Quote:
Originally Posted by good samaritan
The apostles expected a restoration of natural Israel it appears here.
Acts 1:6
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? |
I completely forgot to address this point, although I touched upon it indirectly in my earlier replies.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 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. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
(Act 1:6-8)
Some take this to be evidence that the apostles were under a delusion and didn't understand that Jesus had no intention of restoring any kingdom to Israel. I disagree, as they had just spent 40 days with Him as He taught them about the Kingdom:
To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
(Act 1:3)
I think it is ridiculous to think the apostles just completely missed everything He taught them for 40 days. The fact they had an expectation of the Kingdom being restored to Israel strongly implies Jesus taught them exactly that. The question is not "would the Kingdom be restored to Israel", but rather "what does that mean?"
The disciples asked "Is now the time?" The answer is that they were not allowed to know the times and seasons that God chooses not to reveal to them. The answer was simply "I'm not telling you the time frame". So they did not at that time know the time frame.
Now, the real question is "what does that mean?" What does it mean to "restore the Kingdom to Israel"? It cannot mean to simply restore Judea to sovereign independent monarchy, free from Roman political rule. Jesus had been teaching them for 3.5 years about the nature of the Kingdom. He had just spent 40 days with them teaching on the same subject. The idea that Messiah was going to establish Himself as an earthly monarch and wage a physical military war of independence against Rome was discountenanced by Him at every opportunity.
So what does it mean?
What is the Kingdom? It is the rule of God through the instrumentality of His Anointed One (His Christ, or "Messiah"). How is that rule effected, under the new covenant?
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
(Heb 8:8-10)
So restoring the Kingdom to Israel (notice they didn't say Judea) involves the conversion of Israel to Christ. So I can see they were perhaps wondering if it was all going to happen right then. He resurrected, and so now can triumphantly walk into the Temple and declare Himself the Anointed Messiah and demonstrate His Messiah-ship with acts of divine power. Or perhaps he could just somehow by divine power cause mass conversion of Israelites. "What is the time frame for the new covenant to be effectual throughout Israel?" is essentially what they were asking. And the answer is "Never you mind about the time frame."