The Times or the Epochs: Acts 1:7
“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;” Acts 1:7
The disciples knew that a change was taking place. God was about to usher in a new epoch of His dealing with mankind. The Old Covenant of the Law was coming to an end. The New Covenant was about to begin.
Prophetically from the Old Testament, Israel was looking for the Messiah to come back and rule from the throne of David. He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel.
They expected it after the sixth millennium to be like the day of rest after the sixth day of creation. They understood that a day was like a thousand years from Gods perspective. (See Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8)
That’s one of the reasons the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah. His first coming was toward the end of the fourth millennium from the time after Creation.
The mystery they didn’t understand was God’s plan of Redemption for all of humanity through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus ushered in the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
A new epoch was about to start. It has been called by many names. Some call it the “Age of Grace.” Others call it the “Church Age.” I think a better understanding is “The Age of The Indwelling Holy Spirit.” According to the context of Acts 1:3-8, It could also be understood as the “Age of the Promise.”
It started on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-13. The Jewish holidays from the Old Testament are God’s time table. They are significant to watch.
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached his first message. Look at Acts 2:33 and 2:39. He said this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the promise of the Father. It inaugurated a new time or a new epoch.
For the past 2,000 years we have been in the age of people who hear the gospel and put faith in Jesus Christ being born-again by the Holy Spirit. (See John 3:3-7) They come alive in Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Their body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit who abides in them. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20)
We have been in this “Epoch” or “time” for approximately the past 2,000 years. Are you doing your math? That brings to the end of the sixth day or sixth millennium of time since creation.
What comes next? We are now close to the end of the sixth millennium according to the Jewish calendar. God does not use the Gregorian calendar, He uses the Jewish calendar based on the Old Testament Jewish festivals. That causes huge misunderstanding for many Christians who are unfamiliar with the Jewish calendar and Old Testament festivals.
So what “time” or “Epoch” is coming next? Well, we could call it the seventh day, or the day of rest.
That lines up with the question of the disciples to Jesus; “Is it at this time you are restoring the Kingdom to Israel?”
Evidently they had been conversing with some Jewish scribes and were wresting with Old Testament prophecy. The Messiah coming at the end of the fourth millennium did not make sense.
But when you factor in the mystery of the past 2,000 years of age of the Holy Spirit and gospel of Grace, we are suddenly right on time according to the Jewish calendar.
We should now be asking the question; “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) The answer is “Yes.” Very soon and it will line up exactly with the festivals and the Jewish calendar.
Revelation 20:1-8 calls it the thousand year reign of Christ on earth. We are getting very close according to the Jewish calendar.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;” Acts 1:7
The disciples knew that a change was taking place. God was about to usher in a new epoch of His dealing with mankind. The Old Covenant of the Law was coming to an end. The New Covenant was about to begin.
Prophetically from the Old Testament, Israel was looking for the Messiah to come back and rule from the throne of David. He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel.
They expected it after the sixth millennium to be like the day of rest after the sixth day of creation. They understood that a day was like a thousand years from Gods perspective. (See Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8)
That’s one of the reasons the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah. His first coming was toward the end of the fourth millennium from the time after Creation.
The mystery they didn’t understand was God’s plan of Redemption for all of humanity through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus ushered in the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
A new epoch was about to start. It has been called by many names. Some call it the “Age of Grace.” Others call it the “Church Age.” I think a better understanding is “The Age of The Indwelling Holy Spirit.” According to the context of Acts 1:3-8, It could also be understood as the “Age of the Promise.”
It started on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-13. The Jewish holidays from the Old Testament are God’s time table. They are significant to watch.
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached his first message. Look at Acts 2:33 and 2:39. He said this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the promise of the Father. It inaugurated a new time or a new epoch.
For the past 2,000 years we have been in the age of people who hear the gospel and put faith in Jesus Christ being born-again by the Holy Spirit. (See John 3:3-7) They come alive in Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Their body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit who abides in them. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20)
We have been in this “Epoch” or “time” for approximately the past 2,000 years. Are you doing your math? That brings to the end of the sixth day or sixth millennium of time since creation.
What comes next? We are now close to the end of the sixth millennium according to the Jewish calendar. God does not use the Gregorian calendar, He uses the Jewish calendar based on the Old Testament Jewish festivals. That causes huge misunderstanding for many Christians who are unfamiliar with the Jewish calendar and Old Testament festivals.
So what “time” or “Epoch” is coming next? Well, we could call it the seventh day, or the day of rest.
That lines up with the question of the disciples to Jesus; “Is it at this time you are restoring the Kingdom to Israel?”
Evidently they had been conversing with some Jewish scribes and were wresting with Old Testament prophecy. The Messiah coming at the end of the fourth millennium did not make sense.
But when you factor in the mystery of the past 2,000 years of age of the Holy Spirit and gospel of Grace, we are suddenly right on time according to the Jewish calendar.
We should now be asking the question; “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) The answer is “Yes.” Very soon and it will line up exactly with the festivals and the Jewish calendar.
Revelation 20:1-8 calls it the thousand year reign of Christ on earth. We are getting very close according to the Jewish calendar.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
