I get confused about when the Bible is talking about the end of the world or the end of Judaism. What is the "time of restoration" in Acts 3:21? If this refers to Jesus' final return, why is it being presented to these people as something that they need to prepare for? Wouldn't it be better to warn them of the fragility of life? Or could the apostles possibly have expected him much sooner? -- Jack Sutherland
Whether the apostles expected the return of Christ much sooner is a matter for discussion, though not the subject of this Q&A. Your question is a good one. If you haven't already read my paper on the Destruction of Jerusalem (at this website), please have a look. As for Acts 3:21, I see two possibilities. (1) It may be referring to the second coming of Christ. (2) It may refer to an event in the lifetime of every new believer.
I tend to believe that the time of restoration refers to the presence of the kingdom of God through the church in the first century as the "old age," the Jewish dispensation, drew to a close. The NIV version assumes the passage is talking about the end of the world. Try reading the verse in another version, the NAS: "whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time."
The O.T. prophets foretold the Messianic period even more than they foretold the end of the world. Acts 3:19 indicates part of conversion, namely repentance. The effect of turning to God is forgiveness of sins. Nothing about receiving the Spirit is indicated--unless verse 20 is referring to the indwelling Spirit. Does not Jesus "come" to us in the Spirit, as John 14 describes at length? If this view is correct, then God "sends Jesus" to us once we have repented, and our turning to God and becoming new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) is part of the bigger plan by which the reign of God is established, furthered, or enhanced on this earth.
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