Chapter 9
The Restitution
of All Things
The Glorious
Gospel of Jesus Christ
In
the third chapter of Acts we find Peter healing a man who had been lame and
when the man stood up and walked, a crowd gathered and Peter began preaching to
them. In his message, Peter mentions
“the restitution of all things.”
Whom the heaven must receive
until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Acts 3:21
This
doctrine may have been recently revealed to Peter but it certainly wasn’t a new
concept in Scripture. Peter indicated
that God had spoken about the restitution of all things through all of His
prophets since the beginning of time. The
restitution of all things is the universal reconciliation of all men who have
ever lived. The purpose of the
resurrection is not to annihilate those who were not Christians nor is it to
send them into eternal damnation and torture.
The purpose of the resurrection is to institute the judgments of God
upon all men, Christian and non-Christian alike, as the beginning of a process
to bring all to Christ.
I
don’t have a clue how long this might take but Dr. Stephen Jones has
conjectured that it could possibly be 49,000 years which is a multiple of God’s
490 year cycle of grace. But regardless
of how long it might be, it is the stated purpose of God to restore all of His creation and bring every
human being back to Himself. Obviously, some men will need more correction
(judgment) than others as Paul says,
But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ’s at his coming. 1 Cor. 15:23
In the gospel of
Luke Jesus points out,
[47]And that servant, which knew
his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will,
shall be beaten with many stripes. [48]But he that knew not, and did commit
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, to him they will
ask the more. [49]I am come to send fire
on the earth; and what will I, if it be already
kindled? Luke 12:47-49
There
is a time rapidly approaching when our Lord is going to appear and He is
bringing with Him the sons of God, the overcomers,
who are in the first resurrection and they shall be changed into immortal
bodies and empowered with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This company shall begin the task of bringing
God’s kingdom onto the earth in its fullness.
They, through the power of the Christ in them, shall begin to rid the
earth of all unrighteousness, all filth, all lying and cheating and every act
of darkness.
For the earnest expectation of
the creature waiteth for the manifestation (apokalupsis) of the sons of God. Rom. 8:19
The
rapture that is mentioned by Paul in Second Thessalonians,
is not the rapture of the church nor is it the rapture or resurrection of all
Christians. The first resurrection is
when the overcomers, past and present, are changed
and begin to rule and reign with Christ.
There are three major harvests mentioned in Scripture which are
prophetic of the resurrections.
The
first harvest of the year was the barley harvest. When barley is harvested, it is winnowed by
tossing it in the air to separate the barley from the chaff. This is a picture of the resurrection of the
sons of God who need only to be breathed on by the Holy Spirit to have their
chaff (sins) removed.
The
second harvest was the wheat harvest and when wheat is gathered it must be
taken to the threshing floor and beaten to remove the chaff. This is the condition of most
Judeo-Christians today commonly referred to as, the church. They will be in the second resurrection.
The
last harvest of the year was the grape harvest.
The grapes were brought in and poured into huge vats where they had to
be crushed under foot in order to remove the juice from them. Then the juice had to be fermented to bring
forth the new wine. This pictures the
bulk of mankind. God must figuratively
crush them under his feet before they will be ready to bring forth righteous
lives.
Paul
was speaking of the first resurrection when he told us to press on to the high
calling in Christ Jesus and obtain the prize.
I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Php. 3:14
John also spoke of the first
resurrection in the Revelation,
Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection: on such
the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God,
and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Rev. 20:6
The
second death which John was refers to is synonymous with the lake of fire and
is where those unrepentant people will be held until they are brought to the
knowledge of Jesus Christ. In Barnes’
notes he says of this verse:
The “second death” is properly
the death which the wicked will experience in the world of woe.
Israel
is a glaring example that race says nothing about a man. Israel was not a chosen people because of any
individual merit they might have had as people.
On the contrary, Scripture shows that they became so despicable that God
cast them out and divorced them. Israel
was chosen by God to be a servant people and to serve God and the other nations
of the world. God judges men not on race
but upon their individual character or lack of it and so should men do
likewise. I know people of every race
and religion who are moral and upstanding people and I know Israelites who are
monsters and I know Israelites who are righteous.
God
chose Israel to bring the gospel of His kingdom to ALL the world. That has been their only calling since the
beginning. Pastor Robert Phillips of
Wales preached a sermon in 2004 showing how the Scriptures from Genesis onward
declare that God’s plan is to use Israel to bring all mankind into His kingdom. The following are but a few:
The Restoration
of All Things
And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen. 3:15
From the beginning God declares His
victory. His seed would bruise the head
of the serpent indicating total defeat of His enemies.
And I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the earth be
blessed. Gen. 12:3
God declares that all the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s
seed.
And thy seed shall be as the dust
of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the
west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Gen. 28:14
All the families of
the earth will be blessed.
But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the
glory of the LORD. Num. 14:21
The glory of the Lord shall not just be
for Israel but for all the earth.
The adversaries (satans) of the LORD shall be
broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall
judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and
exalt the horn of his anointed. 1 Sam.
2:10
The Lord is the judge of the whole earth
and He is not going to just judge Christians but all of mankind. His rule extends to the entire earth and He
will reign over everything and everyone.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for thy possession. Ps.
2:8
God’s plan is for the inheritance of the
entire earth and all that is in it.
[2] And it shall come to pass in
the last days, that the mountain of
the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. [3] And many people
shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in
his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. Isa. 2: 2,3
Isaiah foretells of the last days when
the kingdom of God shall be established and be above
all other nations (mountains) and the people of the world will come to His
kingdom to learn of His ways and be taught from the law of God to walk in
righteousness. All the nations!
And the glory of the LORD shall
be revealed, and all flesh shall see
it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Isa. 40:5
Isaiah does not say that some of the
people shall see the glory of the Lord but, ALL FLESH shall see it together.
[20] Assemble yourselves and
come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no
knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that
cannot save. [21] Tell
ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared
this from ancient time? Who hath
told it from that time? Have not I the LORD? And there is no God else beside
me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside
me. [22] Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth: For I am God, and there is none else. Isa. 45:20-22
God has declared from ancient times that
His salvation shall extend to all the ends of the earth.
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified,
and shall glory. Isa. 45:25
If God is going to justify all the seed
of Israel then surely He is going to justify the entire earth.
And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jer. 31:34
Although these words were given directly
to Israel, it is still universal in scope for even Israel’s neighbors shall all
know the Lord. The knowledge of the Lord
will so fill the earth that there will be no need for
anyone to teach his neighbor.
Then said he unto me, These
waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go
into the sea: Which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be
healed. Eze. 47:8
The picture Ezekiel paints here is of
healing waters going forth into the dead sea and
bringing forth life. The dead sea represents the dead sea of humanity and how God’s
healing waters (Gospel) shall bring life to all.
Then was the iron, the clay, the
brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the
chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no
place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image, became a great mountain,
and filled the whole earth. Dan. 2:35
Mountains refer to kingdoms in prophetic
terms and the image Daniel was referring to that was made of iron, clay, brass,
silver and gold
were the various kingdoms of the world. God’s
stone kingdom shall smash them all and fill the whole earth. His kingdom
is not coming to be isolated from the rest of the world,
His kingdom will be universal throughout the earth.
[28] And it shall come to pass
afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: [32] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
LORD shall be delivered …. Joel 2:28, 32
God is going to pour out His spirit upon
all flesh and whosoever shall call upon Him shall be
saved. God’s plan is universal and meant
for all.
[11] In that day will I raise up
the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and
I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: [12] That
they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called
by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. Amos 9: 11,12
Even all of the heathen shall be called
by the name of the Lord and this is stressed again in the book of Acts,
[16] After this I will return,
and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will
build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: [17] That the residue of men (those left
behind) might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles (nations) upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Acts 15:16,17
Just as in Amos, here again God declares
that His name shall be upon all peoples and all shall have the opportunity to
learn of him, even those left behind.
And saviours
shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall
be the LORD’S. Oba. 1:21
The saviors mentioned here are the sons
of God when they go forth to spread the kingdom of God throughout the whole
earth.
Jesus
told the generation to which he appeared that the only sign they would see
would be the sign of Jonah. We know that
He was referring to Jonah’s three days in the belly of the “whale” as a sign
that Christ would be in the grave for three days. But, Jesus was also referring
to the fact that Jonah had gone to a non-Israelite city, Nineveh, and Nineveh
had repented and was spared. Nineveh is
representative of the whole earth who knew not God and how God extended His
mercy to them.
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of
the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be
exalted above the hills; and people shall flow into it. Micah 4:1
God’s house shall be above all nations
and the peoples of the world will flow to it to learn the ways of the Lord.
Behold upon the mountains the
feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace! Nahum 1:15
The prophet Nahum was reiterating what
Isaiah had said,
How lovely on the mountains are
the feet of him who brings
good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness,
who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God Reigns.” NASB Isa. 52:7
God shall reign upon and over the entire
of creation. That’s the “good news.”
For the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Hab. 2:14
As the waters cover the sea, the glory
of the Lord shall cover the earth and all shall have the knowledge of Him.
For then will I turn to the
people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to
serve him with one consent. Zeph. 3:9
All men shall speak the same language
and all shall serve Him with one consent.
[6] For thus says the LORD of
hosts; yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the
earth, and the sea, and the dry land; [7] And I will shake all nations, and the
desire of all nations shall come:
and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD
of hosts. Haggai 2: 6,7
In but a little while and God shall
shake all nations and all nations shall be filled with the glory of the Lord;
universal reconciliation.
For from the rising of the sun even
unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles;
(nations) and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure
offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith
the LORD of hosts. Mal. 1:11
How long will God’s name be great among
the heathen nations? It will be from the
rising of the sun unto the going down of the same; forever.
The
message was the same from the beginning of time even unto the time of Christ
which God had proclaimed through all of His holy prophets; the glory and
salvation of the Lord would grow and fill the entire earth and all of its
people would know Him. And if you didn’t
get the message in the Old Testament, it continues with more force in the New
Testament.
The Glorious Gospel
of Jesus Christ
For God sent not his son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17
God’s plan was to save the whole world
and those who think Him incapable of having such a plan have not been paying
attention.
[22] For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But every man in
his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they
that are Christ’s at his coming. [24] Then
cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. [25] For he must reign,
till he hath put all enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy that shall be destroyed
is death. 1 Cor. 15:22-26
Does the word, all, when used in Scripture, always include everyone or everything?
No, all is sometimes used to include all of one’s kingdom or possessions. We find that the decree from Augustus that all the world
should be taxed meant all of the Roman Empire and wherever that authority
reached. Just like with the word,
nations, every word must be read in context.
In the context above, Paul contrasted Adam’s sinful consequences with
Christ’s salvation. The only question to
be asked is, how many people die because of Adam’s
sin? Since everyone dies who has ever
lived then we know that in this usage, all
is all-inclusive. The context itself demands that the all that shall be made alive in
Christ is also all-inclusive;
But, every man in his own order.
Jesus had made the same statement
during His ministry,
And I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw (drag) all men unto
me. John 12:32
Jesus did not say He would beg and plead
with every man to come unto Him; He said He would drag everyone to Himself as a
result of His death through which He received the authority to do so. In this verse, all means, THE WHOLE. He will draw the whole of mankind to Himself.
After
learning this glorious truth, my wife found a verse in 1
Timothy that has become her favorite verse concerning God’s
reconciliation of all.
For therefore we both labor and
suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men,
specially of those that believe. 1 Tim. 4:10
For it is for this we labor and
strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of
all men, especially of believers. 1 Tim.
4:10 NASB
God is not only the Savior of believers
but of all men.
[10] That in the dispensation of
the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: [11] In whom also we
have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of
him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will: Eph. 1:10, 11
God is going to gather all things in heaven and in earth
together in Christ. We who are in Christ
now may have obtained an inheritance already by the predestination of God’s
counsel but He is going to gather all things to Himself.
The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance. 2 Pet. 3:9
I asked the question above, if God could
save everyone, would He? If it is the
will of God that none should perish, then none shall perish because He is
sovereign and His will overrides all else.
God is long suffering so that all shall be made alive. All do not repent during this lifetime but
God is patient and His mercy endures forever and ultimately all will repent.
[10]That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things
under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil.
2:10, 11
The Amplified
version of the Bible translates this verse as, “….every knee should (must)
bow…” and the NASB says, “… so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW.” The emphasis of the capitalization is theirs,
not mine. A Christian man calling
himself, Pastor Zach, has a blog wherein he answers a
question from one of his parishioners about this very verse and should it be
rendered, “should bow,” or “will bow?” He
was surprised that the NIV version of the Bible had translated it as, “should
bow” because his NASB translates it as, “will bow.” So, he did some research and found the
following:
In Philippians 2:10, the verb
“bow” is in the subjunctive mood. In
Greek, the subjunctive mood indicates potentiality or contingency, but not
certainty. It is often translated with
the words “may” or “might” to indicate the uncertainty that this mood carries
with it. “Every knee may bow…” “Every knee might bow…” Could it be that Paul is teaching that bowing
knees are only a possibility and not a certainty?
With all due respect to the NIV,
I think I’ll stick with the NASB’s translation of this particular passage. For the subjunctive
indicates contingency except when it is used in what is known as a
“purpose clause,” which, notably enough, constitute the bulk of the
subjunctive’s usages in the New Testament. In the instance of a purpose
clause, the subjunctive indicates not potentiality or contingency, but certainty. And this is the case in Philippians 2:9-10. God has given Jesus a “name that is above
every name” with an express purpose:
“That at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.” And God’s purpose
cannot be thwarted. Bowing knees at
Jesus’ name are sure and certain.
http://zachkvet.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/shouldve-mayve-mighve-philippians-210/
It would be my
personal recommendation that if you have the NIV version of the Bible, get rid
of it. It has many passages that are
mistranslated and misleading just as that above. Another example is their terrible translation
of Jesus’ words in Matt. 18:21 when our Lord is responding to Peter’s question
about how many times we should forgive our brothers. The NIV has Jesus responding by saying,
seventy-seven times. In our reference to
the number 490 above and its significance, this translation destroys the
significance and meaning of 70 x 7.
And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, (even those buried) and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and
ever. Rev. 5:13
In the last book
of the Bible we find God again telling us that every creature everywhere shall
cry blessing, honor and glory unto God and unto Jesus. (One in the same) Paul
summoned up the entire concept in his first letter to the Corinthians,
And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put
all things under him, that God may be all in all. 1 Cor. 15:28
God is going to fill all of creation
with Himself and the mind of Christ will be in all of
His creatures, especially those who believe.
God is not going to lose one single person.
This,
then, is the GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF JESUS
CHRIST. God does not lose. He does more than bring a few back to
Himself, He brings every man back to Himself and this was His plan and purpose
from the beginning. He made Himself
responsible in the Garden of Eden for the death of every person who has ever
lived and also has ownership over our person.
He made Himself responsible because He knew we would become slaves to
sin and never be able to save ourselves and being no respecter of persons, He
made Himself responsible for everyone. God’s
plan has never failed or varied, He does not have dispensations wherein He
deals with men differently than before. David
was saved the same way I was saved and the same way you are saved.
And
this is the way in which truth is established, by the whole word of God and not
just a few verses here and there that can be twisted and made to justify one’s
particular belief.
Most
Judeo-Christians believe that Adam’s sin can destroy the vast majority of
mankind but the death of Christ cannot save all of mankind. God is the potter and He can and will do what
He pleases with the clay and the Scriptures tell me that He desires that all
should be saved and so all shall be saved.
All of creation will be restored by God at the Restitution of All
Things.
The
gospel that is preached in most Judeo-Christian churches is not The Glorious
Gospel of Jesus Christ but is a sad and pathetic message of a loser God and one
who is brutish in His ways. That is not
the God of Scripture but rather the god of man’s imaginations and fears.
Suggested
reading, audio and video:
Stephen Jones: “Creations Jubilee”
Professor Roger Rusk: “The Other End of the World”