But this phrase, “the restoration of all things,” is used in two senses in N. T. First it is said (Mat 17:11; Mar 9:12) that Elias must “first come and restore all things.” There it signifies the beginning of Christ’s Kingdom. As Christ’s death was for all men’s redemption, the restoration of all things may be said to have begun then. In the present verse the words have reference to the time when the course of that restoration shall be completed.
which God hath spoken ] Better, of which [i.e. times ] God hath spoken.
all his holy prophets ] All is omitted in the best MSS.
since the world began ] See Act 3:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whom the heavens must receive – The common belief of the Jews was, that the Messiah would reign on the earth forever, Joh 12:34. On this account they would object that Jesus could not be the Messiah, and hence, it became so important for the apostles to establish the fact that he had ascended to heaven. The evidence which they adduced was the fact that they saw him ascend, Act 1:9. The meaning of the expression whom the heavens must receive, is that it was fit or proper dei that he should ascend. One reason of that fitness or propriety he himself stated in Joh 16:7; compare Joh 17:2. It was also fit or expedient that he should do it, to direct the affairs of the universe for the welfare of the church Eph 1:20-22, and that he should exercise there his office as a priest in interceding for his people, 1Jo 2:1-2; Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24; Rom 8:34, etc. It is remarkable that Peter did not adduce any passage of Scripture on this subject; but it was one of the points on which there was no clear revelation. Obscure intimations of it might be found in Psa 110:1-7; Psa 16:1-11; etc., but the fact that he would ascend to heaven was not made prominent in the Old Testament. The words whom the heaven must receive also convey the idea of exaltation and power; and Peter doubtless intended to say that he was clothed with power, and exalted to honor in the presence of God. See Psa 115:3. Compare 1Pe 3:22, Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right banal of God; angels, and authorities, and powers being made subject unto him. See the notes on Act 2:33.
Until – This word implies that he would then return to the earth, but it does not imply that he would not again ascend to heaven.
The times of the restitution of all things – The noun rendered restitution apokatastaseos, does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. The verb from which it is derived occurs eight times. It means properly to restore a thing to its former situation, as restoring a strained or dislocated limb to its former soundness. Hence, it is used to restore, or to heal, in the New Testament: Mat 12:13, And it (the hand) was restored whole as the other; Mar 3:5; Luk 6:10. And hence, it is applied to the preparation or fitness for the coming of the Messiah which was to attend the preaching of John in the character of Elias, Mat 17:11; Mar 9:12. Thus, in Josephus (Antiq., Mar 2:3, Mar 2:8), the word is used to denote the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon, and their restoration to their former state and privileges. The word has also the idea of consummation, completion, or filling up. Thus, it is used in Philo, Hesychius, Phavorinus, and by the Greek Classics. (See Lightfoot and Kuinoel.) Thus, it is used here by the Syriac: Until the complement or filling up of the times; that is, of all the events foretold by the prophets, etc. Thus, the Arabic: Until the times which shall establish the perfection or completion of all the predictions of the prophets, etc. In this sense the passage means that the heavens must receive the Lord Jesus until all thrums spoken by the prophets in relation to his work, his reign, the spread of the gospel, the triumph of religion, etc., shall have been fulfilled. It also conveys the idea of the predicted recovery of the world from sin, and the restoration of peace and order; the con. summation of the work of the Messiah, now begun, but not yet complete; slow it may be in its advances, but triumphant and certain in its progress and its close.
All things – All things which have been foretold by the prophets. The expression is limited by the connection to this; and of course it does not mean that all people will be saved, or that all the evils of sin can be repaired or remedied. This can never be, for the mischief is done and cannot be undone; but everything which the prophets have foretold shall receive their completion and fulfillment.
Which God hath spoken – Which have been revealed, and are recorded in the Old Testament.
Of all his holy prophets – This does not mean that each one of the prophets had spoken of these things, but that all which had been spoken would be fulfilled.
Since the world began – This is an expression denoting the same as from the beginning, meaning to affirm with emphasis that all the prophecies would be fulfilled. The apostles were desirous to show that they, as well as the Jews, held entirely to the prophets, and taught no doctrine which they had not taught before them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 3:21
Whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things.
Times of restitution of all things
The times seem distinguished from the seasons as more permanent. This is the only passage in which the word translated restitution is found in the New Testament; nor is it found in the LXX. version of the Old. Etymologically, it conveys the thought of restoration to an earlier and better state, rather than that of simple consummation or completion, which the immediate context seems, in some measure, to suggest. It finds an interesting parallel in the new heavens and new earth–involving, as they do, a restoration of all things to their true order–of 2Pe 3:13. It, does not necessarily imply, as some have thought, the final salvation of all men, but it does express the idea of a state in which righteousness, and not sin, shall have dominion over a redeemed and new-created world. The corresponding verb is found in the words, Elias truly shall come first, and restore all things (Mat 17:11); and St. Peters words may well be looked on as an echo of that teaching, and so as an undesigned coincidence testifying to the truth of St. Matthews record. (Dean Plumptre.)
The golden age–the restitution of all things
1. Restitution means the setting up again of that which has been thrown down. When a fallen pillar is restored to its position; or a plant, blown down, or crushed, regains its upright attitude; when a building, overthrown, is rebuilt–there is a restitution.
2. In the universe there has been a great overturning. The course of history seems to be a succession of failures–God setting up, some other power casting down. And, apart from revelation we could not tell what the end of all things would be. In the Word of God we have the assurance of a restitution–a setting up again of all things–a restoration out of the old, but higher than the old–the same and yet different. The city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
I. The restitution of nature. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth–garnished with wisdom; blessed with love; and, surveying the whole, He pronounced it very good. But through the introduction of evil, a curse soon fell upon creation, and the earth underwent some change, in respect of its beauty and fertility. The world is regarded as full of beauty, notwithstanding its barren deserts, etc.; but had sin never entered, it would have been a scene of order and peace far surpassing our conception. The Cosmos we behold bears traces everywhere of great convulsions; and in this respect nature has been called a born ruin. There are revolutionary forces which, if let loose, would rend creation asunder. Meantime these forces check each other; only occasionally are we reminded of their power by a quaking of the earth, or a peal of thunder. But the day is coming when these forces will overleap their present bounds, and involve universal nature in a catastrophe. The two agents appointed by God to work great physical and moral revolutions are water and fire. God has already employed water to change the face of the earth, and the current of history. The other agent to be employed in the destruction of the world is fire (2Pe 3:10-14). Part, then, of the restitution of all things consists in the restitution of nature. In the beginning of revelation we see Gods first work set up, but soon thrown down, or marred. In the end we read of its being set up again in higher form: I saw a new heaven and a new earth, etc. The first creation was cursed, but in the second creation there shall-be no more curse. The first creation has thorns and thistles, but with regard to the second, Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, etc. The restitution will be not merely a return to primeval beauty, but the introduction of a far higher beauty. For then the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, etc. Involved in the restitution of nature is the restitution of Paradise, The Lord God planted a garden, etc. In this there was a perfect combination of the useful and the beautiful. It had trees pleasant to the sight and good for food. A river, also, went out of Eden to water the garden. And so in the midst of Paradise restored there is the tree of life, with twelve manner of fruits, etc., and a pure river of water of life, etc.
II. The restitution of man. This is intimately connected with the restitution of nature, as Paul shows in Rom 8:1. Look at man in his first estate. He was made in the image of God in nature and will. He possessed the glorious but perilous gift of liberty. And how did he demonstrate his freedom? Not as God had done in the production of good, but as Satan had done in the production of evil. He showed himself to be free by an act that destroyed his freedom. He was a broken creature, smitten with death. Being spiritually dead, temporal and eternal death was the necessary result. Besides, when man lost the image of God, he lost the sovereignty of nature, and having this dominion, he must have had powers vastly greater than those which remained with him after the fall. But man, the broken image of God, is to be restored. Man, the dethroned and prostrate monarch of nature, is to be reinstated in his sovereignty. This restitution begins in time, as a renewal of the spirit. At the resurrection the body is set up again in a far higher form, like the glorified body of the Redeemer. Then, too, the image of God being perfectly restored, man will enter on his true sovereignty again. The believer will be made a king and a priest to God.
2. All this was seen to be accomplished in Christ, as the representative man. He took up the work at the point of ruin to which man had brought it, and from that regained all that man had lost. He magnified the law which man had despised; and fulfilled all righteousness. He encountered the tempter, and defeated him. The first temptation took place in a garden, and the result was that man was driven into the wilderness. Jesus resumes the conflict in the wilderness in order to restore the garden. He Himself is the image of God, and shows that He is in possession of the lost sovereignty over nature. When He was in the wilderness it is recorded that He was with the wild beasts, who lost their ferocity and rebellion in His presence. In this we have a passing glimpse of mans returning dominion over the lower creation; of the time when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, etc.; just as His miracles, manifesting His power over inanimate nature and the body of man, were a prophetic fulfilment of the great aspiration and effort of the human mind to regain the mastery of nature.
III. The restitution of society. We find much reformation wanted here. Next to the great question–How shall man be just with God?–is the question, On what terms shall he live with his fellow-men? It is the problem of government. Next to the salvation of the individual is the construction of society. The disturbing element in humanity does not lie primarily in forms of government, but in the individual soul; and, therefore, all attempts to regenerate man from without, by ameliorating his circumstances merely, or placing him under a new political arrangement, have failed; for the root of all rebellion is the unrenewed heart. For a machine to work perfectly–even supposing the machine itself to be perfect–there are required honest and competent men to work it; and, therefore, Christianity begins with the individual, and regenerates society from that point.
1. The first form of society is that of the family. Here we have the nursery of all other forms. If families are godless the Church cannot be prosperous. If they are immoral the city cannot be safe. If they are dis-organised the State cannot be strong. But what a dark tragedy broke up the first society of this kind! As we come down the stream of sacred history, we see that God always sets up His work again in the midst of some particular family. In the family of Noah the race makes a new start. In the families of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a new covenant of grace is established. In the family of David the kingdom of the Jews is confirmed. In the house at Nazareth the foundation of Christendom is laid. But existing families are ever being broken up and dispersed. The institution itself, however, is a Divine idea that cannot perish, and in the restitution of all things the family reappears. God is revealed as the Father of Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
2. Next to the family is the city. Cain, who destroyed the first family, was the founder of the first city; an acknowledgment that man was no longer at home with nature; a city being a fortified place, surrounded by walls, to keep out intruders. Now, what man founded, God has adopted. After His people had wandered in the wilderness He led them to the promised land, and there built that famous capital of the old theocracy, Jerusalem. It was called the City of God, the Holy City. But it was ultimately visited by a terrible overthrow. But the city shall be built on her own heap. In the restitution of all things a new Jerusalem rises into view, a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Christ has gone to the unseen world to prepare many mansions for His people; and in the revelation given to John there are glimpses of That great city, the holy Jerusalem.
3. Next to the city is the empire, or union of cities and states. Very early the idea of universal empire took possession of the human mind, and in the immense tower erected on the plain of Shinar we have the first embodiment of that idea. In the very attempt to make such a huge confederation they were more divided than before. Their impious attempt brought down upon them a judgment that revealed their real but originally-hidden incongruities. Thus the first Babel prophesied the fate and gave its very name to subsequent systems, political and religious, which have attempted the impossible task of founding a universal empire, or Church on a false and godless principle. In itself, however, the idea of a universal empire is not false but true. The true tendency of the world is to reach a confederation of men, or parliament of the world, notwithstanding national differences. The discoveries of science and the reciprocities of commerce are aiming, consciously or unconsciously, at this stupendous result; which, however, they cannot gain by themselves. The highest end of science and commerce is to herald the kingdom of Christ, which carries in its bosom the highest law–the law of God, and the charter of universal freedom. The idea of the Church is that of a universal brotherhood under the fatherhood of God; and the realisation of this is the splendid goal of humanity. Christ is King of kings and the Lord of lords, and everywhere it is foretold that His kingdom will be universal and eternal. (F. Ferguson, D. D.)
Restoration
I. The restitution of all things will be a clearing away of suffering. This is the special point of that mysterious passage in Rom 8:1-39. in which Paul speaks of the earnest expectation of the creature. We see the creature, rational and irrational, subjected to vanity; to a condition of anxiety and toil, unrest, disease, death; not willingly–by no act or choice of its own–generation inheriting from generation its heirloom and entail of distress; and this, St. Paul adds, by the fiat of One who laid it under this subjection–we suppose him to mean, as the penalty of sin; yet that sin is not its own, that penalty not removable by present obedience, but having to be endured, to the bitter end, even by the innocent. The thought pressed upon the apostle, as it presses upon us. And he has one and but one escape from charging God foolishly. He adds, with an emphasis which no power of voice and no skill of enunciation can satisfy, the two brief words, in hope; and goes on to explain that even before this distressed and disconsolate creature there lies a future of emancipation. Then shall it remember no more the anguish, in the joy of a delivery and the transport of a new life. We would detain the apostle and interrogate him concerning these dark sayings. We would ask, Is it of earth as the scene of a future, an everlasting inhabitation; is it of a race of nature, to be cleared of sterility and unfruitfulness; is it of irrational creatures, by man requited too often with neglect or cruelty, that the words are written, The earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the unveiling of the sons of God? Or does restitution mean that nations, ignorant of Christ, destitute of the gospel, shall then, in some wonderful manner, walk in the light of it? But there is no voice nor any to answer us in these perhaps presumptuous questionings. Thou hast Moses and the prophets, Christ and the apostles–hear them. Soon shalt thou, faithful unto death, be reading these mysteries right in the very sunshine of the smile of God. Meanwhile, what is that to thee? Christ says, follow thou Me. Earth shall be restored to its original beauty; its face shall be wiped from tears, its scarred and seamed countenance shall be radiant again with a more than Eden loveliness: for it is one of those all things which must receive restitution when the heaven which has received Him shall send Jesus back.
II. Man, his soul and body, his very being and life, is among these all things which are awaiting a restoration. Set before the minds eye the character which you most admire, the person whom you best love–can anything but blind idolatry paint even him to you as perfect? But supposing that the very qualities which you love in their imperfection were but intensified and glorified; that the only change were in the refining away of the dross and alloy of the thing loved, would not the perfecting be a gain unmingled, the restoration a joy unspeakable and full of glory? And if it has happened to any one to behold the gradual overclouding of magnificent faculties–the growth of small imperfections, till the result was almost the unloveliness of the lovely; if it has been yours to stand finally by the grave, and bury out of your sight, a face and a form once all but Divine to you, surely you have felt then that the one solace for the loving must be the thought of the restoration, in soul and body, of the loved. But if this be true in cases of exceptional loveliness, how shall it be in the average experiences of human character and attainment? Where is the man not soiled and spoilt by imperfections? What shall we say of faults and blemishes, of follies and meannesses, of failures and irresolutions and broken vows, as we are conscious of them within? Who that has seriously tried the struggle to be holy has not found himself vexed and irritated, if not reduced to despair, by perpetual failure? But if it be so, that I, this faulty man, ever failing, halting, vanquished–seeming to make no way in the race of duty, and purity, and eternal life–shall yet certainly, if I continue to fight, be more than conqueror when I die; shall be clean, sanctified wholly, filled with peace and love, made anew in more than all the thoroughness of the first perfection, when God looked upon all the work of His hands and beheld it very good; then I will arise, if need be, from a thousand falls in one day, cast down but not destroyed, to say, Rejoice not over me, O mine enemy, for greater is He that is for me than all that can be against me.
III. That restitution of all things which thus affects earth and the man has an aspect towards God. If there be one thing clear in the Scripture narrative, it is the nearness of God to the as yet sinless Adam. The hiding from God, the expulsion from Paradise, the subsequent approach through sacrifice, the first calling upon the name of the Lord, which is mentioned as a feature of the exile–are all so many hints of a change in the facility, the nearness, and the constancy of access to God. The whole history of the race, the whole experience of the life, has been the commentary upon this parable. The sinner has been in hiding from the face of God. Calling upon Him has been an effort. Sin has made it so. Now it is one of the express revelations of the times of refreshing, that then the conscious presence, the spiritual Sheehinah, the Divine companionship, will be restored. I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God, etc. The greatest of the restitutions will be the restoration of Gods presence. In the prospect of admission into the very presence of God, let us be willing to endure now the difficulty of the pursuit and the delay of the attainment. Every moment now spent in seeking God is an earnest of the time when we shall have found. (Dean Vaughan.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. Whom the heaven must receive] He has already appeared upon earth, and accomplished the end of his appearing; he has ascended unto heaven, to administer the concerns of his kingdom, and there he shall continue till he comes again to judge the quick and the dead.
The times of restitution of all things] The word , from which signifies from, and , to establish or settle any thing, viz. in a good state; and, when is added to it, then this preposition implies that this good state, in which it is settled, was preceded by a bad one, from which the change is made to a good one. So in Ac 1:6, when the disciples said to Christ, Wilt thou at this time restore again () the kingdom to Israel? they meant, as the Greek word implies, Wilt thou take the kingdom from the Romans, and give it back to the Jews? Now, as the word is here connected with, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, it must mean the accomplishment of all the prophecies and promises contained in the Old Testament relative to the kingdom of Christ upon earth; the whole reign of grace, from the ascension of our Lord till his coming again, for of all these things have the holy prophets spoken; and, as the grace of the Gospel was intended to destroy the reign of sin, its energetic influence is represented as restoring all things, destroying the bad state, and establishing the good-taking the kingdom out of the hands of sin and Satan, and putting it into those of righteousness and truth. This is done in every believing soul; all things are restored to their primitive order; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keeps the heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God. The man loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbour as himself; and thus all the things of which the holy prophets have spoken since the world began, relative to the salvation of any soul, are accomplished in this case; and when such a work becomes universal, as the Scriptures seem to intimate that it will, then all things will be restored in the fullest sense of the term. As therefore the subject here referred to is that of which all the prophets from the beginning have spoken, (and the grand subject of all their declarations was Christ and his work among men,) therefore the words are to be applied to this, and no other meaning. Jesus Christ comes to raise up man from a state of ruin, and restore to him the image of God, as he possessed it at the beginning.
All his holy prophets] , all, is omitted by ABCD, some others, one Syriac, the Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, and Vulgate. Griesbach leaves it out of the text, and inserts the article , which the Greek MSS. have, in the place of . The text reads thus: Which he hath spoken by his holy prophets, c.
Since the world began.] as signifies complete and ever-during existence or eternity, it is sometimes applied, by way of accommodation, to denote the whole course of any one period, such as the Mosaic dispensation. See Clarke on Ge 21:33. It may therefore here refer to that state of things from the giving of the law; and as Moses is mentioned in the next verse, and none before him, it is probable that the phrase should be so understood here. But, if we apply it to the commencement of time, the sense is still good: Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these things; and indeed the birth, life, miracles, preaching sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension, and reign of Jesus Christ, have been the only theme of all prophets and inspired men from the foundation of the world.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whom the heaven must receive; that is, contain after it hath received him, as a real place doth a true body; for such Christs body was, which was received into heaven: and heaven is the palace and throne of this King of kings and Lord of lords, where he shall reign until he hath put all his enemies under his feet, 1Co 15:25.
Until the times of restitution of all things; or restoration of all things, when all things shall be restored to that condition from which sin put them: for the fall hath maimed and disordered the whole universe; and probably there is not that excellency in any of the creatures which there was at first, before man (for whom they were made) by his sin brought death to himself, and as it were a dead colour over all them; this makes the whole creation groan and travail in pain until now, Rom 8:22. But the end of the world will be a time of restitution of all things unto man especially, who shall be then restored unto God, and to a blessed immortality: for unless this be granted, all their preaching and prophesying was in vain, 1Co 15:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. until the timesembracingthe whole period between the ascension and the second advent ofChrist.
restitution of allthingscomprehending, probably, the rectification of all thedisorders of the fall.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Whom the heaven must receive,…. Hold and retain in his human nature; and which does not at all hinder or confront his mission, and coming to his people, in the mean while, in a spiritual way and manner, to their joy and comfort: or, “who must receive heaven”; the kingdom, and glory, and reign there:
until the times of the restitution of all things: not of all created beings to their original estate, which there is no reason to believe ever will be; or of the churches of Christ to purity of doctrine, discipline, and conversation, which is to be hoped for, and will be in the spiritual reign of Christ; but of the accomplishment of all promises and prophecies concerning the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles, and the conversion of the Jews, and so the gathering in all the elect of God; and concerning all the glorious things spoken of the church of Christ in the latter day; which sense is confirmed by what follows:
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began: ever since the world was, God has had more or less holy men, set apart and sanctified by him, and on whom he bestowed the spirit of prophecy; and by the mouth of everyone of these he has spoken one thing or another concerning his church and people, and the filling up of the number of them, or the gathering of them all in; and till this is done, Christ will remain in heaven and reign there: and this sense is further confirmed by the Syriac and Arabic versions, the former rendering the words, “until the filling or fulfilling of the times of all things”; and the latter, “until the times which will confirm the perfection of all the words which God hath spoken”, &c. and from the sense of the word used, which some lexicographers explain by , “perfection” or “fulfilling”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Restoration (). Double compound (, , ), here only in the N.T., though common in late writers. In papyri and inscriptions for repairs to temples and this phrase occurs in Jewish apocalyptic writings, something like the new heaven and the new earth of Re 21:1. Paul has a mystical allusion also to the agony of nature in Ro 8:20-22. The verb is used by Jesus of the spiritual and moral restoration wrought by the Baptist as Elijah (Matt 17:11; Mark 9:12) and by the disciples to Jesus in Ac 1:6. Josephus uses the word of the return from captivity and Philo of the restitution of inheritances in the year of jubilee. As a technical medical term it means complete restoration to health. See a like idea in (renewal, new birth) in Matt 19:28; Titus 3:5. This universalism of Peter will be clearer to him after Joppa and Caesarea.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Of restitution [] . Only here in New Testament. The kindred verb, to restore, occurs Mt 17:11; Act 1:6, etc. As a technical medical term, it denotes complete restoration of health; the restoring to its place of a dislocated joint, etc.
Since the world began [ ] . The American Revisers insist on from of old.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Whom the heaven must receive,” (hon dei ouranon men deksasthai) “Whom it is becoming or becomes heaven to receive,” to have with it, or in it, Heb 1:3; Joh 14:1-3; He will return from heaven to which He went, where He has interceded for His own, till He returns, Heb 10:36-37.
2) “Until the times of restitution of all things,” (achri chronon apokatastaseos panton) “Until chronological times begin of (the) restitution of all things,” at which time He will return to this earth, as He went away, personally, bodily, in clouds blessing (with special blessings for) His church, the saints, Joh 14:3; Act 1:11; 1Th 4:16-18; Rev 22:12; Rev 22:16.
3) “Which God hath spoken,” (hon elalesen ho theos) “Which God spoke,” aforetime also, Act 15:13-15; Psa 89:27-37; Luk 1:32-33.
4) “By the mouth of all His holy prophets,” (dia stomatos ton hagion propheton) “Through (the) mouth of the holy prophets,” as they were moved or motivated by the Holy Spirit, 2Pe 1:20-21.
5) “Since the world began,” (ap’ aionos autou) “From the age of him,” from eternity, from when the human age or world began, 1Pe 1:18-19; The redemption and restitution of the total universe from the chaos of its fall is embraced in all Bible prophecies regarding the redemption and restitution of both corrupted man and all the corrupted universe, except fallen angels, Joh 3:16; Rom 8:19-23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
21. Whom the heaven must contain. Because men’s senses are always bent and inclined towards the gross and earthly beholding of God and Christ, the Jews might think with themselves that Christ was preached, indeed, to be raised up from the dead, yet could they not tell where he was; for no man did show them where he was. Therefore Peter preventeth them, when he saith that he is in heaven. Whereupon it followeth that they must lift up their minds on high, to the end they may seek Christ with the eyes of faith, although he be far from them, (189) although he dwell without the world in the heavenly glory. But this is a doubtful (190) speech; because we may as well understand it that Christ is contained or comprehended in the heavens, as that he doth comprehend the heavens. Let us not therefore urge the word, being of a doubtful signification; but let us content ourselves with that which is certain, that we must seek for Christ nowhere else save only in heaven, whilst that we hope for the last restoring of all things; because he shall be far from us, until our minds ascend high above the world.
Until the time of restoring As touching the force and cause, Christ hath already restored all things by his death; but the effect doth not yet fully appear; because that restoring is yet in the course, and se, consequently, our redemption, forasmuch as we do yet groan under the burden of servitude. For as the kingdom of Christ is only begun, and the perfection thereof is deferred until the last day, so those things which are annexed thereunto do now appear only in part. Therefore, if at this day we see many things confused in the world, let this hope set us upon foot and refresh us, that Christ shall once come that he may restore tall things. In the mean season, if we see the relics of sin hang on us, if we be environed on every side with divers miseries, if the world be full of wasting and scattering abroad, let us bewail these miseries, yet so that we uphold with the hope of restoring. And this is the reason why Christ doth not appear by and by, (191) because the warfare of the Church is not yet full, (192) whose time, seeing it is appointed by God, it is not for us to prevent the same. (193)
Which he spoke. I do not expound this of the times alone, but I refer it unto the whole period; so that the sense is this: That whatsoever he had spoken before of the kingdom of Christ is witnessed by all the prophets. Certes, the gospel doth win no small credit hereby, that so soon as God began to show himself to the world, he did always set Christ before them; after that he began to speak unto the fathers, he did always lay this foundation of doctrine. By the same argument Paul commendeth the gospel, both in the beginning of his Epistle to the Romans, (Rom 1:1,) and also in the end, (Rom 16:25,) to wit, that it is no new thing, but promised even from the beginning. (194) This is true antiquity, which is able to purchase credit to doctrine: when as God himself is the author, the holy prophets the witnesses, and the continual course of times confirmeth the testimony. This confirmation was especially necessary for the Jews, who being brought up in the doctrine of the law, ought to admit nothing but that which agreeth therewith. Therefore Peter doth command them only to mind those things which the prophets have testified of Christ.
(189) “ Quamvis immensa locorum distamia sit remotus,” although, in respect of place, he is at an immense distance from them.
(190) “ Ambigua lequtio,” an ambiguous expression.
(191) “ Statim,” immediately.
(192) “ Completa,” complete.
(193) “ Antivertere,” anticipate.
(194) “ Ab ultima aetate,” from the remotest age.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) Whom the heaven must receive.The words have a pregnant force: must receive and keep.
Until the times of restitution of all things.The times seem distinguished from the seasons as more permanent. This is the only passage in which the word translated restitution is found in the New Testament; nor is it found in the LXX. version of the Old. Etymologically, it conveys the thought of restoration to an earlier and better state, rather than that of simple consummation or completion, which the immediate context seems, in some measure, to suggest. It finds an interesting parallel in the new heavens and new earthinvolving, as they do, a restoration of all things to their true orderof 2Pe. 3:13. It does not necessarily involve, as some have thought, the final salvation of all men, but it does express the idea of a state in which righteousness, and not sin, shall have dominion over a redeemed and new created world; and that idea suggests a wider hope as to the possibilities of growth in wisdom and holiness, or even of repentance and conversion, in the unseen world than that with which Christendom has too often been content. The corresponding verb is found in the words, Elias truly shall come first, and restore all things (see Note on Mat. 17:11); and St. Peters words may well be looked on as an echo of that teaching, and so as an undesigned coincidence testifying to the truth of St. Matthews record.
Which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets.The relative, if we take the meaning given above, must be referred to the times, not to things. The words, compared with 2Pe. 1:21, are, as it were, the utterance of a profound dogmatic truth. The prophets spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; but He who spake by them was nothing less than God.
Since the world began.Literally, from the agei.e., from its earliest point. The words take in the promises to Adam (Gen. 3:15) and Abraham (Gen. 22:18). See Note on Luk. 1:70, of which St. Peters words are as an echo.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Heaven must receive The Jews held but one coming of Christ, and Peter, in order to correct their view, declares that he must remain in heaven until a second advent. There was a great debate among expositors whether, according to the Greek, Jesus was to take possession of heaven or heaven was to receive him. The former is the loftier expression; but the latter, as impartial scholars generally agree, is the better Greek.
Times of restitution of all things Great differences of opinion have existed in regard to the nature of this restitution, and consequently in regard to the meaning of this entire verse.
1 . The millenarian view of a renovation of the earth at Christ’s second coming, and the resurrection of the righteous dead gloriously to reign with Christ a thousand years before the resurrection and judgment of the wicked. To all this an obvious objection is, that this could be no restoration of all things, since the vast majority of the dead are not restored to life, and ultimate justice is not done in the earth.
2 . A better view, well elucidated by Limborch and, lately, by Dr. Fairbairn, relieves this difficulty. It supposes the resurrection of all the dead and the general judgment, in which all things are restored to the absolute reign of God. Thereby the very first prophecy that Satan’s head should be bruised by the seed of the woman is completely fulfilled, and all the prophetic announcements of God’s judgment in righteousness revolve their final consummation.
3 . But to both these interpretations of the word restitution there are serious objections. First, by way of Greek criticism, we may say that in the phrase , all things which, it is perfectly inadmissible that a writer or speaker should not see that the reader or hearer would naturally, from the very sound, unite them (“by attraction,” as grammarians say) as antecedent and relative. Which, therefore, cannot refer to times, but to all things. Second, such a phrase as times which God hath spoken (making times the antecedent of which) is neither Greek nor English. What can be meant by times spoken? Spoken must require for its object some sort of utterance. We cannot speak times, but only words. Third, we are forced hereby to a meaning of the Greek , given by Hesychius, namely, fulfilment, or consummation, or, rather, as the noun is a verbal one, fulfilling or consummating. And then we have the clear meaning: until (or rather during) the times of the fulfilling of all things spoken by his prophets. Fourth, this translation alone renders the connection with the following verse immediate and natural. By either of the former constructions the thought has landed us at the close of Act 3:21 beyond the second advent; whereas, as will be shown in our next notes, the real stand-point of Act 3:22-24 is, in these days. Until Until, , an event may be until its beginning or until its close. Thus in Act 20:6, we have in the Greek until five days, that is, during or until the end of five days. And Act 12:11 until (the end of) a season. And so we here render it until (the end of) or during the fulfilling of all things spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets. Christ shall come at the closing up of the great Messianic ages to which all prophecy points since the world began.
The word restoration, that is, recovery from a depreciated state to a former better, very easily verges into the sense of fulfilment or verification. When a promise or prediction is made, the author of it commits his veracity or fidelity to the accomplishment of the result, and the fulfilment, as we say, makes it good, restores the committed veracity to its unquestioned state. So the fulfillment of all the prophecies is the making good, the restoration of their pledged veracity to its uncommitted state. This interpretation is imperatively required: 1. By the correspondence with Act 3:18. There Christ’s sufferings are declared to be a fulfilment required by all prophecy, and here his stay in heaven is in fulfilment of all prophecy, which furnishes a solution of the difficulty why the Messiah is gone to heaven, and tells how long he is to be absent. 2. By Christ’s prediction of the earth-wide spread of the preached Gospel, Act 1:8; by the universality of the pentecostal symbols, (Note on Act 2:4😉 and by Peter’s intimation in his former speech Act 2:39. And all these points are in conclusive disproof of what Renan claims, and even Pressense too forwardly admits the positive apostolic belief of the immediateness of the second advent. (See supplementary note to Matthew 25.) Since the world began A very unsuitable rendering of the Greek , from of old. (See note on Luk 1:70.) Same Greek phrase at Act 15:18.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Act 3:21 . Whom the heaven must receive (as the place of abode appointed for Him by God until the Parousia). Taken thus, [146] is the subject (Beza, Piscator, Castalio, and others, the Socinians, also Kuinoel, de Wette, Baumgarten, Lechler, Hackett), and does not stand for , as if Peter wished historically to narrate the ascension; but the present tense places before the eyes the necessity of the elevation of Christ into heaven as an absolute relation, which as such is constantly present until the Parousia (Act 3:20 , and . . ., Act 3:21 ). Hence also the infinitive is not of the duration of the action ( ), but of its absolute act ( ) Others find the subject in : who must occupy heaven (so Luther and many of the older Lutherans, partly in the interest of Christ’s ubiquity; also Bengel, Heinrichs, Olshausen, Lange, Weiss, et al. ); “Christus coelum debuit occupare ceu regiam suam,” Calovius. But against this view the linguistic usage of , which never signifies occupare , [147] is decisive. Comp. on the other hand, Plat. Theaet. p. 177 A: , Soph. Trach. 1075: . Occupare would be . Comp. Soph. Ant. 605: .
On the solitarium Grotius aptly remarks, that it has its reference in ., “quasi dicat: ubi illud tempus venerit, ex coelo in terras redibit.”
. ] until times shall have come, in which all things will be restored . Before such times set in, Christ comes not from heaven. Consequently the times of the itself the cannot be meant; but only such times as shall precede the Parousia, and by the emergence of which it is conditioned, that the Parousia shall ensue. Accordingly the explanation of the universal renewal of the world unto a glory such as preceded the fall ( , Mat 19:28 ; comp. Rom 8:18 ff.; 2Pe 3:13 ) is excluded, seeing that that restoration of all things ( ) coincides with the Parousia (in opposition to de Wette, as well as many older expositors, who think on the resurrection and the judgment). The correct interpretation must start from Mal 4:6 as the historical seat of the expression, and from Mat 17:11 , where Christ Himself, taking it from Malachi, has made it His own. Accordingly the can only be the restoration of all moral relations to their original normal condition. Christ’s reception in heaven this is the idea of the apostle continues until the moral corruption of the people of God is removed, and the thorough moral renovation, the ethical restitutio in integrum , of all their relations shall have ensued. Then only is the exalted Christ sent from heaven to the people, and then only does there come for the latter the from the presence of God, Act 3:20 . What an incitement neither to neglect nor to defer repentance and conversion as the means to this ! The mode in which this moral restitution must take place is, according to Act 3:22 , beyond doubt, namely, by rendering obedience in all points to what the Messiah has during His earthly ministry spoken. Observe, moreover, that is not masculine (Weiss, Petr. Lehrbegr. p. 85, and bibl. Theol. p. 145), but neuter, as in Mat 17:11 , Mar 9:12 (comp. Act 3:22 , , ); and that cannot be otherwise taken than in its constant literal meaning, restoration (Polyb. iv. 23. 1; v. 2. 11; xxvii. 10. 7; Dion. Hal. x. 8; also Plat. Ax. p. 370), wherein the state lost and to be restored is to be conceived as that of the obedience of the theocracy towards God and His messenger (Act 3:22 ). The state of forgiveness of sin (Act 3:19 ) is not identical with this, but previous to it, as . . (Act 3:20 ) shows: the sanctification following the reconciliation.
. . ] The attracted refers to : of which he has spoken , etc. On , in this sense, comp. Mat 26:13 ; Plat. Ax. p. 366 D; Soph. Phil. 110. So also , to tell of something ; see Stallbaum, ad Plat. Apol. p. 23 A; Phaed. p. 79 B. Others refer it to , and explain: usque ad tempus, quo omnia eventum habebunt , [148] quae , etc.; by which Peter is supposed to mean either the conquest of Messiah’s enemies and the diffusion of the Christian religion (Rosenmller, Morus, Stolz, Heinrichs), or the destruction of the Jewish state (Grotius, Hammond, Bolten), or the erection of the Messianic kingdom and the changes preceding it, the diffusion of Christianity, the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment (Kuinoel). Incorrectly, as , in the sense of impletio , (Oecumenius), and the like, is without warrant in usage; and as little does it admit the substitution of the idea realization (Grotius, Schneckenburger in the Stud. u. Krit. 1855, p. 517, Lechler).
] since the world began , to be taken relatively. See on Luk 1:70 .
[146] Gregory of Nazianzus, Orat. 2, de fil. , already has evidently this view: , and Oecumenius calls heaven the . The Vulgate repeats the ambiguity of the original: quem oportet coelum quidem suscipere ; but yet appears, by suscipere , to betray the correct view. Clearly and definitely Castalio gives it with a passive turn: “quem oportet coelo capi .”
[147] We should have to explain it as: who must accept the heaven (comp. Bengel). But what a singularly turgid expression would that be!
[148] Baumgarten, p. 83, endeavours to bring out essentially the same meaning, but without any change in the idea of ., in this way: he supplies the verb with , and assumes the kingdom of Israel (Act 1:6 ) to be meant. To imagine the latter reference, especially after , is just as arbitrary, as the supplying of that verbal notion is exceedingly harsh. Hofm. Schriftbew . II. 2, p. 648, follows the correct reference of to .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Ver. 21. Whom the heavens must receive until, &c. ] Note this against the Ubiquitaries, whose error was first broached by Gerson, about the time of the Council of Constance. Afterwards, defended at Paris by Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, A. D. 1524, who was therefore banished the next year out of France. (Scultet. Annul.) But Luther brought it into Germany, Brentins stickled for it, and Smidelinus obtruded it upon many, even against their wills; and was therefore called the apostle of the Ubiquity. The author of the Practice of Piety thus distinguisheth: Secundum esse naturale Christus non est ubique, secundum esse personale Christus est ubique, even the body of Christ. It was objected as a heresy against Thomas Man, martyr, that he had affirmed, That the Father of heaven was the altar, and the second person the sacrament: and that upon the Ascension Day, the sacrament ascended upon the altar, and there abideth still. But what an audacious heretic is he that writes of the “mortality of the soul,” to interpret this place thus, “The heavens must contain him,” that is, he “must be in the sun;” for he holds that there is no heaven till the resurrection.
Until the times of restitution ] This Plato hammered at in his great revolution; when, after many thousands of years, all things shall be again statu quo prius, as they were at first.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
21 . . . ] These words admit of a double rendering: (1) ‘ Whom the heaven must receive .’ (2) ‘ Who must possess (capessere) the heaven .’ Of these the former is in my view decidedly preferable , both as best suiting the sense, and as being the natural rendering, whereas the other is forced. Only two or three instances of used in this sense are produced, and in these it gets the meaning by signifying ‘to take to one’s self,’ as property or inheritance: which would surely never be said of , thus barely expressed. Besides, the emphatic position of , with attached to it, is almost decisive against this rendering. I apprehend that this particle in a sentence of the present form is always found appended to the subject , never to the object ; and that, if . had been the object, the form of the sentence would necessarily have been . . .
The reason given by Bengel for rejecting the right rendering, ‘ Clo capi , i.e. cohiberi, concludi , violenta est interpretatio, quasi clum Christo majus sit; et inimica celsitudini Christi super omnes clos,’ is best answered by himself ‘Non tamen nullo sensu dici potuit, clum suscipit Christum: admittit scil. ut thronus Regem legitimum;’ only I would rather understand it locally , and recognize a parallel expression with that in ch. i., also local , . And so far from seeing in it any derogation from the Majesty of Christ, it seems to me admirably to set it forth: it behoves the heaven (which is his , obeying his will) to receive Him till the time appointed. The omission of the article cannot be adduced either way here: for ‘the heaven,’ is frequently anarthrous, as and other similar nouns: see (besides very numerous instances of . after a preposition , which are hardly to the point) 2Pe 3:12 , and , Eur. Orest. 1003. , , , sch. Frag. i. 96. The tragedians never prefix the article to , (meaning ‘the earth’), , or , except when qualified by an adjective, as . , Soph. Aj. 832, and even then very seldom. Middleton has but very slightly noticed this, ch. iii. 1, 5, note.
] Not during , as the advocates of the present spiritual sense of the passage wish to render it, but until; see below.
. … ] The key both to the construction and meaning here, is our Lord’s saying, Mat 17:11 , . From this we see that . stands alone, as the . of all things : and that does not belong to . Next, what is ? We must be guided by the Usage of the kindred verb (or – ). Certainly, to restore is its usual import, and most strikingly so, accompanied however with the notion of a glorious and complete restoration, in ch. Act 1:6 . To render our word fulfilment , and apply it to . . . ., is against all precedent.
And, in the sense of restoration , I cannot see how it can be applied to the work of the Spirit, as proceeding, during this the interim-state, in the hearts of men. This would be contrary to all Scripture analogy. I understand it then of the glorious restoration of all things , the [ Mat 19:28 ], which as Peter here says, is the theme of all the prophets from the beginning.
No objection can be raised to this from the meaning of : see ch. Act 7:17 , and Peter’s own language, 1Pe 1:20 , . If the distinction be true between and , as denoting a longer and a shorter period respectively, which I much doubt, it does not affect this passage: for, either way, the . will imply the time or period of the ., not the moment only when it begins or is completed, as (not ) . might. De Wette is hardly right in saying that the unexpressed to answer to is contained in the sense of : it is rather contained in the previous clause, , . . . In order to fill up the ellipsis, this clause would have to be repeated after .
, i.e. , agreeing with , or perhaps , i.e. . It does not refer to , see above.
On the testimony of the prophets, see Act 3:18 , note.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 3:21 . : no answering expressed, but the antithesis is found in the ., “quasi dicat: ubi illud tempus venerit, ex coelo in terras redibit,” Grotius (so Weiss, Blass). : the words have been rendered in three ways: (1) “whom the heaven must receive,” i.e. , as the place assigned to Him by God until the Parousia, Phi 3:20 , Col 3:4 . In this case is not used for , as if St. Luke were referring to the past historical fact of the Ascension only, but Christ’s exaltation to heaven is represented as a fact continually present until His coming again; or (2) the words have been taken as if were the subject, “who must possess the heaven”. But the former seems the more natural rendering, so in A.V. and R.V., as more in accordance with the use of , and would be rather the word in the second rendering (see Wendt’s note). Zckler takes the words to mean “who must receive heaven,” i.e. , from the Father. Here St. Peter corrects the popular view that the Messiah should remain on earth, Joh 12:34 , and if we compare the words with the question asked in Act 1:6 , they show how his views had changed of his Master’s kingdom (see Hackett’s note). : the latter noun is not found either in LXX or elsewhere in N.T., but it is used by Polybius, Diodorus, Plutarch. In Josephus, Ant. , xi., 3, 8, 9, it is used of the restoration of the Jews to their own land from the captivity, and also in Philo., Decal. , 30, of the restoration of inheritances at the Jubilee. The key to its meaning here is found not in the question of the disciples in Act 1:6 , but in our Lord’s own saying, Mat 17:11 , Mar 9:12 , “Elias truly first cometh, and shall restore all things,” , and cf. LXX, Mal 4:6 , where the same verb is found ( ). It was the teaching of the Scriptures that Elias should be the forerunner of the Messiah, Mal 4:5 , and Mat 17:11 ; Mat 11:14 . But his activity embraced both an external and an internal, i.e. , a moral restoration, Sir 48:10 . He is said , to enable those who had been illegally excluded from the congregation to attain their inheritance. But he is eager also for the moral and religious renewal of his people. All disputes would be settled by him at his coming, and chiefly and above all he conducts the people to a great repentance, which will not be accomplished before he comes, Luk 1:16-17 (Mal 4:6 , LXX). This is the inward and moral side of the , Mat 17:11 , Mar 9:12 . But as in Act 1:6 our Lord had corrected the ideas of the disciples as to an external restoration of the kingdom to Israel, so in the Gospels He had corrected their ideas as to the coming of Elias, and had bidden them see its realisation in the preaching of John the Baptist in turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. And so the had already begun, in so far as men’s hearts were restored to obedience to God, the beginning of wisdom, to the purity of family affection, to a love of righteousness and a hatred of iniquity. Even when the thoughts of the N.T. writers embrace the renewal of the visible creation, the moral and spiritual elements of restoration were present and prominent; cf. 2Pe 3:13 , Rom 8:19-21 , Rev 21:5 . So too the , in Mat 19:28 , is joined with the rule which the disciples would share with their Lord, and involved great moral issues. A renewal of all things had no doubt been foretold by the prophets, Isa 34:4 ; Isa 51:6 ; Isa 65:17 ; it was dwelt upon in later Jewish writings, and often referred to by the Rabbis ( cf., e.g., Book of Enoch , xlv., 2; lxii., 1; xci., 16, 17; Apocalypse of Baruch , xxxii., and instances in Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah , ii., p. 343); but even amongst pious Israelites there was always a danger lest their hopes for the future should be mainly associated with material prosperity and national glorification. It is perhaps significant thas Josephus uses the two terms and in close conjunction of the restoration of the Jews to their own land after the exile. How this restoration of all things was to be effected, and what was involved in it, St. Peter does not say, but his whole trend of thought shows that it was made dependent upon man’s repentance, upon his heart being right with God, see Weber, Jdische Theologie p. 352 ff. (1897); Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah , ii., pp. 343, 706; Hauck’s Real-Encyclopdie , “Apokatastasis,” p. 616 ff. (1896). refers to , so R.V. “whereof,” i.e. , of which times. Holtzmann and Wendt on the other hand refer to . But the words of our Lord in Mat 17:11 certainly point to the former reference, and the words are so taken by Weiss, Page, Hackett. In the article from Hauck quoted above, the writer speaks of the reference to as the more correct, and points out that if is the relative to , the restoration spoken of would no longer be a restoration of all things, but only of those things of which the prophets had spoken. On the prophecies referred to see above. All the words from to are ascribed by Hilgenfeld to his “author to Theophilus”; the thought of the prophets existing (Luk 1:70 ) belongs in his opinion to the Paulinism of this reviser, just as in Luke’s Gospel he carries back the genealogy of Jesus not to Abraham but to Adam. To a similar Pauline tendency on the part of the same reviser, Hilgenfeld refers the introduction in Act 3:25-26 of the promise made to Abraham embracing all the nations of the earth (Gal 3:16 ), and also the introduction of the word (Rom 1:16 ; Rom 2:9 ), to show that not only upon the Jews, but also upon the Gentiles had God conferred the blessings of the Christ; cf. Act 2:39 , where the same revising hand is at work. But St. Peter’s “universalism” here is in no way inconsistent with that of a pious Jew who would believe that all nations should be blessed through Israel , so far, i.e. , as they conformed to the covenant and the law of Israel. Spitta sees no difficulty in referring both the passage before us and Act 2:39 to the Jewish Diaspora (so too Jngst). . .: cf. Luk 1:70 , a periphrasis of which St. Luke is fond (Plummer), cf. Act 1:16 , Act 3:18 , Act 4:25 ; Act 4:30 , Act 15:7 , not found in the other Evangelists except once in St. Matthew in a quotation, Act 4:4 . : in the singular the phrase is only used by St. Luke in the N.T., Luk 1:70 , Act 3:21 ; Act 15:18 , but the plural is used twice, Col 1:26 , Eph 3:9 (Friedrich), cf. in LXX, Gen 6:4 , Isa 46:9 , Jer 35 (28):8. The phrase here may be taken simply = “of old time,” cf. Tob 4:12 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
the heaven. No art. See Mat 6:9, Mat 6:10.
until. Greek. achri.
restitution. Greek. apokatastasis = re-establishment from a state of ruin. Only here.
hath spoken = spoke. Greek. laleo. App-121.
since the world began. App-151.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
21. . . ] These words admit of a double rendering: (1) Whom the heaven must receive. (2) Who must possess (capessere) the heaven. Of these the former is in my view decidedly preferable, both as best suiting the sense, and as being the natural rendering, whereas the other is forced. Only two or three instances of used in this sense are produced, and in these it gets the meaning by signifying to take to ones self, as property or inheritance: which would surely never be said of , thus barely expressed. Besides, the emphatic position of , with attached to it, is almost decisive against this rendering. I apprehend that this particle in a sentence of the present form is always found appended to the subject, never to the object; and that, if . had been the object, the form of the sentence would necessarily have been …
The reason given by Bengel for rejecting the right rendering, Clo capi, i.e. cohiberi, concludi, violenta est interpretatio, quasi clum Christo majus sit; et inimica celsitudini Christi super omnes clos, is best answered by himself Non tamen nullo sensu dici potuit, clum suscipit Christum: admittit scil. ut thronus Regem legitimum; only I would rather understand it locally, and recognize a parallel expression with that in ch. i., also local, . And so far from seeing in it any derogation from the Majesty of Christ, it seems to me admirably to set it forth: it behoves the heaven (which is his, obeying his will) to receive Him till the time appointed. The omission of the article cannot be adduced either way here: for the heaven, is frequently anarthrous, as and other similar nouns: see (besides very numerous instances of . after a preposition, which are hardly to the point) 2Pe 3:12, and , Eur. Orest. 1003. , , , sch. Frag. i. 96. The tragedians never prefix the article to , (meaning the earth), , or , except when qualified by an adjective, as . , Soph. Aj. 832, and even then very seldom. Middleton has but very slightly noticed this, ch. iii. 1, 5, note.
] Not during, as the advocates of the present spiritual sense of the passage wish to render it, but until; see below.
. …] The key both to the construction and meaning here, is our Lords saying, Mat 17:11, . From this we see that . stands alone, as the . of all things: and that does not belong to . Next, what is ? We must be guided by the Usage of the kindred verb (or -). Certainly, to restore is its usual import, and most strikingly so, accompanied however with the notion of a glorious and complete restoration, in ch. Act 1:6. To render our word fulfilment, and apply it to . …, is against all precedent.
And, in the sense of restoration, I cannot see how it can be applied to the work of the Spirit, as proceeding, during this the interim-state, in the hearts of men. This would be contrary to all Scripture analogy. I understand it then of the glorious restoration of all things, the [Mat 19:28], which as Peter here says, is the theme of all the prophets from the beginning.
No objection can be raised to this from the meaning of : see ch. Act 7:17, and Peters own language, 1Pe 1:20, . If the distinction be true between and , as denoting a longer and a shorter period respectively, which I much doubt,-it does not affect this passage: for, either way, the . will imply the time or period of the ., not the moment only when it begins or is completed, as (not ) . might. De Wette is hardly right in saying that the unexpressed to answer to is contained in the sense of : it is rather contained in the previous clause, , … In order to fill up the ellipsis, this clause would have to be repeated after – .
, i.e. , agreeing with , or perhaps , i.e. . It does not refer to ,-see above.
On the testimony of the prophets, see Act 3:18, note.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 3:21. , who must indeed receive heaven [but Engl. Vers. whom the heaven must receive]) The particle , indeed, has the place of its Apodosis, which usually is expressed by , but, in this instance supplied in the , He may send, in Act 3:20. To be taken, i.e. confined, shut up, or contained within heaven, is a violent interpretation, as though the heaven were greater than Christ; and is inimical to the loftiness of Christ, who ascended up far above all heavens, Eph 4:10. It might however be said, not without a reasonable sense, the heaven receives Christ; it admits and acknowledges Him, viz. [not as containing Him, but] as a throne does its legitimate king, although Christ previously was humbled, and was not yet recognised by the world. But much more august and consonant to the language of Scripture is this sentiment, Christ takes or receives for Himself heaven; and so more appropriately also [than in the other interpretation] is without the article. It is the same as , to receive a kingdom, Luk 19:12, and , to reign, 1Co 15:25. Nor is the force of the verb opposed to this view, as if the heaven ought to be the thing containing, wherein Christ should be contained. Basilius of Seleucia, Or. 11, writes, : and not dissimilar is that in Or. 14, . Let those instances be added, which E. Schmidius has brought forward on this passage: , , thou hast not come seasonably, to take (occupy) this house; and Demosthenes, , not even if the opportunity itself should give you Amphipolis, would you be able to lay hold of it. Furthermore, the verb has this emphasis, that it denotes a thing offered to us. For the Father said to the Son, Take possession of heaven, Sit at My right hand, Sit on My throne which is heaven. In fine, , to receive or take to Himself, has an inceptive notion, and yet it is said in the present , it behoves, not , it behoved; although the Ascension had taken place not yesterday or the day before. In fact, Peter speaks concerning a fact which, as compared with His glorious advent from heaven, was still as it were present, especially in relation to His hearers, who were even now approaching to the faith.- , until the times of restitution shall come) i.e. until they (these times) shall be fulfilled. So , in five days (ipsos quinque dies), ch. Act 20:6 : , for a season, ch. Act 13:11. Similar phrases occur, Luk 21:24; Gal 4:2; Heb 3:13; Rev 7:3; Rev 15:8; Rev 17:17; Rev 20:3. Peter comprises the whole course of the times of the New Testament between the Ascension of the Lord and His Advent in glory, times in which that apostolic age shines forth pre-eminent, Act 3:24, as also corresponding to it the condition of the Church, which was to be constituted of Jews and Gentiles, together, [32] Justus Jonas says, Christ is that King, who has now received heaven, reigning in the meantime through the Gospel in the Spirit, until all things be restored, i.e. until the remainder of the Jews and the Gentiles be converted. Romans 11. is the restitution of things from their confusion into their former order. You will say, Were then all things at any time in such a state as that to which they are to be restored? Answer: 1) They were, at least as far as concerns their beginnings: comp. Mat 17:11, Elias truly shall first come and restore all things: for which reason the apostles also above used this verb, ch. Act 1:6, Wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 2) There is a reference to the Divine intention and promise: as a man born blind is said to recover his sight, because the sight is a natural blessing. Weigh well the word , Jer 16:15; Jer 24:6; Jer 50:19; Eze 16:55. The restoration of all things shall be accomplished, when all enemies shall be the footstool of Christ: 1Co 15:25; a consummation which is being gradually accomplished now, and shall be quickly brought about at some future time.-, of all things) The universal whole is opposed to heaven, as to a part of that whole.-) for , which,-, spake) , spake [made a solemn declaration, Jer 23:31].-[ , the holy) All the prophets were holy: they all entered heaven, Luk 13:28. They who are rejected as workers of iniquity were not prophets, even though they uttered prophecies: Mat 7:22, Have we not prophesied in Thy name? with which comp. Joh 11:51 : Caiaphas prophecy as to Jesus dying for the people. Balaam was no doubt a prophet, but not in Israel, but only in relation to (penes) Balak.-V. g.]-, prophets) Moses, Act 3:22, and the rest, Act 3:24. To this the , for, is to be referred, Act 3:22.
[32] So that the times of restitution comprise the existing Church as well as the future.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
restitution
(Greek – = restoration, occurring here and Act 1:6 only. The meaning is limited by the words: “Which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets.” The prophets speak of the restoration of Israel to the land (see “Israel,”; Gen 12:2; Gen 12:3; Rom 11:26 also “Palestinian Covenant,” Deu 30:1-9. (See Scofield “Deu 30:3”) and of the restoration the theocracy under David’s Son. (See “Davidic Covenant,” 2Sa 7:8-17).
(See Scofield “2Sa 7:16”), “Kingdom,” Gen 1:26-28. See Scofield “Zec 12:8”. No prediction of the conversion and restoration of the wicked dead is found in the prophets, or elsewhere. CF Rev 20:11-15.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the heaven: Act 1:11
the times: Act 3:19, Isa 1:26, Mal 3:3, Mal 3:4, Mal 4:5, Mal 4:6, Mat 17:11, Mat 17:12, Mar 9:11-13
holy: Act 10:43, Luk 1:70, 2Pe 1:21, 2Pe 3:2, Rev 18:20, Rev 22:6
Reciprocal: Job 14:12 – till the heavens Mat 19:28 – in the regeneration Mat 26:11 – but Mar 2:20 – be taken Mar 9:4 – appeared Mar 14:7 – but Mar 16:19 – he was Luk 5:35 – when Joh 17:11 – I am Act 3:24 – and all Act 26:22 – none Rom 3:21 – and the Rom 8:19 – expectation 1Th 1:10 – wait Heb 4:14 – that is Heb 9:24 – but Jam 5:10 – who 1Pe 3:22 – is gone Rev 10:7 – as he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
Act 3:21. The next phase of this discourse explains some things that must take place before Jesus comes again. Receive is used in the sense of giving a guest continued hospitality or reception, until it is the desired and proper time for him to leave. In the case of Jesus, that time will not come until certain things that were predicted of him have been fulfilled. Robinson defines the word in the Greek for restitution, “full establishment,” and Peter tells us that he refers to the predictions that had been made by the holy prophets, that were to be accomplished by Christ. We understand these things were to be brought to pass through the services of the apostles, while Jesus is still on his Father’s right hand it) Heaven.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 3:21. Whom the heaven must receive. Some commentators (e g. Bengel, Olshausen, Stier) have adopted another rendering of the Greek words (which makes the subject) who must receive heaven. considering that the usually-received translation involves a statement injurious to the nil-pervading majesty of Christ; but it is doubtful whether is ever used in the sense of to possess. The statement that heaven must receive Christ until the period of His Second Advent, is anything but derogatory to the majesty of the Redeemer who will reign from heaven; it is only inconsistent with the doctrine of the ubiquity of Christs body which Lutheran divines invented to strengthen their view of the corporeal presence in the Eucharist.
Until the times of restitution of all things. The word (restitution) occurs here only in the New Testament, but we often find the verb from which it is derived. Elias truly shall first come and restore () all things (Mat 17:11; see, too, Act 1:6). The lull signification of the word is renewal or restoration of primeval purity, order, happiness; setting right the present wild disorder and confusion: good will then finally triumph over evil, truth over falsehood. The times of restitution signify the same epoch as the times of refreshing (here all the best modern commentators agree). Gloag well sums up St. Peters thoughts here: Accordingly, the idea of the apostle seems to be that so long as the unbelief of Israel continues, Christ will remain in heaven, but that their repentance and conversion will bring about the times of refreshing and of the restoration of all things, which will either immediately precede or coincide with the Second Advent.
Which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. These times of restitutionthis glorious restoration to holiness and happiness, is the theme of all prophecy in every age in the Old Testament. It was the expectation of this restitution, so deeply rooted in the hearts of all Jews, which was the principal cause of their summary rejection of a suffering Messiah. They read their glorious sacred books in the strong false light of their own jealous hopes and burning desires; and so they passed over the plain intimations of some of their noblest prophecies, which told them how the glory they longed after could only be reached through a long weary training of pain and sorrow, and the triumph of Messiah only through His suffering and death.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 19
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
21. Whom it behooveth heaven indeed to receive until the times of the restitution of all things which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning. This Scripture reveals the fact most unequivocally that Peter was enthused with the glowing anticipation of seeing his Lord return to the earth, before he exchanged his silver trumpet for a golden harp. This expectation would have been verified if the Pentecostal generation had preached the gospel of the kingdom to every nation, calling out the Bride of Christ and preparing her to meet her coming Lord. In this they failed, thus postponing our Lords return. You see here that Jesus is to remain in heaven until the time of restitution of all things spoken by the prophets from the beginning. You know the prophets have most unequivocally predicted the restoration of the world back to the Edenic state. The Son of Man came to destroy the works of the devil. This world once existed without a devil in it. The prophet John tells us positively that the devil is to be taken out, so we will again have this world without a devil in it as in Eden times. The prophets certify over and over, The desert shall rejoice and the wilderness bloom; Springs of water shall break out in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Hence the millions of acres of valuable lands in Asia, Africa and America, now desert-wastes for the want of irrigation, will have ample supplies of water and flourish as the very gardens of the Lord, abounding in perennial fruits and flowers. I believe it inspired Peter and all of his apostolical comrades and saints that our Lord is coming back and will restore all things as spoken by the prophets. This wonderful sentence (including Act 3:19-21) reveals succinctly, lucidly and comprehensively the gracious economy of full salvation, and in the same breath the return of the Lord to the earth. What God hath joined together, let no man separate. Woe unto the audacious hand that dares to divorce what God has married! Then let us go to the ends of the earth preaching this wonderful salvation, and at the same time the most potent of all inspirations to a holy experience and life, i. e., our Lords return to the earth on the throne of His glory, visiting awful retributionary judgment on the wicked, and crowning His faithful, expectant Bride to sit with Him on His throne. While holiness to the Lord is the grand trunk line of the heaven-bound railway running up to the New Jerusalem, yet we must not depreciate the great tributaries, and especially that potent and inspiring incentive to entire sanctification, i. e., the constant outlook for our coming King.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 21
Restitution, &c.; accomplishment of all things which, &c.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
3:21 {f} Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
(f) Or, be taken up into heaven.