Israel Restored
What is the interpretation of Acts 1:6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
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Here is the verse:
"When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
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Jesus came as and is the Jewish Messiah. The Jewish apostles had every reason to believe that He would restore the kingdom to Israel and establish Jerusalem as the capital of the world. Many Old Testament scriptures promised this blessing. Just consider this one passage:
Isaiah 2:2And 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.
See All... 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 of 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. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Jesus did not scold the apostles for asking such a question. Neither did He tell them that Israel would not be receiving a kingdom. Rather, He told them that it was not for them "to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7And 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.
See All...). That is, the kingdom would come but they would not be told when it would happen.
We still do not know when the kingdom will come for Israel, but we know it will come. The time it comes is called the kingdom age or the millennium. The book of Revelation teaches that it will be the time when Christ shall reign a thousand years on the earth (Revelation 19:1-5 [1] And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
[2] For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
[3] And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
[4] And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
[5] And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
See All...). Paul in the book of Romans refers to the forgiveness and restoration of Israel that will come when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in (Romans 11:25-27 [25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
[26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
[27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
See All...). Thank the Lord that He always keeps His promises. Since He will keep all His promises to the Jewish people, I can rest assured that He will keep His promises to me.