God’s divine intervention at the close of this age is further spoken of in the book of Acts. Peter, preaching to the crowds after the healing of a lame man, declares: Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
Acts 3:19–21 In his sermon, Peter gives a revelation of four stages that will bring the present age to its close: First, God’s people repent and turn back to Him. Second, there are times of refreshing. Third, there are times of restoration. And, fourth, we have the return of Christ. The first stage Peter describes is repentance. Before God can send a major visitation of divine grace, one step is always required—and that is the repentance of God’s people. We see this principle in the slogan of Evan Roberts in the great revival that swept Wales and moved the world in 1904: “Bend the Church and bow the world.” The problem is not bowing the world; it is bending the Church.
If God can get His way with His people, He can get His way anywhere. This principle of repentance is illustrated by the first coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus had a divinely appointed forerunner, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for His coming. The message of John the Baptist could be summed up in one word: repent. Until the hearts of God’s people had been prepared by this message, the Messiah could not be revealed. Judgment must begin at the house of God, and this is the message of the end times. If God’s people will repent and turn back to Him, then will come the second stage: times of refreshing. In the New King James Version the word times in the Scripture quoted above means a specific season like spring or fall.
It is God’s intent to give His people beautiful spiritual spring seasons of renewing and refreshing. We all enjoy the spring season when everything begins to turn green, the flowers return and life comes back to creation. These seasons of refreshing have visited the Church throughout its history, but they have been restricted to local areas and for limited periods of time. In my understanding of God’s end-time purposes, the outpouring to come will be the last and greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church of Jesus Christ. The purpose is to lead to the third stage: the times of restoration of all things. Here, the word times does not refer to a season but to a more extended or undefined period of time. Notice that Peter says “which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
This period of restoration will be the climax of the age, which has been prophesied by every prophet God has ever placed in the world. Restore, as I understand it, means “to put things back in their right place and their right condition.” This is the message of the hour. God is putting His people back in their right place and in their right condition.
The restoration of the Church is going to bring us to the final stage, the ultimate climax of the age—with God sending Jesus Christ, whom heaven must receive and, by implication, retain, until this period of restoration of all things. These four stages are God’s program for closing this age. We will not focus on each stage in detail because it is outside the scope of this post. We will, however, consider the third stage, the times of restoration, at some depth. Why? Because that restoration relates directly to the Church and her victory over Satan’s kingdom in the final conflict.
My name is Cesar and I’m A Voice in The Desert
www.avoiceinthedesert.net
www.mywalkwithmycreator.com
#avoiceinthedesert
Acts 3:19–21 In his sermon, Peter gives a revelation of four stages that will bring the present age to its close: First, God’s people repent and turn back to Him. Second, there are times of refreshing. Third, there are times of restoration. And, fourth, we have the return of Christ. The first stage Peter describes is repentance. Before God can send a major visitation of divine grace, one step is always required—and that is the repentance of God’s people. We see this principle in the slogan of Evan Roberts in the great revival that swept Wales and moved the world in 1904: “Bend the Church and bow the world.” The problem is not bowing the world; it is bending the Church.
If God can get His way with His people, He can get His way anywhere. This principle of repentance is illustrated by the first coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus had a divinely appointed forerunner, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for His coming. The message of John the Baptist could be summed up in one word: repent. Until the hearts of God’s people had been prepared by this message, the Messiah could not be revealed. Judgment must begin at the house of God, and this is the message of the end times. If God’s people will repent and turn back to Him, then will come the second stage: times of refreshing. In the New King James Version the word times in the Scripture quoted above means a specific season like spring or fall.
It is God’s intent to give His people beautiful spiritual spring seasons of renewing and refreshing. We all enjoy the spring season when everything begins to turn green, the flowers return and life comes back to creation. These seasons of refreshing have visited the Church throughout its history, but they have been restricted to local areas and for limited periods of time. In my understanding of God’s end-time purposes, the outpouring to come will be the last and greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church of Jesus Christ. The purpose is to lead to the third stage: the times of restoration of all things. Here, the word times does not refer to a season but to a more extended or undefined period of time. Notice that Peter says “which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
This period of restoration will be the climax of the age, which has been prophesied by every prophet God has ever placed in the world. Restore, as I understand it, means “to put things back in their right place and their right condition.” This is the message of the hour. God is putting His people back in their right place and in their right condition.
The restoration of the Church is going to bring us to the final stage, the ultimate climax of the age—with God sending Jesus Christ, whom heaven must receive and, by implication, retain, until this period of restoration of all things. These four stages are God’s program for closing this age. We will not focus on each stage in detail because it is outside the scope of this post. We will, however, consider the third stage, the times of restoration, at some depth. Why? Because that restoration relates directly to the Church and her victory over Satan’s kingdom in the final conflict.
My name is Cesar and I’m A Voice in The Desert
www.avoiceinthedesert.net
www.mywalkwithmycreator.com
#avoiceinthedesert
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