RESTORATION

The term "restoration" conveys a number of ideas in the Scriptures, depending upon the immediate context. (a) It may refer to the restitution of property or money in compliance to law (Dt. 22:2), or it may be a reflection of one's repentance (Lk. 19:8). (b) The term may be used of a spiritual invigoration (Psa. 23:3), or the return of one who has been overtaken in sin, to a right relationship with the Lord (Gal. 6:1). (c) Peter spoke of the fact that, following his ascension, Christ would remain in heaven "until the times of the restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21). What is the "restoration of all things" here in view? It is not universal salvation for mankind (Mt. 7:13-14), nor is it the "restoration of national Israel" in an earthly 1,000 year reign of Christ, as alleged by millennialists. This "restoration of all things" occurs before Christ returns from heaven (cf. Lk. 19:12, 15), not afterward. Peter identifies this "restoration" as "these days," i.e., the Christian age (Acts 3:24). The "restoration" contemplated in Acts 3:21, therefore, is the implementation of God's gospel plan in the current dispensation, whereby the lost can become "new creatures" again (2 Cor. 5:17). (d) In a more modern sense, the term "restoration" is used of the noble attempt of sincere people to return to the original pattern of Christianity, as revealed in the first century. It seeks to go back past Protestantism, back beyond the apostasy of Catholicism, and, with the New Testament as one's solitary guide, re-establish the teaching and practice of the original church. This is a glorious idea worthy of the attention of all serious Bible students.