Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 3:21

"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 3:21 (ASV)

Whom the heaven must receive.—The words have a significant force: “must receive and keep.”

Until the times of restitution of all things.—The “times” seem distinguished from the “seasons” as more permanent. This is the only passage in which the word translated “restitution” is found in the New Testament; nor is it found in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Etymologically, it conveys the thought of restoration to an earlier and better state, rather than that of simple consummation or completion, which the immediate context seems, to some extent, to suggest.

It finds an interesting parallel in the “new heavens and new earth”—involving, as they do, a restoration of all things to their true order—of 2 Peter 3:13. It does not necessarily involve, as some have thought, the final salvation of all men. However, it does express the idea of a state in which “righteousness,” and not “sin,” shall have dominion over a redeemed and newly created world.

This idea suggests a wider hope for the possibilities of growth in wisdom and holiness, or even of repentance and conversion, in the unseen world than that with which Christendom has too often been content. The corresponding verb is found in the words, Elias truly shall come first, and restore all things (see Note on Matthew 17:11). Saint Peter’s words may well be regarded as an echo of that teaching, and thus as an undesigned coincidence testifying to the truth of Saint Matthew’s record.

Which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets.—The relative, if we take the meaning given above, must be referred to the “times,” not to “things.” The words, compared with 2 Peter 1:21, are, as it were, the utterance of a profound dogmatic truth. The prophets spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; but He who spoke by them was nothing less than God.

Since the world began.—Literally, from the age—that is, from its earliest point. The words include the promises to Adam (Genesis 3:15) and Abraham (Genesis 22:18). See Note on Luke 1:70, of which Saint Peter’s words are an echo.