INTRODUCTION

 

"That so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus:
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."

Acts 3:20,21

 

 

When the prophets of the Scriptures foretold the "times of restitution of all things," they used various expressions and illustrations to represent them. One of the most eloquent prophecies about the time of restitution is found in the last book of the Old Testament and is: "But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings." (Mal 4:2.) The reign of Christ's Kingdom is compared here to the warming and healing rays of the sun.

 

For many long centuries the world trembled under the dark and frosty influences of sin. Sickness, pain, and death were the continuing results of this. But in the time of restitution, Satan, the prince of darkness, will be bound, and Christ, the life and light of the world, will extend his warming and healing power over the earth, resulting in what St. Peter called " the times of restoration of all things."

The restoration of man to his lost dwelling in Paradise and the establishment of a universal and lasting peace on earth will be accomplished by the power of God, exercised through various channels under the administration of the Kingdom of Christ. The Millennial Day of the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, will be the time when all the earth will turn into a flowering garden and man will be restored to the perfection he has lost. The hearts of Christians rejoice in the prophet's statement who foretells: "The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose," and "in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." Then there will be no more sickness or death, for the first things of sin and death will pass away, and the kingdom of God in glory and power will become "the desire of all nations shall come."
 

 

 

 

The words of the prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." will soon be heard.

 

 

 

 

THE CASTING OF SATAN DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN

 

 

At the end of the High Calling – 1977 – two important events took place in the spheres of the spiritual heaven: "the birth of a man" and "the casting of Satan from heaven" (Rev 12:5,9). There is a close correlation between "giving birth to a man" and "casting off Satan" as a result of the victory of Prince Michael.

 

 

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"Heaven" in this vision represents the state of the New Creatures – the heavenly class. The "battle in heaven" takes place in the mental field of God's begotten children and is about the struggle between truth and error. The purpose of Satan and his servants was to prevent to complete of the 144,000 members of the Church’s class (Rev 7:4).

 

The victory of Prince Michael over God's opponent, Satan, thwarted these plans. At the appointed time, the full complement of the Church’s class has been achieved and Satan was cast down from heaven. This means that the minds of the last members of the Church were under the sealing influence of the truth in due season, which enabled them to overcome the delusions and trials of the three-and-a-half-year "hour of temptation" (Rev 3:10).

 

The attainment of the full complement of the Church and the parallel to it the casting of Satan down from heaven is a stage in the preparatory process for the restitution of the world.

 

 

 

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"The accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night" (Rev 12:10). Satan has two ways to resort to. First, it seeks to lead us to sadness and doubt, to fall down on the spirit; then, at least temporarily, we become useless and find ourselves in the defeated position towards him. Second, Satan seeks to build doubt in us and thus undermines the bond of faith that binds us to our Heavenly Father. Let us beware and let us not succumb to either his first or the second insidious activities.

 

 

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A sad mood and despondency poisons everything around us, darkens the entire future, deprives the soul of all aspirations, binds all abilities and paralyzes the mind.

 

 

 

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The attack of the adversary was aimed always, and especially at the end of the High Calling, at revealing and exaggerating the weaknesses that are covered with the blood of the Lamb of God. The testimony of the overcomers is "the testimony of Jesus – the spirit of prophecy." (Rev 19:10.) It is especially a prophecy of the book of Revelation, which understanding of will help them to achieve their final victory. The attitude of the faithful will be resolute in the face of irony and threats because of their total sacrifice. "Biblical Chronology" 1974-21

 

 

BINDING OF SATAN

 

 

"'God wants all people to be saved'. First of all, freed from the righteous sentence which he handed down and which shortened Adam's trial. He provided this essential part of salvation through the death of his Son. But not only that. God also wants all people to be healed of the ignorance and blindness with which Satan has obscured their minds from the fall of man: 'The God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, may not shine upon them' (2 Cor 4:4).

 

God wants all thus to be saved from every kind of evil resulting from sin and condemnation in Adam so that they may know the truth. Why is he doing this? He does so with the intention that people will have a clear understanding of the truth and so that they can make best use of the new trial in life provided to them by the ransom sacrifice of their Redeemer. To fulfill this will of God, the Redeemer will inaugurate his Millennial Kingdom, which will first bind Satan (stop all external influences of evil) and then free man from blindness – as it is written: "the eyes of the blind shall be opened" (Is 35: 5). For the same reason, that is, to ensure that the new trial would take place under conditions most favorable to man, God has ordained that his work will be done gradually and will extend over a thousand years." E-470

 

 

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"The Millennial Day is dawning, with its change of earth's rulership from the control of the 'prince of this world' and his faithful, to the control of him 'whose right it is' (by purchase) and his faithful saints. We have seen that though the result of this change will be a great blessing, yet the time of the transfer, while the present prince, the 'strong man' is being bound and his household driven out of power (Mt 12:29; Rev 20:2), will be a time of intense trouble." C-341
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RESTITUTION

 

 

One of the signs of the Second Presence of the Lord is the miraculous unveiling of the Divine Plan of the Ages (D-599). At the end of the Gospel Age, an understanding of the work of the Ransom and blessings of restitution was supplemented with an understanding of the exact time when God's Kingdom on earth will begun.

 

 

 

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Testimonies of the Prophets and Apostles clearly show that at the time of restitution of all things, Israel will be the first of all nations to come into harmony with the new order of things. Among this nation, they will be awakened from the sleep of death, in the perfection of human humanity, the saints of the Old Testament. They have passed their test of faithfulness under unfavorable conditions and therefore in the Millennium they will constitute the earthly phase of God's kingdom.

 

Patriarch Abraham, who rose in the morning and saw the smoke over the ashes of Sodom and Gomorrah, represents the resurrection of the Old Testament saints after the Great Tribulation in 1984.

 

 

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The noble work of lifting up the human race from the fall through permanent and reliable steps (under the guidance of invisible, spiritual members of the Kingdom, the Church), it is the high honor that will be given to the Old Testament saints. For this great work they will be ready at once after the final destruction of the kingdoms of this world. A-290

Just as Adam, while he was perfect before his transgression, could commune direct with the heavenly powers, so will these Ancient Worthies commune, when restored to the same state of perfection. D-619

 

 

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These Old Testament saints will not be like the rest of mankind, not only because then their trial will be already a thing of the past, while the world is yet to begin its trial, their judgment, but also because they will be people who for their faithfulness had been already rewarded with perfect humanity. When Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of the Old Testament saints are resurrected when they appear before the eyes of the assembled Israelites, their perfect minds will very quickly embrace today's skills and inventions (Jn 7:15). And just as Jesus taught the people decisively, emphatically, and clearly, without raising doubts, and not as the Jewish scribes and Pharisees did, so will these Old Testament saints to teach when they appear among the people. D-625

 

 

"Thus, through Christ, the holy Spirit of God will be poured out upon the world of mankind

 

 

– first, in giving them enlightenment;
– secondly, in giving them help, assistance, strength,

   to overcome their own inherited tendencies;
– and third, in instructing them and leading them back

   to the image and likeness of God, lost through father

    Adam's disobedience." E-218

 

The above events will take place after the Great Tribulation of which the flood was an illustration. At the end of the Flood, God commanded Noah to come out with his family and animals from the Ark. From then on, the earth would be refilled with the life that had been preserved in it. It represents the beginning of the earthly phase of God's kingdom, the restitution, rebirth and the beginning of the resurrection of mankind.

 

 

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The word resurrection, Greek: anastasis, means rising. As applied to the fall of man, anastasis means his rise to the state he was in before he sinned, and therefore to the complete human perfection that the father Adam had but it lost. The resurrection process will be gradual and will require the entire Millennium Age to be fully accomplished, although just awakening to life consciousness as we have it now will be a matter of an instant. A-289

 

 

 

THREE WAYS

 

 

To illustrate the types of conduct now and in the future, the Scriptures draw our attention to the three ways: the broad way, the narrow way, and the holy way.

 

 

THE BROAD WAY
"Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many are they that enter in thereby."

 

Matthew 7:13

 

 

This road is therefore called spacious because it is the easiest for the fallen race. Most people prefer to follow this way because they have a selfish tendency to please their lusts. More than six thousand years ago, Adam as a sinner condemned to perdition was the first to take this way, and after nine hundred and thirty years he came to its end – death, or perdition. From the fall of Adam until now, sin and death have ruthlessly reigned over his children, leading them to perdition. Although the way out of this spacious road is shown in the Gospel, mankind does not heed the good news because of sin and being blindning by the god of this world, Satan.

 

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THE STRAITENED WAY

 

"For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life,
and few are they that find it."

 

Matthew 7:14

 

 

The narrow way, opened by the merits of the blood of Christ, requires of all those who have embarked on this path the total sacrifice of themselves; forever giving up human nature and many, even sinless, earthly aspirations and hopes. The reward for enduring on this way is the change in the first resurrection to the immortal divine nature.

 

This hard way was intentionally made narrow and so hindered. It is destined to test and select from among all nations the class of "little flock" – the body of Christ. After this mystical Body has been chosen and exalted into glory, it will bless, with its Head in the lead, all the nations of the earth. The saints of this age are on this path of life only as the spirit-begotten "new creature". For at the same time their earthly humanity is to be consumed in sacrifice.

 

All others who do not seek the prize offered in the Gospel Age are on the broad road that in present age leads to destruction.

 

 

 

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THE WAY OF HOLINESS

"And an highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it;
but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein."

 

Isaiah 35:8
 

 

The holy way will be open to mankind by our Lord, who gave himself as a Ransom for all people and saved them from perdition to which the broad way leads. Following the holy path, mankind, like the prodigal son, will be led to the perfection lost by Adam's first father through salutary discipline, proper exhortation, and clear prescriptions. Everything in this direction will be facilitated by the Redeemer who reigns in power and glory. Each individual will be supported as needed by the wise and perfect administration of the new Kingdom.

 

Thus, "the ransomed of the Lord shall return [from the way of destruction to the highway of holiness], and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Is 35:10)

 

 

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KETURAH – THE TYPE OF THE NEW COVENANT

 

 

Abraham's second wife, Keturah, is a type of the New Covenant. Abraham married her after Isaac and Rebecca were married, which shows that the New Covenant will come into force shortly after the marriage of the Lamb.

 

 

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The structure of the entire text on Keturah includes an additional lesson from the Great Constructor of Scripture, pointing to Keturah as the type of the New Covenant.

 

 

 

THE LIFE-GIVING WATERS

 

 

The work of the Restitution of the world is set forth in the prophecy of Ezekiel (47:1-12). The waters issuing out from under the threshold of the Temple represents the Truth that will fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord's glory and bring mankind eternal life. The water came out of the Temple after its eastern gate was closed, indicating that the earthly phase of restitution will take place after the taking of the Church from earth into glory.

 

The prophecy of God's temple was made in the 25th year after king Jehoiachin was taken into captivity in Babylon (Ezek 40:1). Jehojachin was taken prisoner in 617 B.C. therefore the prophecy of the river of truth was given in 592.

 

 

617  –  25  =  592

 

 

Our Lord in his speeches alluded to the prophecy of the river of truth (Jn 7:37-39). The evangelist John explains that our Lord, when quoting them, meant the sending of the Holy Spirit, thanks to which the Church would be capable of the future work of giving life-giving Truth to the world.

 

According to the latest chronological orientation, the work of the earthly phase of Restitution will begin after the Great Tribulation in 1984.

 

Revelation chapter 22 alludes to the prophecy of Ezekiel 47:1-12. So it is reasonable to count the time from the year 95, the date Revelation was written.

 

 

"The Apostle Paul assures us that it is the will of God that all men shall come to a knowledge of the Truth in order to be saved. He assures us that there can be no salvation without knowledge. None will ever be saved by ignorance. As yet only a comparatively few of earth's millions have come to such a knowledge of God as to be able to exercise faith in Him and in the great Sacrifice which He has provided for the whole world." R-5573
 

 

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THE BRIDE, THE WIFE OF THE LAMB

 

 

The Apostle John saw in a vision the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb likened to a great city made of the most precious stones. The city was surrounded by a mighty wall, with twelve gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. John saw them in the shape of a cube, the twelve edges of which were each 12,000 furlongs long and totaled 144,000 furlongs. His firm foundation of the twelve most precious stones was named after the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The gates of the city were open to all the nations of the earth who will find therein, foretold in prophecies: peace, happiness and eternal life. Outside its gates there will be those unworthy to be written in the books of the Lamb's life.

 

All this is about the glorification of the Church and her thousand-year reign with Christ, foreseen from centuries in God's Plan of Salvation. The Scriptures define it as the time of the great Restitution of the world (Greek: palingenesia – Mt 19:28) and Restitution (Greek: apokatastasis – Acts 3:21).

 

 

 

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THE KINGDOM OF SOLOMON

 

Psalm 72 contains David's prayers for his son Solomon, the successor to kingship. This prayer is prophetic and concerns our Lord (Lk 24:44). Just as David prayed for God's blessing on Solomon's reign, so prayers for complete Christ's reign in glory are brought to God throughout the Gospel Age through Christ in the flesh, first through the Head and then through the members of His Body.

 

This reign is to be fair to all. People who have been oppressed so far will rejoice at being freed from the power of other people as well the as of oppresive systems that will be destroyed forever in the great tribulation. Satisfying people's hopes and desires has been figuratively compared in the Psalm to the rain that sprinkles the grass and dry earth. Christ's reign will cover all the earth and will be blessed by all nations. Then the earth will bring forth a harvest like never before, for God's blessing will replace forever the curse of the past – "There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon." (Ps 72:16.) The earth will be filled with God's glory forever (Hab 2:14). Christ's thousand-year reign will bring about such wonderful transformations.

 

According to expectations based on chronological parallelism and biblical numerology, the exalting into the glory of the last members of the Body of Christ will take place in the spring of 1981. From that time on, all Christ, Head and Body will begin their millennial reign.

 

 

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"Biblical Comments" on Ps 72:17:

 

As long as the sun ... As the sun’s brightness increases to full noon-day glory,

                                    so shall the honor of Messiah grow brighter and brighter

                                    as the mists and gloom of sin are driven away.

 

 

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JOSEPH – "SAVIOR OF THE WORLD"

"Biblical Comments" on Gen. 41:29-45:

 

Of great plenty ....... Representing the grace and bounty of God in Christ

                                  laid up in the present time;
Years of famine ..... Representing the Millennial Age, in which the world

                                  will come to hunger after righteousness and find none

                                  except that which the Christ, the antitype of Joseph,

                                  possesses and controls in the name of the great King;
And Pharaoh ......... In this a type of Jehovah;
Said unto Joseph . Type on Christ;
Zaphnat-paaneah . "Deliverer from death by the bread of life,"

                                  typifying our Redeemer who was

                                  the "Bread that came down from heaven";
To wife Asenath ... "Favored", type of the Bride of Christ.

 

 

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THE ROD OF MOSES

 

 

"Biblical Comments" on Ex 4:2-4:

 

A rod ........................ Symbolizing Divine authority or control
Became a serpent ...Typifying that all the evil that there is in the world

                                   is the result of the direct or indirect result of God’s

                                   having let go of his rod of authority temporarily.
Put forth his hand .. Typifying God’s purpose to lay hold upon present evil conditions
It became a rod ...... Typifying the re-establishment of Divine authority

 

 

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THE BOOK OF JOB

 

 

Job was a prophet of God in the land of Uz who lived in the days of Abraham and Melchizedek. The story of Job's life, his painful experiences, and then the restoration of everything he lost in them, has an important figurative meaning. These experiences represent the fall and rise up of mankind.

 

During Christ's reign, the curse of sin and death will be lifted, and all God's blessings lost in Adam will be restored to mankind. The dead will come back to life, and the land that had been producing thistle and thorns because of the curse will increase its harvest many times over. A similar lesson is found in the provision of the Law regarding the observance of "the jubilee" every fifty years. That year, all debts were canceled and the people returned to their lost estates. (Lev 25:13)

 

The period of mankind's return to the possessions lost by the first father Adam, portrayed in various pictures, figures, and prophecies, is called "the time of restitution all things right" (Acts 3:19-23).

 

"The Photodrama of Creation" p. 26

 

According to the latest chronological orientation, the earthly phase of Restitution will begin after the Great Tribulation in 1984 and will continue its work for 1000 years.

 

 

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In Acts 3:21, the word "restitution" is translated from the Greek word "apokatastaseos" and corresponds to the word "restitutionis" in the Latin translation of the New Testament. The time of blessings for mankind, in which the Lord and the Apostles will rule the world, is also called "rebirth" – Greek: palingenesia (Mt 19:28).

 

 

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CLEANSING OF THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY

 

 

"Biblical Comments" on Lev 13:2; 14:3:

 

When a man ............... Typifying any man in the Millennium Age;
Plague of leprosy ...... Representing sin and its loathsome, contagious and consuming character;
Aaron the priest ........ Typifying Christ Jesus;
His sons the priests . Typifying the Royal Priesthood, the faithful underpriests;
In the leper ................ Typifying a cleansed sinner in the Millennial Age.

 

In the ritual of cleansing from leprosy, God's provision envisaged, between in others, bringing two live and healthy sparrows (pure birds). One of them was killed, and his blood, along with cedar wood, crimson silk, and hyssop, constituted, by sprinkling seven times, a total cleansing agent for leprosy. Meanwhile, the second sparrow, soaked in the blood of the slain sparrow, mixed with living (Spring) water, was released into the wild.

 

The above provision of God's Law shows the release of sinners from the disease of sin that mankind fell upon because of Adam's fall. The world owes this deliverance to the Savior's sacrifice of the Ransom – an equivalent price for Adam and his descendants. The slain sparrow seems to represent the Sacrifice, Jesus, while the sparrow released into the wild represents Adam and his kind. The basis for achieving a sinless state during the Millennium will be the recognition of the Ransom planned by God's Love and placed in the hands of the Father by Jesus Christ on Calvary.

 

 

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