The Nugget:
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
My Comment:
How this verse is understood is a critical indicator of the correctness of one’s system of Bible prophecy.
Many interpreters get this verse wrong.
Not just wrong, but backwards!
Any Bible readers or interpreters who think this verse shows how wrong the Apostles were who asked this question are themselves the ones who are mistaken.
Those who suppose that the Apostles were mistaken in their belief that a literal earthly kingdom is to be restored to the nation of Israel likely misunderstand the promises Israel has been given as declared in the Old Testament.
Notice that the question itself centers upon the issue of the timing of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, not the fact that the kingdom will be restored again to Israel. The disciples asked “wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
It is not possible to correctly suppose that the Apostles were mistaken about the nature of the kingdom of God.
Jesus had just spent forty days after His resurrection with the Apostles “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).
Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Within the Gospel record itself we have the statement of Jesus that it was given to His disciples to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in contrast to what Jesus said of the understanding of the general audience to whom such understanding was not given:
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
The expression “kingdom of heaven” is frequently Matthew’s terminology for “the kingdom of God.”
Jesus had already spoken of Abraham’s personal presence in the coming kingdom of heaven at Matthew 8:11.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Why is this important?
The issue is significant in our day. This directly relates to the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenant promises given to Israel.
The promises to Abraham are directly stated in the New Testament at Acts 7:5 to have never been fulfilled:
Act 7:5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. (KJV)
Act 7:5 He gave him no property in it, not even a foot of land, and yet He promised to give it to him and his descendants after him, as a permanent possession, although he had no child at that time. (Williams NT)
The point is, that the promise was made personally to Abraham that he would himself inherit the promised land, but Abraham himself never personally possessed the land God promised to him. It is for this reason that God, who cannot lie, must resurrect Abraham and bring him personally into the promised land in order for the Abrahamic Covenant to be fulfilled.
Therefore, the Land Promise made to Abraham has never yet been fulfilled.
The Land Promise forms a most significant part of the Abrahamic Covenant and is mentioned in the following passages in Genesis which contain the enumerated provisions of this Covenant:
(8) The land of Canaan given to Abraham’s seed, Gen 12:7;
Genesis 12:7
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
King James Version
(9) Abraham personally and his seed are to inherit the land as promised, the land of Canaan or Palestine, Gen 13:15;
Genesis 13:15
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
King James Version
(10) The land of Canaan given to Abraham and his seed forever, Gen 13:15;
(17) The Abrahamic Covenant declared an everlasting or perpetual covenant, Gen 17:7;
Genesis 17:7
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
King James Version
(19) All the land of Canaan to be an “everlasting possession,” Gen 17:8;
Genesis 17:8
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
King James Version
The ultimate extent of the Land Promise is specified in Genesis 15:18.
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
How long is the promise to Abraham good for? The Bible plainly declares the promise is forever at 2 Chronicles 20:7.
2 Chronicles 20:7
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
King James Version
Another passage of Scripture which confirms the permanence of the Land Promise is found in Leviticus 26:42.
Lev 26:42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Granted that Leviticus 26:42 is preceded by some conditions for Israel to be fully restored to its land and restored to God’s favor as specified by the all-important “If” stated in Leviticus 26:40 and Leviticus 26:41.
Lev 26:40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Lev 26:41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
God has been patiently waiting for Israel to come to repentance. The Bible specifies when or under what circumstances this will take place. In the meantime, Israel is now in the land in unbelief, just as was prophesied in Zephaniah 2:1 and context.