These Days - Pt 1

But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (Acts 3:18-26 ESV).

In Acts 3, Peter and John heal a lame man at the gate of the temple in Jerusalem. He follows them into the temple walking and leaping and praising God, and the people are filled with wonder and amazement. So Peter seizes the opportunity to preach the gospel. He clearly tells them of their sinful nature and the death of Jesus to make the atonement for them. He also tells them all of this has happened according to the plan of God who instructed the prophets to foretell all of it. He calls this long unfolding plan of God simply “these days.” It shouldn’t surprise us that scholars have been trying to identify the meaning of those two words for centuries. Prophecy of the end of days has always been a topic of interest and widely divergent opinions have immerged throughout the centuries since Peter first preached this sermon. We will look at the meaning of this phrase over the next few days. I am convinced that there are three specific times Peter is thinking about in this reference: the days of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry; the days of the Church; and, the days of consummation. You may be of a mindset to wonder why this is important. There are many people today who believe the study of the prophecies, especially those yet fulfilled, are merely a distraction from the important things of this life. Peter must have anticipated this retort when he said, Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (v. 19). All of what God has done, is doing, and shall do is simply a means to bring the gospel to those whom he has chosen for redemption. It is in this redemption that we shall find the final and complete “refreshing.” That word is so full of meaning. It calls to mind the complete replenishment of strength and comfort. Pain and suffering come to an end in this time. That’s what knowing what the prophets are saying does! That’s encouragement!