And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Peter's preaching after the resurrection calls his hearers to repent and be converted in decided testimony without hesitation in the midst of unbelieving priests and rulers. The Jesus to be sent is the one already preached to them, the Holy One and Just who was denied, the Prince of life who was killed and whom God raised, whose suffering fulfilled what God showed by all His prophets. His sending is future and conditional in order, coming after repentance and conversion that sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Those times of refreshing are the latter rain at the close of the gospel work answering to the former rain at Pentecost, and the blotting out of sins is accomplished at the close of the investigative judgment before the second advent when every life has been reviewed. Meanwhile heaven must receive Christ until the appointed times of restitution announced by all His holy prophets since the world began, when His personal return in glory will remove the curse and restore humanity and the earth to Eden's perfection and home.
Peter's Preaching and Promise
Acts 3:20 belongs to Peter's Spirit-empowered preaching after Jesus' resurrection, calling his hearers to repent and be converted. It was given as decided testimony when he stood up to speak in the midst of unbelieving priests, Pharisees and rulers, without hesitation though the truth would bring disfavor. It is cited as an exhortation to repent in view of the judgment.
The Jesus to be sent is the one already preached to the people. He is the Holy One and Just who was denied, while a murderer was desired to be granted in His place, and the Prince of life who was killed and whom God raised from the dead. Through faith in His name His name gives perfect soundness. His rejection by the people and by their rulers was through ignorance, and His suffering fulfilled what God showed by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ should suffer. The disciples' witness to His death and resurrection fulfilled that prophetic testimony.
The sending is future and conditional in order. After repentance and conversion that sins may be blotted out, the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and then God shall send Jesus Christ. He who had been preached to the people is to be sent from heaven, and must meanwhile remain in heaven until the times of restitution. This coming is linked with the fulfillment of the restoration of all things and with the hope of restoration of what was lost in Adam made possible through the cross for those who believe and obey.
That promised restitution and Christ's mission were announced by God through the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. Heaven receives Christ until that appointed restoration. The Old Testament testimony concerns Him, for the prophets foretold His mission and their words were of Him.
Refreshing, Judgment, and Restoration
The times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord are the latter rain at the close of the gospel work, when the harvest is ripened for gathering. The great work of the gospel will not close with less manifestation of divine power than marked its opening. The prophecies fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, will be fulfilled again in the latter rain at its close. Repentance and conversion for the blotting out of sins leads to this refreshing, which comes before God sends Jesus.
That refreshing comes with the glory of His power as spiritual renewal known by experience. Consecrated servants with shining faces will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven by thousands of voices all over the earth, with miracles wrought, the sick healed, and signs following believers. The warning will be carried not so much by argument as by deep conviction of the Spirit of God, until the inhabitants of the earth are brought to take their stand, while Satan opposes with lying wonders. When it comes, God's people will know what it is to ride upon the high places of the earth and to be fed with the heritage of Jacob, and will see the Sabbath more in its importance and glory. Yet the Sabbath will not be seen in all its glory and importance until the covenant of peace is spoken at the voice of God and Jesus welcomes the commandment-keepers into the New Jerusalem as their home.
The blotting out of the sins of believers is accomplished at the close of the investigative judgment, before the second advent, when every life is reviewed before God. The dead are judged out of the things written in the books, and sins cannot be blotted out until after the judgment where their cases are investigated. When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come as promised, and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be. Then He gives eternal life to His waiting people.
Heaven receives Christ until the appointed restoration of all things announced by God through the prophets. His personal return from heaven in glory brings the promised times of God's kingdom. That coming removes the curse and its effects and restores humanity and the earth to Eden's perfection and glory. Through the sacrifice of Christ and the love of God, God will send Jesus Christ to restore to man the Eden home lost in Adam, a restoration made possible through the cross for those who believe and obey. In this personal return is the believers' hope of resurrection and freedom from death.
Repentance and Final Proclamation
The promise that God will send Jesus, already preached, after repentance and conversion that sins may be blotted out and times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord, is a message to proclaim, to pray, and to live. It is to be carried without delay in the work of bringing truth to others, with the softening influence of the Holy Spirit needed in hearts and lives. It comes with striking force to the present as an urgent call to repent and be converted. That sending is placed in the future, after repentance and conversion when refreshing comes, and is applied to the latter rain and the closing work of the third angel's message.
The call demands present self-examination by those who name God's name to see whether they are in the faith, with careful searching of the Word and learning from the experience of ancient Israel. Everyone must do his part to clear the King's highway by obtaining pure and undefiled religion before God. That readiness means the sanctifying power of grace upon the soul, shown by a meek Christlike character and by fruits.
Sin must be thoroughly worked out, confessed and forsaken, so it goes beforehand to judgment and may be blotted out when refreshing comes and God sends Jesus. That blotting out is by the blood of Christ in this great antitypical day of atonement during the work now going forward in heaven, requiring deeper piety and perfect harmony with that heavenly work through repentance and confession. Sins are let go beforehand to judgment by repentance and confession to God and to one another, by walking in the light so there is fellowship and cleansing, with no one standing on dignity or refusing to confess. This includes confession to the one wronged for past position and work, and full confession is all the more necessary when position has given wideness to influence.
True repentance brings forgiveness through the grace of Christ working in the heart, and His grace is given to everyone who repents. Turning from sin to God brings the promised outcome that sins are blotted out at the time of refreshing when God sends Jesus. Genuine revival so produced brings reformation and continued obedience to the covenant.
Peter's decided testimony, given without hesitation in the midst of unbelieving priests and Pharisees though the truth would bring disfavor, is a testimony to be presented likewise by God's witnesses to those who falsely judge and threaten them. The hope that God will send Jesus Christ to restore to man the Eden home of the first parents through Christ's sacrifice, as an expression of God's love, is to be taught to the sick cared for in quiet, secluded places away from the cities.
Peter's preaching after the resurrection calls his hearers to repent and be converted in decided testimony without hesitation in the midst of unbelieving priests and rulers. The Jesus to be sent is the one already preached to them, the Holy One and Just who was denied, the Prince of life who was killed and whom God raised, whose suffering fulfilled what God showed by all His prophets. His sending is future and conditional in order, coming after repentance and conversion that sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Those times of refreshing are the latter rain at the close of the gospel work answering to the former rain at Pentecost, and the blotting out of sins is accomplished at the close of the investigative judgment before the second advent when every life has been reviewed. Meanwhile heaven must receive Christ until the appointed times of restitution announced by all His holy prophets since the world began, when His personal return in glory will remove the curse and restore humanity and the earth to Eden's perfection and home.
Peter's Preaching and Promise
Acts 3:20 belongs to Peter's Spirit-empowered preaching after Jesus' resurrection, calling his hearers to repent and be converted. It was given as decided testimony when he stood up to speak in the midst of unbelieving priests, Pharisees and rulers, without hesitation though the truth would bring disfavor. It is cited as an exhortation to repent in view of the judgment.
The Jesus to be sent is the one already preached to the people. He is the Holy One and Just who was denied, while a murderer was desired to be granted in His place, and the Prince of life who was killed and whom God raised from the dead. Through faith in His name His name gives perfect soundness. His rejection by the people and by their rulers was through ignorance, and His suffering fulfilled what God showed by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ should suffer. The disciples' witness to His death and resurrection fulfilled that prophetic testimony.
The sending is future and conditional in order. After repentance and conversion that sins may be blotted out, the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and then God shall send Jesus Christ. He who had been preached to the people is to be sent from heaven, and must meanwhile remain in heaven until the times of restitution. This coming is linked with the fulfillment of the restoration of all things and with the hope of restoration of what was lost in Adam made possible through the cross for those who believe and obey.
That promised restitution and Christ's mission were announced by God through the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. Heaven receives Christ until that appointed restoration. The Old Testament testimony concerns Him, for the prophets foretold His mission and their words were of Him.
Refreshing, Judgment, and Restoration
The times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord are the latter rain at the close of the gospel work, when the harvest is ripened for gathering. The great work of the gospel will not close with less manifestation of divine power than marked its opening. The prophecies fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, will be fulfilled again in the latter rain at its close. Repentance and conversion for the blotting out of sins leads to this refreshing, which comes before God sends Jesus.
That refreshing comes with the glory of His power as spiritual renewal known by experience. Consecrated servants with shining faces will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven by thousands of voices all over the earth, with miracles wrought, the sick healed, and signs following believers. The warning will be carried not so much by argument as by deep conviction of the Spirit of God, until the inhabitants of the earth are brought to take their stand, while Satan opposes with lying wonders. When it comes, God's people will know what it is to ride upon the high places of the earth and to be fed with the heritage of Jacob, and will see the Sabbath more in its importance and glory. Yet the Sabbath will not be seen in all its glory and importance until the covenant of peace is spoken at the voice of God and Jesus welcomes the commandment-keepers into the New Jerusalem as their home.
The blotting out of the sins of believers is accomplished at the close of the investigative judgment, before the second advent, when every life is reviewed before God. The dead are judged out of the things written in the books, and sins cannot be blotted out until after the judgment where their cases are investigated. When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come as promised, and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be. Then He gives eternal life to His waiting people.
Heaven receives Christ until the appointed restoration of all things announced by God through the prophets. His personal return from heaven in glory brings the promised times of God's kingdom. That coming removes the curse and its effects and restores humanity and the earth to Eden's perfection and glory. Through the sacrifice of Christ and the love of God, God will send Jesus Christ to restore to man the Eden home lost in Adam, a restoration made possible through the cross for those who believe and obey. In this personal return is the believers' hope of resurrection and freedom from death.
Repentance and Final Proclamation
The promise that God will send Jesus, already preached, after repentance and conversion that sins may be blotted out and times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord, is a message to proclaim, to pray, and to live. It is to be carried without delay in the work of bringing truth to others, with the softening influence of the Holy Spirit needed in hearts and lives. It comes with striking force to the present as an urgent call to repent and be converted. That sending is placed in the future, after repentance and conversion when refreshing comes, and is applied to the latter rain and the closing work of the third angel's message.
The call demands present self-examination by those who name God's name to see whether they are in the faith, with careful searching of the Word and learning from the experience of ancient Israel. Everyone must do his part to clear the King's highway by obtaining pure and undefiled religion before God. That readiness means the sanctifying power of grace upon the soul, shown by a meek Christlike character and by fruits.
Sin must be thoroughly worked out, confessed and forsaken, so it goes beforehand to judgment and may be blotted out when refreshing comes and God sends Jesus. That blotting out is by the blood of Christ in this great antitypical day of atonement during the work now going forward in heaven, requiring deeper piety and perfect harmony with that heavenly work through repentance and confession. Sins are let go beforehand to judgment by repentance and confession to God and to one another, by walking in the light so there is fellowship and cleansing, with no one standing on dignity or refusing to confess. This includes confession to the one wronged for past position and work, and full confession is all the more necessary when position has given wideness to influence.
True repentance brings forgiveness through the grace of Christ working in the heart, and His grace is given to everyone who repents. Turning from sin to God brings the promised outcome that sins are blotted out at the time of refreshing when God sends Jesus. Genuine revival so produced brings reformation and continued obedience to the covenant.
Peter's decided testimony, given without hesitation in the midst of unbelieving priests and Pharisees though the truth would bring disfavor, is a testimony to be presented likewise by God's witnesses to those who falsely judge and threaten them. The hope that God will send Jesus Christ to restore to man the Eden home of the first parents through Christ's sacrifice, as an expression of God's love, is to be taught to the sick cared for in quiet, secluded places away from the cities.