The Restitution Times
"Whom heaven must receive until the Times
of Restitution of all things" Acts 3:21
A series of papers devoted to the restoring of
original truth.
By Arthur & Rosalind Eedle
Oxleigh, Langham Road, Mumby, Alford, Lincs.
LN13 9SQ, England
Home page www.oxleigh.freeserve.co.uk
January 17th 2001.
No. 1. WHAT IS RESTITUTION?
In this
first number of a new series, to replace The Wayside Pulpit, we need to examine
the word "Restitution" in the 3rd chapter of Acts, quoted in the
Title of this series. The Greek word is Apokatastasis pronounced Apokatastasis,
made up from three words APO, KATA, and STASIS. APO means "away
from", KATA means "down", but is often employed to mean
"utterly, completely", and STASIS is a noun derived from the
verb meaning "to stand". Putting all these thoughts together produces
a word meaning "a complete standing away from," in other words, a
restoration from the present condition to that of its pristine state, a
re-instatement of that which has been unlawfully obtained, or a return to
normal existence after people/circumstances cause an abnormality. There are
many occasions in life when the word "restitution" could be applied,
or even hoped for.
See how
Peter used the expression. He spoke about heaven receiving the Lord Jesus until
the "times of restitution of all things." Many Christians have
awaited the second coming of our Lord and Saviour with great joy and
expectation, and Peter tells us that when He returns a whole new system of
government will operate, which he calls "the times of
restitution." Hence, whilst the Lord's return remains a future hope,
these "times of restitution" do not operate. This is why the subject
is of such importance to us. We need to know exactly what Peter implied when he
uttered these words to the assembled crowds just after Pentecost.
To begin
this study, let's have a look at a bit more of Peter's speech. He addressed his
Jewish audience, asking them to repent, be converted, for their sins to be
wiped away, so that "times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord." Hence we have two expressions of a similar
nature, "times of refreshing" and "times
of restitution." However, in the Greek original, the word
for "time" is different in each. The first expression uses kairoV,
the second kronoV.
Kairos denotes
a "season", whilst Kronos means "time." In this present age
we have experienced "seasons of refreshing" when
revivals have swept across the land. They seldom last for more than a few
years, and after about 30 years all trace of the event vanishes. But in the
Coming Age of Gold there will be "times of
restitution", not just seasons, but continuous activity from heaven in
this great work.
This is the
great difference between God's present working and that which is about to
replace it in the Kingdom. At this present time we are still under the
administration of God's grace in gathering His elect from all nations. In the
Age to come we shall see a great work of restitution occurring. It behoves us
therefore to examine what this "restitution" will consist of. And the
meaning of the Greek word given above is our foundation stone upon which we can
build. Restitution means the returning to that which obtained originally,
before Satan took over the controls of this world, before he began to imprison
God's people, physically and mentally, before he snatched precious nuggets of
truth from the minds of believers and imposed them on the church
as heresies.
The Lord
Jesus spoke of restitution when He said, "If I, by the Spirit of God,
expel demons, then the Kingdom of God is come upon you. How can anyone enter
into the strong man's house and seize his vessels unless he first binds the
strong man?" (Matthew 12:28-29) Our Lord must therefore have bound Satan
in order to release the Strong Man's hostages. He encouraged His disciples to
do the same. Even in our day one hears of such activity accompanying the
glorious release of those imprisoned by Satan. But the important point in this
passage is our Lord's assertion that every time demons are expelled, the
Kingdom of God invades the earthly scene. These are examples of what it will be
like continually when the Millennial Kingdom is fully manifested. As the
writer to the Hebrews put it, "Those who have tasted the powers of the age
to come." (6:5)
Therefore
it is not good enough to say, "Let's wait and pray for the Kingdom to
come, then we shall see all these marvels." Of course we are waiting, of
course we are praying, but we should also be binding the Strong Man and
plundering his goods. Every time a man is released from his sin, to
receive "life in His name", a soul is snatched from the clutches of
Satan. Every time a servant of the Lord casts out a demon, a soul is released
from bondage. Every time a man is cleared from mental stress, depression, and
misery into the sunshine of God's love, he is restored to "power, love,
and a sound mind" (2 Tim.1:7) Every time a person is released from
ancestral bondage, he is freed from the shackles of the flesh to serve the Lord
without handicaps. The list goes on. And each time any of these events take
place, "the Kingdom of God is come upon you." These are the
"seasons of refreshing" the Lord is looking for in this present age.
But there
is also another area, briefly mentioned above . It relates to the way in which
original truths have been rendered obnoxious to the church by Satan, so that
the fulness of inheritance of God's children is reduced. Anyone who has read
church history will know how the Roman Catholics refused to allow the common
people to read their Bibles. Only the priests were allowed to
"interpret" the Scriptures. And the Bible was made to say whatever
best suited the ecclesiastical authorities, to keep men under religious
bondage, subservient to their priests under pain of dire threats, hell fire,
and never-ending torment.
Martin
Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Bullinger, and Knox were used by God to
inaugurate a new state of freedom. We do not want to eulogise such men too
highly, because they also made some terrible mistakes, but they were
courageous, standing against immeasurable odds in their fight for freedom.
Others, like Bishops Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake for their
protestant beliefs. In fact these two men were ardent universalists, a fact
that is seldom mentioned in church histories. This shows the strength and anger
of the Strong Man, and the grip he has, not just over individual men's lives,
but also over doctrines.
During the
20th century we have seen a resurgence of gifts of the Holy Spirit, as they
were found at Pentecost. This was another area of restitution. Sadly this has
developed into a system of religion known as the charismatic church, which has
a subtle bondage of its own, another aspect of Satanic deception. The so-called
Toronto blessing is just one expression of that, where "power, love and a
sound mind" have been exchanged for spiritual drunkenness and
juvenile excesses of various kinds.
Over the
years my wife and I have written many papers on the subject of Universal
Reconciliation, which we truly believe is an area which Satan hates with a
violence and venom, simply because it suggests that even he, at the end of the
ages, will come to his senses, and repent. The church, by and large, considers
us heretical for espousing such a belief, but we see this response as a work of
Satanic infiltration, and are unmoved by it. We pray fervently that this great
truth of understanding will grow apace as a result of wider preaching by numbers
of God's children. We have no quarrel with those who think we are way off the
mark. We see it as part of a spiritual battle.
Paul
referred to this type of warfare in 2 Cor.10:4-5 "The weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God." We believe that there are many areas of
truth yet to be liberated from Satanic bondage, whereby men may "know the
truth, and the truth will set them free." It is our ongoing work to pursue
this task. We recognise that the Lord has given us a teaching ministry to
advertise whatever He brings to our notice, as we "wrestle against
principalities and powers, and the world-rulers of this darkness."
This will be the thrust of this new series of papers, and our friends will see
that for us it's nothing new, it's been our continuing theme since the first
number of The Prophetic Telegraph back in 1986. It will be towards the
"restitution of ancient truth," and we trust that God will use it to
broaden the scope of the mind, and enlarge the heart at the wonder of
God's character and purposes. We are not alone in this venture. We realise
that. But we sense the urgency of the Lord's hand upon us, as the days
draw ever nearer to the full manifestation of the Age of Gold, and so we hasten
to obey His leading. The Lord is calling His children out of the Stalls into
the Arena of life. Caterpillars do not sit around waiting for their wings, they
go down into death and arise in resurrection.
"Nearer and nearer draws the time, the
time that shall ever be,
When the earth shall be filled with the glory
of God, as the waters cover the sea."