The present booklet is designed to carry home to the hearts of God's people the thought that the divine program is being held up. In order to show this fact it is necessary to analyze the seven-point program as it is outlined in the Word of God. Of course, the idea of delaying the unfolding of God's "plan of the ages" is a thought cast into a human mold. On the other hand, when this subject is reviewed from the divine standpoint, we know that the time is fixed and that the event under consideration will occur at the very time foreknown by the Almighty. Coming back to the human side of the question we with Peter may be certain that we can hasten "the coming of the day of God" (II Peter 3:12). It is from this angle that we shall study this subject.

By careful study of Peter's message, recorded in Acts 3, we can see what this program is and what really is holding up the march of events. The occasion of this sermon was as follows: A cripple man, who lay at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, requested a small donation from Peter and John as they were entering the sacred enclosure. Peter confessed that he had no funds but offered him what he had--namely, healing in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. His joy knew no bounds; hence he was very demonstrative. This unusual conduct attracted a great crowd to Solomon's porch to whom Peter delivered a message from God.

"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him."

But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But the things which God foreshadowed by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled" (Acts 3:13-18)


Peter explained the miracle by calling attention to the fact that God had glorified his "Servant Jesus." The word in the original Greek rendered "Servant" primarily means child, boy. A secondary sense is that of servant. This Greek word is used constantly in the translation of the Old Testament to render the word that is translated servant in the following great passages of Isaiah: 42:1f; 49:1f; 52:13f. Peter's use of this term immediately identified Jesus as the Servant of Jehovah who is mentioned in these sublime prophecies of Isaiah. Since those great predictions were understood as referring to the Messiah, Peter's declaration was equal to an affirmation that Jesus was the Hebrew Messiah.

With boldness Peter affirmed that the leaders of the people had rejected the holy and the righteous One in their clamoring for the death of Jesus notwithstanding Pilate's determined efforts to have Him released. Although they had been instrumental in bringing about His death, Peter affirmed, this act of extreme violence did not end His Messianic career, for he declared that God raised Him from the dead. That God had actually wrought this miracle, as foretold, was the fact to which both Peter and the rest of the apostles who saw Him after His resurrection would testify. In his sermon on the day of Pentecost the Apostle had proved beyond a doubt that, according to the prediction of Psalm 16, the Messiah was to be raised from the dead.

According to verse 17 of Acts 3, the Apostle informed his audience that they in ignorance had executed Jesus as their rulers had done, but in committing this Satanic crime, they had simply been carrying out the divine plans concerning Messiah. Hence in verse 18 Peter, becoming more specific in his declaration, affirmed that those who executed Jesus simply carried out the preordained plan of God concerning Messiah's suffering and death. In a most marvelous manner God overruled the actions of men and caused them to contribute to His plan of the ages. Thus they in their ignorance had coöperated with God in working out a portion of the redemptive career of His Messiah.

Peter's referring to the things that God had foreshadowed would come to pass concerning His Messiah shows that he had in mind the redemptive career as set forth in various Old Testament predictions. In his statement the Apostle, however, simply called attention to the fact that they had carried out that portion of the program which pertained to the execution of King Messiah. From a reading of verses 19-21 it becomes increasingly evident that Peter had in mind the entire redemptive career of Messiah as it is outlined in the Old Testament; therefore, in order to appreciate this sermon one must understand clearly what had been foretold by the prophets.

One of the clearest passages in the Old Testament which sets forth the program for Messiah's earthly ministry is Psalm 110, one of the most important passages in all of the Book of God.

"Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand,
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
thy people offer themselves willingly
In the day of thy power, in holy array:
Out of the womb of the morning
Thou hast the dew of thy youth" (Psa. 110:1-3)

Speaking dramatically, I would say that when the curtain rises in this psalm the first scene is laid in Jerusalem. In the very first act we see King Messiah in the Holy City, surrounded by its hostile inhabitants. This passage, however, does not give us the extent to which their enmity drives them. This formation must be gathered from other predictions which deal with this phase of Messiah's experiences.

If one wishes to acquire this information, he can gather it from such psalms as 22 and 69. These hymns show us that in their frenzy and hatred toward King Messiah the leaders of Israel are driven to the point of having Him executed by crucifixion. This same phase of the subject is also set forth in Isaiah 53:1-9, the future confession of the penitent remnant of the nation. (See chapter XVIII The Eternal God Revealing Himself to Suffering Israel and to Lost Humanity, by David L. Cooper.)

Reverting to our psalm, we see that, when Messiah is thus rejected, God in heaven invites Him to leave Jerusalem, to ascend to His right hand, and there to remain in a position of honor and glory until He, the Almighty, puts the Jews under Messiah's feet.

When this great crisis comes in the life of Israel, the entire nation then living will plead for His return and will most enthusiastically receive Him. This fact is shown in verse 3 of this poem which declared, "They people offer themselves willingly in the day of thy power." When they are thus brought to this point and plead for His return to earth, He will do so and take up His reign in Jerusalem. Thus He will be honored in the very place where He was formerly rejected. Such is the delineation of Messiah's redemptive career as set forth in Psalm 110. This outline, as stated above, is very clearly reflected in the statement of the Apostle Peter in this second recorded sermon.

In verses 13-18 the Apostle showed that the first part of Messiah's redemptive career had been literally carried out: God had sent His Messiah, His Servant Jesus, and Israel had rejected Him, putting Him to death. Since it had been foretold by the Psalmist David that Messiah would be raised from the dead, God also fulfilled that prediction and the apostles, His witnesses, had already testified to that fact. Thus this item foreshadowed in the Prophets had been fulfilled. After His resurrection, at the invitation of God, Messiah had left the earth, had ascended to Glory, and had taken His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. These events, according to the Old Testament forecast, were initial items in the redemptive career of King Messiah. Thus the first portion of His redemptive career, declared Peter, had been carried out to the very letter.

In order to show the force of the Apostle's logic, I wish to call attention to a simple little illustration. As a lad frequently on Saturdays in the winter I went to the neighborhood country store where the men of the community were accustomed to gather and to talk over things of local interest. As a rule, a checker game was in progress. Expert players frequently sat for a long time without making a move, studying the possibilities involved in every step of the game. Being but a mere child, I could not understand why they were very slow in playing. When one finally did make a move, the other waited in order to study the new situation. After some lapse of time the man who had made the move would say to his friend, "Its your move." Of course, he did not act upon the suggestion unless he were ready to do so. On account of these long delays the game would be prolonged to unusual length. Each player confined himself to the rules of the game and made his move in his turn. Since each exercised his own freedom and choice, the games were frequently drawn out indefinitely. The same principle obtains in certain other games. With reverence, let me say that God has made the last move and that He, figuratively speaking, says to Israel, "Its your move. I am waiting for you." Keeping in mind this simple illustration, I would say that God made the first move in that He sent the Messiah to Israel; then the nation made her move, taking a hostile attitude against Him, rejecting Him (the leaders being moved with jealousy) and bringing about His execution. The almighty raised Jesus from the dead and invited Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places "until the times of the restoration of all things: of which God spoke through the Prophets." In view of these facts we conclude that the first move of the game was taken by the Lord in that He sent Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, to suffer vicariously for the race. Israel made the second move by rejecting Him and having Him executed. Hence the first two items in God's seven-point program are now history. Verse nineteen of this chapter shows that the third item is Israel's national repentance.

God calls upon Israel to repent of the rejection and execution of King Messiah. The Apostle, by the Spirit, here used the strongest word in the Greek language to express the idea of repentance. In the original it is a composite word. The fundamental idea of the root word is to perceive with the mind, to understand. The preposition prefixed to it strengthens the inherent meaning and directs it into a certain definite channel. Hence Thayer, after having showed that it is employed in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to render the Hebrew word which means "to change one's mind, i.e. to repent" says that it means "to repent; to change ones mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins." From these definitions it is clear that Peter called upon the Jewish nation to repent of the crime for the execution of the Lord Jesus and to do that with the intention of amending her ways and attitude towards Him. From these considerations it is evident that repentance is an intelligent act which one takes with reference to his past conduct.

The next injunction laid upon the nation of Israel by the Apostle is that she must "turn again." This translation of the original is not the very best, in view of the etymology of the same. A more literal rendering would be "turn to." A fine example is found in Acts 26:20. Here the Apostle Paul said that he

"declared both to them of Damascus first, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God."

The same word occurs in this sentence as was used by the Apostle Peter on the occasion of which we are now studying. It is a composite word. The meaning is "to turn, to turn around." In the version of the Old Testament it is employed to translate the Hebrew verb which means to turn around. In Paul's speech to King Agrippa he said that the burden of his message was to the effect that men should everywhere turn to God, i.e. that they should turn back to Him from whom they had previously turned away. The same word occurs in the language of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias concerning the son of whose birth he spoke. In Luke 1:16 he said of John the Baptist that he should turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and in the following verse he also declared that John would go before the face of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. From these examples and others that might be given, it is quite evident that this verb indicates a turning to one from whom people have previously turned away. Hence the fourth move which Peter called upon the nation of Israel to make was to turn back to the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, from whom they had turned and for whose death they had been responsible.

This same expression occurs in such passages as Acts 9:35; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19 to indicate people's turning to Christ as their God and Saviour. An examination of the context of these verses shows that Luke was simply indicating the fact that these people of who he was writing simply turned to Christ for salvation and recognized Him as God. Such is the significance of the word in Peter's mouth as he spoke to the people in this sermon which we are studying.

It is an exhortation to the nation of Israel to make these two moves--namely, to repent and to turn to Jesus Christ from whom they had already turned. It holds out to Israel the hope of the blotting out of her sins when she makes these two moves. A literal translation of this exhortation may be expressed in the following words: "Repent ye therefore and turn to (sc. Jesus of Nazareth from whom you have turned) to the blotting out of your sins." The text of the original which is translated "that your sins may be blotted out" is a prepositional phrase and is literally and properly translated "to the blotting out of your sins." The Apostle, therefore, urged the nation to repent and to turn to Jesus as their only Saviour and Messiah, which return will bring them to the blotting out of their sins--all of them. In commenting upon the phrase, "to the blotting out of your sins," Meyer makes the following observation, stating that it "contains the aim, namely, the immediate aim: the final aim is contained in verse 20, which repentance and conversion ought to have. The idea of the forgiveness of sins is here represented under the figure of the erasing of a handwriting." From this comment we see that the blotting out of the sins was the immediate aim whereas that of the revival in Israel and the return of Messiah, according to verse 20, are the final objectives. The blotting out of the sins comes as a result of the repentance concerning the denial and execution of Jesus and the nation's turning to Him as her Messiah.

When Israel thus repents of that ancient martyrdom of her Messiah and when she turns to Him with all her heart, she will have made the two moves that God demands of her before He will act.

The great incentives which Peter held before his auditors were that of the coming of the mighty revival in Israel and the return of the Messiah. Only when Israel has made her two moves, as indicated in the preceding section, will god make the next two, the first of which is the sending of "the seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."

In this connection one may properly ask, "What is designated by the expression 'seasons of refreshing'?" From the reading of this passage it is clear that Peter assumed, on the part of his audience, a knowledge of the significance of his language. What did they understand his statements to mean? They certainly did not think that he was speaking of the promise: "the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing" (Ezek. 34:26). When we read the context of the Ezekiel passage, we see that he was talking about the literal rains that will be restored to the earth when Israel does come back into fellowship with God. These literal rains come simply from the clouds which are in the atmosphere just above the earth. Peter was very careful, however, in describing the showers to which he referred by saying "seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." The thing to which he was referring comes from the immediate presence of God in heaven. The word rendered "refreshing" is derived from the verb which means "to cool again, to cool off, to recover from the effect of heat; to refresh." Thayer in commenting upon this word speaks of it as referring to "one's spirit, by fellowship, consolation, kindnesses" (II Tim. 1:16). From this quotation it is clear that the refreshing pertains to the spiritual nature of man. This becomes more abundantly evident when we realize that that which produces the refreshing comes from the presence of the Lord.

The Apostle spoke of "the seasons of refreshing." The word "seasons evidently refers to a period of time when there shall come that from the presence of God which produced the refreshing of the soul. In other words this statement promises a mighty revival which originates in heaven and which affects the entire nation of Israel.

Every born-again child of God knows that a revival is the result of the coming of the Holy Spirit into the heart and life of the believer in Christ. Joel the prophet spoke of this mighty revival and its coming in Israel before the great and terrible day of the Lord come (Joel 2:28-32). Again, we see the promise of this revival and its continuance into and through the millennial age (Isa. 44:1-5). In view of these Old Testament predictions of the coming of the Spirit of God, we may be morally certain that the Apostle Peter by his unique expression referred to the coming of the Holy Spirit to bring about this mighty revival after Israel has repented of her share in the execution of her Messiah and has turned to Him as her God, her Saviour, and her King. In this connection it may be well to reemphasize the thought that the revival comes to Israel only after Israel has repented of and repudiated the national sin of the execution of King Messiah and has turned to him as her Lord and King. In the language of the illustration used above, Israel must make her two moves first. Only after she has done that, will God make His next two moves, the first of which is the sending of the Holy Spirit to bring about this great revival, these "seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."

The sixth move in God's seven-point program, which is the second for the lord to perform at this stage of the moving drama, is that of sending Messiah back to Israel. From Acts 3:20 we see that the final objective in view is that Israel repent to the end that God "may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus." After this revival has swept the nation, God will make His next move in the seven-point program and will send Messiah again--this time to reign in glory and power. In our glance at Psalm 110 we saw that after Israel rejects her Messiah God invites Him to ascend to heaven and to sit down at His right hand until the Almighty puts the Jews under the Messiah's feet. When Israel has thus been subjected, the Lord will send Messiah in answer to her plea that He return. Never will he come back until the faithful remnant has thus made moves three and four; but let it be remembered that the revival in Israel precedes the visible, personal coming of the Lord in fulfillment of this program as outlined by the Apostle Peter.

The Apostle was very explicit in his affirmation concerning the Lord Jesus as the Hebrew Messiah. God sent Him into the world; Israel not recognizing Him rejected Him. Then at the invitation of God He returned to Glory. Israel need not expect any other Messiah than the One whom she spurned. During this period of His rejection the nation at various times has sought for a deliverer to lead them out of their difficulties; hence, according to Jewish history, false messiahs promising deliverance have appeared at time of crises. It is needless to say that they have all failed. Jesus of Nazareth was her true Messiah. God will not dishonor Him. Israel's sufferings, which are punitive and corrective, will never abate so long as she rejects Him; on the contrary, according to the prophetic Word, they will increase the nearer she approaches the end of the dispensation.

The seventh move in this divine program is Messiah's establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth. In referring to their rejected Deliver the Apostle spoke of Him as the One "whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old." When this entire sermon is studied in the light of Psalm 110, it is evident that Peter had that wonderful prediction in mind. Up to this point in the discussion he has shown that the Messiah has already come, that He has been rejected by the nation, that He has been invited to sit at the right hand of the throne of God, and that He is to be received or entertained in the Glory until the times of restoration of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets.

What is the significance of the expression, "the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from old"? We must study this phrase carefully. Peter did not declare that everything would be restored to fellowship with God. Unfortunately, some have overlooked the qualifying clause which limits the things to be restored to those mentioned by the Prophets. In order to see the force of this statement one must familiarize him self with predictions found in the Old Testament. If the reader will study the messages of the Prophets, especially the Messianic prediction, he will see that, when Messiah comes in power and glory, He will lift the curse from the earth and restore Edenic conditions. The animal kingdom likewise will be delivered from "the bondage of corruption" at that time. Then the earth will bring forth its increase. Wars cease. Every man shall dwell under his own vine and fig tree and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. A careful perusal of such predictions as Isaiah 2:1-4; 4:2-6; 11; 12; 35; Psalms 2 and 72 will make this fact plain. Passages bearing on this point are too numerous to mention, but these suffice to show that God has promised to restore certain things to the condition in which they were prior to the fall of man.

As seen above, Israel is urged to repent of demanding the death of the Son of God, the Prince of life, and to turn to Him as her Messiah and Saviour. The commands to repent and to accept Jesus as Saviour and Messiah presuppose a knowledge of the facts concerning Jesus and His being Lord and Christ (Messiah). Therefore, Israel must be given the plain facts regarding Jesus and what He has done for the world. Furthermore, misconceptions must be removed by the truth. This subject naturally divides into two sub-topics.

Should I unknowingly be guilty of committing some offense or crime, it would be impossible for me to be sorry for or to repent of such misconduct until I was appraised of my guilt. When Peter commanded the Jewish nation to repent, he presupposed on the part of his audience a knowledge of the facts relative to the execution of Jesus. According to Acts of the Apostles, the early church did give the gospel to the entire nation of Israel in order that she might repent nationally and accept Jesus as the Saviour and Messiah. This task was accomplished by the year 58 A.D.--only twenty-eight years after the Crucifixion. But Israel persisted in unbelief. His call to national repentance with its promised millennial blessings has never been withdrawn. The present generation of the nation cannot repent of the crime of rejecting Jesus until the facts concerning this national sin are given to the people. Therefore Peter's exhortation to his brethren to repent presupposed that the gospel would be given to the generation of Israel that actually does repent and accept Christ.

Though Israel should be given all of the facts concerning the martyrdom of Jesus and though she should repent of that sin, this national sorrow would not necessarily bring her to a saving knowledge of His grace. The French were sorry for the injustice done to Captain Dreyfus and upon further investigation of his case exonerated him. Other similar instances have occurred at different times. Israel must learn of the injustice done to Jesus of Nazareth, her Messiah, and repudiate this martyrdom. Study Leviticus 26:40-42 and the context. She cannot stop there but must see in Him her Saviour and Lord. Being thoroughly convinced that He is her only hope for deliverance from earthly evils and for eternal salvation she will have to accept Him as such. Like everyone else she must receive Him as Saviour and His atoning blood as the remedy for sin before He will come to save her and place her in her rightful place as head of the nations. How can she accept Him as her longed-for Messiah and Saviour so long as she holds certain erroneous views concerning Him and degrades Him to the place of sinful humanity? That the reader may understand the difficulties involved, I wish to call attention to the three principal Jewish interpretations concerning Jesus.

One of the oldest views concerning Jesus held by the Jews is that He was simply a mythical character--such a one as the reputed founders of the various nations. Everyone who is familiar with ancient history knows that the nations of antiquity looked back into the dim past and, if they did not have any authentic history concerning their beginnings, with their fertile imagination created illustrious progenitors, many of whom were semi-divine. Such characters were, of course, mythological. Many of the Jews, not having advantage of knowing the truth concerning Jesus of Nazareth, have hastily jumped at the conclusion that he is simply a myth and that there is no factual basis for belief in the historicity of Jesus.

One of the favorite theories concerning Jesus that has been current in orthodox Jewish circles throughout the centuries is that He was an illegitimate child, the offspring of a Jewish prostitute and a Roman soldier. According to this position He had very bad blood in Him. Jesus, as the legend runs, went down into Egypt to learn the art of black magic. Having acquired the information necessary for practicing it, He returned to the land of Israel and endeavored by sorcery and witchcraft to lead the nation astray from the worship of the true God.

A third hypothesis, which is of modern origin, is that Jesus was the greatest of all the Hebrew prophets and teachers. According to this theory He had a very low origin and birth. He is pictured as a poor Jewish peasant reared in the rustic town of Nazareth. His soul was stirred to action by the prevailing injustices and immoralities of His time. Being fired by a holy zeal for God and a passion for His countrymen He began His ministry, speaking, however, only those things found in Moses and the Prophets. This representation of Jesus presents Him as a man of noble character whose heart throbbed because of the miseries of His people. Thus in a self-sacrificial manner He began to preach His noble ideals and soon became with the masses the man of the hour. Finally His popularity waned under the blighting criticism of the leaders in Israel. Soon He became embroiled with the Romans in the meshes of their law. Ultimately, He was unfortunately executed as a malefactor.

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