Repentance – Restoration

Repentance

re-pen'-tans:

I. OLD TESTAMENT TERMS

1. To Repent--"to Pant," "to Sigh"

2. To Repent--"to Turn" or "Return"

II. NEW TESTAMENT TERMS

1. Repent--"to Care," "Be Concerned"

2. Repent--"to Change the Mind"

3. Repent--"to Turn Over," "to Turn Upon," "to Turn Unto"

III. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS

1. The Intellectual Element

2. The Emotional Element

3. The Volitional Element

LITERATURE

To get an accurate idea of the precise New Testament meaning of this highly important word it is necessary to consider its approximate synonyms in the original Hebrew and Greek The psychological elements of repentance should be considered in the light of the general teaching of Scripture.

I. Old Testament Terms.

1. To Repent--"to Pant," "to Sigh":

The Hebrew word naham, is an onomatopoetic term which implies difficulty in breathing, hence, "to pant," "to sigh," "to groan." Naturally it came to signify "to lament" or "to grieve," and when the emotion was produced by the desire of good for others, it merged into compassion and sympathy, and when incited by a consideration of one's own character and deeds it means "to rue," "to repent." To adapt language to our understanding, God is represented as repenting when delayed penalties are at last to be inflicted, or when threatened evils have been averted by genuine reformation (Genesis 6:6; Jonah 3:10). This word is translated "repent" about 40 times in the Old Testament, and in nearly all cases it refers to God. The principal idea is not personal relation to sin, either in its experience of grief or in turning from an evil course. Yet the results of sin are manifest in its use. God's heart is grieved at man's iniquity, and in love He bestows His grace, or in justice He terminates His mercy. It indicates the aroused emotions of God which prompt Him to a different course of dealing with the people. Similarly when used with reference to man, only in this case the consciousness of personal transgression is evident. This distinction in the application of the word is intended by such declarations as God "is not a man, that he should repent" (1 Samuel 15:29; Job 42:6; Jeremiah 8:6).

2. To Repent--"to Turn" or "Return":

The term shubh, is most generally employed to express the Scriptural idea of genuine repentance. It is used extensively by the prophets, and makes prominent the idea of a radical change in one's attitude toward sin and God. It implies a conscious, moral separation, and a personal decision to forsake sin and to enter into fellowship with God. It is employed extensively with reference to man's turning away from sin to righteousness (Deuteronomy 4:30; Nehemiah 1:9; Psalms 7:12; Jeremiah 3:14). It quite often refers to God in His relation to man (Exodus 32:12; Joshua 7:26). It is employed to indicate the thorough spiritual change which God alone can effect (Psalms 85:4). When the term is translated by "return" it has reference either to man, to God, or to God and man (1 Samuel 7:3; Psalms 90:13 (both terms, nacham and shubh; Isaiah 21:12; Isaiah 55:7). Both terms are also sometimes employed when the twofold idea of grief and altered relation is expressed, and are translated by "repent" and "return" (Ezekiel 14:6; Hosea 12:6; Jonah 3:8).

II. New Testament Terms.

1. Repent--"to Care," "Be Concerned":

The term metamelomai, literally signifies to have a feeling or care, concern or regret; like nacham, it expresses the emotional aspect of repentance. The feeling indicated by the word may issue in genuine repentance, or it may degenerate into mere remorse (Matthew 21:29,Matthew 21:32; Matthew 27:3). Judas repented only in the sense of regret, remorse, and not in the sense of the abandonment of sin. The word is used with reference to Paul's feeling concerning a certain course of conduct, and with reference to God in His attitude toward His purposes of grace (2 Corinthians 7:8 the King James Version; Hebrews 7:21).

2. Repent--"to Change the Mind":

The word metanoeo, expresses the true New Testament idea of the spiritual change implied in a sinner's return to God. The term signifies "to have another mind," to change the opinion or purpose with regard to sin. It is equivalent to the Old Testament word "turn." Thus, it is employed by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles (Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38). The idea expressed by the word is intimately associated with different aspects of spiritual transformation and of Christian life, with the process in which the agency of man is prominent, as faith (Acts 20:21), and as conversion (Acts 3:19); also with those experiences and blessings of which God alone is the author, as remission and forgiveness of sin (Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31). It is sometimes conjoined with baptism, which as an overt public act proclaims a changed relation to sin and God (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 13:24; Acts 19:4). As a vital experience, repentance is to manifest its reality by producing good fruits appropriate to the new spiritual life (Matthew 3:8).

3. Repent--"to Turn Over," "to Turn Upon," "to Turn Unto":

The word epistrepho, is used to bring out more clearly the distinct change wrought in repentance. It is employed quite frequently in Ac to express the positive side of a change involved in New Testament repentance, or to indicate the return to God of which the turning from sin is the negative aspect. The two conceptions are inseparable and complementary. The word is used to express the spiritual transition from sin to God (Acts 9:35; 1 Thessalonians 1:9); to strengthen the idea of faith (Acts 11:21); and to complete and emphasize the change required by New Testament repentance (Acts 26:20).

There is great difficulty in expressing the true idea of a change of thought with reference to sin when we translate the New Testament "repentance" into other languages. The Latin version renders it "exercise penitence" (poenitentiam agere). But "penitence" etymologically signifies pain, grief, distress, rather than a change of thought and purpose. Thus Latin Christianity has been corrupted by the pernicious error of presenting grief over sin rather than abandonment of sin as the primary idea of New Testament repentance. It was easy to make the transition from penitence to penance, consequently the Romanists represent Jesus and the apostles as urging people to do penance (poenitentiam agite). The English word "repent" is derived from the Latin repoenitere, and inherits the fault of the Latin, making grief the principal idea and keeping it in the background, if not altogether out of sight, the fundamental New Testament conception of a change of mind with reference to sin. But the exhortations of the ancient prophets, of Jesus, and of the apostles show that the change of mind is the dominant idea of the words employed, while the accompanying grief and consequent reformation enter into one's experience from the very nature of the case.

III. The Psychological Elements.

1. The Intellectual Element:

Repentance is that change of a sinner's mind which leads him to turn from his evil ways and live. The change wrought in repentance is so deep and radical as to affect the whole spiritual nature and to involve the entire personality. The intellect must function, the emotions must be aroused, and the will must act. Psychology shows repentance to be profound, personal and all-pervasive. The intellectual element is manifest from the nature of man as an intelligent being, and from the demands of God who desires only rational service. Man must apprehend sin as unutterably heinous, the divine law as perfect and inexorable, and himself as coming short or falling below the requirements of a holy God (Job 42:5,Job 42:6; Psalms 51:3; Romans 3:20).

2. The Emotional Element:

There may be a knowledge of sin without turning from it as an awful thing which dishonors God and ruins man. The change of view may lead only to a dread of punishment and not to the hatred and abandonment of sin (Exodus 9:27; Numbers 22:34; Joshua 7:20; 1 Samuel 15:24; Matthew 27:4). An emotional element is necessarily involved in repentance. While feeling is not the equivalent of repentance, it nevertheless may be a powerful impulse to a genuine turning from sin. A penitent cannot from the nature of the case be stolid and indifferent. The emotional attitude must be altered if New Testament repentance be experienced. There is a type of grief that issues in repentance and another which plunges into remorse. There is a godly sorrow and also a sorrow of the world. The former brings life; the latter, death (Matthew 27:3; Luke 18:23; 2 Corinthians 7:9,2 Corinthians 7:10). There must be a consciousness of sin in its effect on man and in its relation to God before there can be a hearty turning away from unrighteousness. The feeling naturally accompanying repentance implies a conviction of personal sin and sinfulness and an earnest appeal to God to forgive according to His mercy (Psalms 51:1,Psalms 51:2,Psalms 51:10–14).

3. The Volitional Element:

The most prominent element in the psychology of repentance is the voluntary, or volitional. This aspect of the penitent's experience is expressed in the Old Testament by "turn", or "return," and in the New Testament by "repent" or "turn." The words employed in the Hebrew and Greek place chief emphasis on the will, the change of mind, or of purpose, because a complete and sincere turning to God involves both the apprehension of the nature of sin and the consciousness of personal guilt (Jeremiah 25:5; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 7:9,2 Corinthians 7:10). The demand for repentance implies free will and individual responsibility. That men are called upon to repent there can be no doubt, and that God is represented as taking the initiative in repentance is equally clear. The solution of the problem belongs to the spiritual sphere. The psychical phenomena have their origin in the mysterious relations of the human and the divine personalities. There can be no external substitute for the internal change. Sackcloth for the body and remorse for the soul are not to be confused with a determined abandonment of sin and return to God. Not material sacrifice, but a spiritual change, is the inexorable demand of God in both dispensations (Psalms 51:17; Isaiah 1:11; Jeremiah 6:20; Hosea 6:6).

Repentance is only a condition of salvation and not its meritorious ground. The motives for repentance are chiefly found in the goodness of God, in divine love, in the pleading desire to have sinners saved, in the inevitable consequences of sin, in the universal demands of the gospel, and in the hope of spiritual life and membership in the kingdom of heaven (Ezekiel 33:11; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1–5; John 3:16; Acts 17:30; Romans 2:4; 1 Timothy 2:4). The first four beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–6) form a heavenly ladder by which penitent souls pass from the dominion of Satan into the Kingdom of God. A consciousness of spiritual poverty dethroning pride, a sense of personal unworthiness producing grief, a willingness to surrender to God in genuine humility, and a strong spiritual desire developing into hunger and thirst, enter into the experience of one who wholly abandons sin and heartily turns to Him who grants repentance unto life.

LITERATURE.

Various theological works and commentaries Note especially Strong, Systematic Theology, III, 832-36; Broadus on Matthew 3:2, American Comm.; article "Busse" (Penance). Hauck-Herzog, Realencyklopadie fur protestantische Theologie und Kirche.

Byron H. Dement

Repetitions

rep-e-tish'-unz: In Matthew 6:7 only, "Use not vain repetitions," for battalogeo (so Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus), a word found nowhere else and spelled variously in the manuscripts, battologeo in Codices K, L, M; etc., batologeo in Codices F G, blattologeo in Codex Bezae (probably influenced by the Latin blatero, "talk idly"); presumably connected with battarizo, "stammer," and perhaps formed under the influence of the Aramaic beta', "speak carelessly," or baTel, "useless." Whether, however battalogeo means the constant repetition of the same phrase or the mechanical recitation of a long series of obscure or meaningless formulas (if, indeed, a distinction between the acts was thought of) cannot be determined. Either practice is abundantly evidenced as a "heathen" custom of the day, and either can be classed as "much speaking."

See PRAYER.

Burton Scott Easton

Rephael

re'-fa-el, ref'-a-el (repha'el, "God has healed"; Rhaphael): The eponym of a family of gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 26:7). The name occurs in Tobit and Enoch ("Raphael"); it probably belongs to a group of late formations. See Gray, HPN, 225, 311.

Rephah

re'-fa (rephach (the form is corrupt); Rhaphe): The eponym of an Ephraimite family (1 Chronicles 7:25).

Rephaiah

re-fa'-ya, re-fi'-a (rephayah, probably "Yah is healing"; Septuagint Rhaphaia(s)) :

(1) In David's family, Septuagint also Rhaphal (1 Chronicles 3:21).

(2) A captain of Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:42).

(3) A grandson of Issachar, Septuagint also Rhaphara (1 Chronicles 7:2).

(4) A descendant of Saul (1 Chronicles 9:43; in 1 Chronicles 8:37 called "Raphah" (raphah); Septuagint also Raphai).

(5) One of the repairers of the wall under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:9).

Rephaim

ref'-a-im, re-fa'-im (repha'-im, from rapha', "a terrible one "hence "giant," in 1 Chronicles 20:4, yelidhe ha-rapha', "sons of the giant"; the King James Version, Rephaims): A race of aboriginal or early inhabitants East of the Jordan in Ashterothkarnaim (Genesis 14:5) and in the valley of Rephaim Southwest of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8). They associated with other giant races, as the Emim and Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:10,Deuteronomy 2:11) and the Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20). It is probable that they were all of the same stock, being given different names by the different tribes who came in contact with them. The same Hebrew word is rendered "the dead," or "the shades" in various passages (Job 26:5 margin; Psalms 88:10 margin; Proverbs 2:18 margin; Proverbs 9:18 margin; Proverbs 21:16 margin; Isaiah 14:9 margin; Isaiah 26:14,Isaiah 26:19 margin). In these instances the word is derived from rapheh, "weak," "powerless," "a shadow" or "shade."

H. Porter

Rephaim, Vale Of

(`emeq repha'-im; koilas Rhaphaeim, koilas ton Titanon): This was a fertile vale (Isaiah 17:5), to the Southwest of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16; the King James Version "Valley of the Giants"), on the border between Judah and Benjamin. Here David repeatedly defeated the invading Philistines (2 Samuel 5:18,2 Samuel 5:22; 2 Samuel 23:13; 1 Chronicles 11:15; 1 Chronicles 14:9). It is located by Josephus between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Ant., VII, iv, i; xii, 4). It corresponds to the modern el-Biqa`, which falls away to the Southwest from the lip of the valley of Hinnom. The name in ancient times may perhaps have covered a larger area, including practically all the land between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where the head-waters of Nahr Ruben are collected.

W. Ewing

Rephan

re'-fan: A name for Chiun, the planet Saturn.

See ASTROLOGY, 7; CHIUN.

Rephidim

ref'-i-dim (rephidhim, "rests"; Rhaphidin): A station in the Wanderings, between the wilderness of Sin and the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 17:1,Exodus 17:8; Exodus 19:2; Numbers 33:14). The host expected to find water here; to their distress the streams were dry, and water was miraculously provided. Palmer (Desert of the Exodus, 158 ff) states cogent reasons for identifying Rephidim with Wady Feiran. It is the most fertile part of the peninsula, well watered, with a palm grove stretching for miles along the valley. Palmer speaks of passing through the palm grove as a "most delightful" walk; "the tall, graceful trees afforded a delicious shade, fresh water ran at our feet, and, above all, bulbuls flitted from branch to branch uttering their sweet notes." His camp was pitched at "the mouth of Wady `Aleyat, a large open space completely surrounded by steep, shelving mountains of gneiss, the fantastic cleavage of which added greatly to the beauty of the scene. Palms and tamarisks were dotted all around, and on every knoll and mountain slope were ruined houses, churches, and walls, the relics of the ancient monastic city of Paran. Behind our tents rose the majestic mass of Serbal, and beneath the rocky wall opposite ran a purling brook, only a few inches in depth, but still sufficiently cool, clear, and refreshing."

Such a place as this the Amalekites would naturally wish to preserve for themselves against an invading people. For these desert dwellers, indeed, the possession of this watered vale may well have been a matter of life and death.

If this identification is correct, then Jebel Tachuneh, "Mount of the mill," a height that rises on the North of the valley, may have been the hill from which Moses, with Aaron and Hur, viewed the battle.

W. Ewing

Reprobate

The close phonetic resemblance and etymological affinity of dokimos to the verb dokimazo, "to try," "test," has caused the notion of "being tested," "tried," and its opposite of "being found wanting in the test" to associate itself more or less distinctly with the adjectives dokimos and adokimos. Thus the more complex meaning results of that which is acknowledged or rejected, because it has approved or not approved itself in testing. This connotation is present in 2 Corinthians 13:5,2 Corinthians 13:6,2 Corinthians 13:7; 2 Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:16; Hebrews 6:8. In the first two of these passages the word is used of Christians who ostensibly were in the true faith, but either hypothetically or actually are represented as having failed to meet the test. "Reprobate unto every good work" (Titus 1:16) are they who by their life have disappointed the expectation of good works. The "reprobate (rejected) land" of Hebrews 6:8 is land that by bearing thorns and thistles has failed to meet the test of the husband man. It should be noticed, however, that adokimos, even in these cases, always retains the meaning of rejection because of failure in trial; compare in the last-named passage: "rejected and nigh unto cursing."

LITERATURE.

Cremer, Biblisch-theologisches Worterbuch der neutestamentlichen Gracitat(10), 356-57.

Geerhardus Vos

Reproof; Reprove

re-proof', re-proov': "Reprove" in Elizabethan English had a variety of meanings ("reject" "disprove" "convince," "rebuke"), with "put to the proof" (see 2 Timothy 4:2 the Revised Version margin) as the force common to all, although in modern English the word means only "rebuke" (with a connotation of deliberateness). the King James Version uses the word chiefly (and the Revised Version (British and American) exclusively, except in 2 Esdras 12:32; 14:13; 2 Macc 4:33) for yakhach, and elegcho, words that have very much the same ambiguities of meaning. Hence, a fairly easy rendition into English was possible, but the result included all the ambiguities of the original, and to modern readers such a passage as "But your reproof, what doth it reprove? Do ye think to reprove words" (Job 6:25,Job 6:26 the American Standard Revised Version) is virtually incomprehensible. The meaning is, approximately: "What do your rebukes prove? Are you quibbling about words?" In John 16:8 no single word in modern English will translate elegcho, and "reprove" (the King James Version), "convince" (King James Version margin), and "convict" (Revised Version) are all unsatisfactory. The sense is: "The Spirit will teach men the true meaning of these three words: sin, righteousness, judgment."

Burton Scott Easton

Reptile

rep'-til, -til: Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) in Micah 7:17 has reptilis for zohale, "crawling things," the American Standard Revised Version "worms of the earth," the King James Version margin "creeping things."

See LEVIATHAN; LIZARD; SERPENT; TORTOISE.

Reputation

rep-u-ta'-shun: the King James Version uses "reputation" where modern English would use "repute," as connoting prominence rather than moral character. Hence, the Revised Version's change to "repute" in Galatians 2:2 (for dokeo, "seem," perhaps with a slightly sarcastic touch). The Revised Version's alteration of "reputation" into "have in honor" (Acts 5:34; Philippians 2:29) is to secure uniformity of translation for the derivatives of time, "honor," but the Revised Version (British and American) retains "reputation" in Susanna, verse 64. The King James Version's "made himself of no reputation" in Philippians 2:7 is a gloss. See KENOSIS. On Ecclesiastes 10:1 see the commentaries.

Require

re-kwir': "Require" meant originally "seek after," whence "ask," and so (as in modern English) "demand." All meanings are common in the King James Version (e.g. 1 Samuel 21:8; Ecclesiastes 3:15; Ezra 8:22; 1 Corinthians 4:2), and the Revised Version (British and American) has made little change.

Rereward

rer'-word.

See REARWARD.

Resaias

re-sa'-yas, re-si'-as (Rhesaias; the King James Version Reesaias): One of the "leaders" with Zerubbabel in the return (1 Esdras 5:8) = "Reelaiah" in Ezra 2:2, "Raamiah" in Nehemiah 7:7. The name is apparently duplicated in 1 Esdras 5:8 in the form "Reelias."

Resen

re'-sen (recen; Septuagint Dasen, Dasem):

1. The Name and Its Native Equivalent:

The Greek forms show that the Septuagint translators had "d", for "r", but the reading of the Massoretic Text is to be preferred. Resen--the last of the four cities mentioned in Genesis 10:11,Genesis 10:12 as having been founded by Nimrod (the King James Version by Asshur)--probably represents the Assyrian pronunciation of the place-name Res-eni, "fountainhead." The only town so named in the inscriptions is one of 18 mentioned by Sennacherib in the Bavian inscription as places from which he dug canals connecting with the river Khosr--in fact, it was one of the sources of Nineveh's water supply. It probably lay too far North, however, to be the city here intended. Naturally the name "Resen" could exist in any place where there was a spring.

2. Possibly the Modern Selamiyeh:

As the Biblical text requires a site lying between Nineveh and Calah (Kouyunjik and Nimroud), it is generally thought to be represented by the ruins at Selamiyeh, about 3 miles North of the latter city. It is noteworthy that Xenophon (Anab. iii.4) mentions a "great" city called Larissa as occupying this position, and Bochart has suggested that it is the same place. He supposes that when the inhabitants were asked to what city the ruins belonged, they answered la Resen, "to Resen," which was reproduced by the Greeks as Larissa. Xenophon describes its walls as being 25 ft. wide, 100 ft. high, and 2 parasangs in circuit. Except for the stone plinth 20 ft. high, they were of brick. He speaks of a stone-built pyramid near the city--possibly the temple-tower at Nimroud.

See CALAH; NINEVEH, 10.

T. G. Pinches

Reservoir

rez'-er-vwor, -vwar (miqwah; the King James Version ditch (Isaiah 22:11)).

See DITCH; CISTERN; POOL.

Resh

resh, rash "r": The 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet; transliterated in this Encyclopedia as "r". It came also to be used for the number 200. For name, etc., see ALPHABET.

Resheph

re'-shef (resheph, "flame" or "fire-bolt"): Personal name found in Phoenician as a divine name. In the Old Testament the name of a descendant of Ephraim, the eponym of an Ephraimite family or clan (1 Chronicles 7:25).

Residue

rez'-i-du.

See REMNANT.

Respect Of Persons

re-spekt': The phrase nasa' phanim, means literally, "lift up the face," and, among other translations, is rendered indifferently "accept" or "respect the person" in the King James Version (contrast Proverbs 18:5 and 24:23). As applied to a (prostrate) suppliant, the phrase means "receive him with favor," and is so used in 1 Samuel 25:35; Malachi 1:8,Malachi 1:9 (compare Genesis 19:21, etc.). By a shift in force the phrase came to mean "accept the person instead of the cause" or "show partiality" (Job 13:8,Job 13:10 the American Standard Revised Version), and is so used commonly. A literal translation into Greek gave lambano prosopon (Sirach 35:13 (32:16); Luke 20:21; Galatians 2:6), with the noun prosopolempsia, "face-taking" (Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; James 2:1), rendered uniformly "respect of persons" in English Versions of the Bible. A noun prosopolemptes, "respecter of persons," and a verb prosopolempteo, are found Acts 10:34; James 2:9. God's judgment rests solely on the character of the man and will be influenced by no worldly (Ephesians 6:9) or national (Romans 2:11) considerations.

See also ACCEPT.

Burton Scott Easton

Rest

(nuach, menuchah, "cessation from motion," "peace," "quiet," etc.; anapausis, [@katapausis): "Rest" in the above sense is of frequent occurrence, and is the translation of several words with various applications and shades of meaning, chiefly of the words given above. It is applied to God as ceasing from the work of creating on the 7th day (Genesis 2:2 f) ; as having His place of rest in the midst of His people in the temple (1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalms 132:8,Psalms 132:14); as resting in His love among His people (Ze 3:17, the Revised Version margin "Hebrew, `be silent' "). The 7th day was to be one of rest (Exodus 16:23; Exodus 31:15; see SABBATH); the land also was to have its rest in the 7th year (Leviticus 25:4 f). Yahweh promised His people rest in the land He should give them; this they looked forward to and enjoyed (Deuteronomy 12:9; Joshua 11:23). "To rest on" often means to come upon to abide, as of the Spirit of Yahweh (Numbers 11:25 Isaiah 11:2), of wisdom (Proverbs 14:33), of anger (Ecclesiastes 7:9). There is again the "rest" of the grave (Job 3:13,Job 3:17,Job 3:18; Isaiah 57:2; Daniel 12:13). Rest is sometimes equivalent to trust, reliance (2 Chronicles 14:11, the Revised Version (British and American) "rely"). Hence, rest in Yahweh (Psalms 37:7, etc.); "rest" in the spiritual sense is not, however, prominent in the Old Testament. In the New Testament Christ's great offer is rest to the soul (Matthew 11:28). In Hebrews 4:1 ff, it is argued from God's having promised His people a "rest"--a promise not realized in Canaan (4:8)--that there remains for the people of God "a Sabbath rest" (sabbatismos, 4:9). For "rest" the Revised Version (British and American) has "solemn rest" (Exodus 16:23; Exodus 31:15, etc.), "resting-place" (Psalms 132:8,Psalms 132:14; Isaiah 11:10), "peace" (Acts 9:31), "relief" (2 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 7:5), etc.

See also REMNANT.

W. L. Walker

Restitution; Restoration

res-ti-tu'-shun.

See PUNISHMENTS.

Restoration

res-to-ra'-shun: The idea of a restoration of the world had its origin in the preaching of the Old Testament prophets. Their faith in the unique position and mission of Israel as the chosen people of God inspired in them the conviction that the destruction of the nation would eventually be followed by a restoration under conditions that would insure the realization of the original divine purpose. When the restoration came and passed without fulfillment of this hope, the Messianic era was projected into the future. By the time of Jesus the conception became more or less spiritualized, and the anticipation of a new order in which the consequences of sin would no longer appear was a prominent feature of the Messianic conception. In the teaching of Jesus and the apostles such a restoration is taken for granted as a matter of course.

In Matthew 17:11 (compare Mark 9:12), the moral and spiritual regeneration preached by John the Baptist is described as a restoration and viewed as a fulfillment of Malachi 4:6. It is "to be observed, however, that the work of John could be characterized as restoration only in the sense of an inception of the regeneration that was to be completed by Jesus. In Matthew 19:28 Jesus speaks of a regeneration (palingenesia) of the world in terms that ascribe to the saints a state of special felicity. Perhaps the most pointed expression of the idea of restoration as a special event or crisis is found in the address of Peter (Acts 3:21), where the restoration is described as an apokatastasis panton, and is viewed as a fulfillment of prophecy.

In all the passages cited the restoration is assumed as a matter with which the hearers are familiar, and consequently its nature is not unfolded. The evidence is, therefore, too limited to justify any attempt to outline its special features. Under such circumstances there is grave danger of reading into the language of the Scriptures one's own conception of what the restoration is to embody. We are probably expressing the full warrant of the Scripture when we say that the reconstruction mentioned in these passages contemplates the restoration of man, under the reign of Christ, to a life in which the consequences of sin are no longer present, and that this reconstruction is to include in some measure a regeneration of both the physical and the spiritual world.

Whether the benefits of the restoration are to accrue to all men is also left undefined in the Scriptures. In the passages already cited only the disciples of Christ appear in the field of vision. Certain sayings of Jesus are sometimes regarded as favorable to the more inclusive view. In John 12:32 Jesus speaks of drawing all men to Himself, but here, as in John 3:14,John 3:15, it is to be observed that while Christ's sacrifice includes all men in its scope, its benefits will doubtless accrue to those only who respond willingly to His drawing power. The saying of Caiaphas (John 11:52) is irrelevant, for the phrase, "the children of God that are scattered abroad," probably refers only to the worthy Jews of the dispersion. Neither can the statements of Paul (Romans 11:32; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 1:9,Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20; 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:10; Titus 2:11) be pressed in favor of the restorationist view. They affirm only that God's plan makes provision for the redemption of all, and that His saving will is universal. But men have wills of their own, and whether they share in the benefits of the salvation provided depends on their availing themselves of its privileges. The doctrine of the restoration of all can hardly be deduced from the New Testament.

See also PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING.

Russell Benjamin Miller