Refreshing & Restoration : Two Eschatological Motifs in Acts 3:19-21

Abstract: This study explores the meaning of the two expressions 'times of refreshing' and 'time to restore everything' in Acts 3:19.21. These two eschatological motifs appear in a speech that the apostle Peter made, according to Luke's presentation, in the Jerusalem temple in the beginning of the 30s. The study is historical, and the meaning of the two expressions is sought in the contemporary world. It is 'reader-oriented' as the question is how the first listeners/readers perceived their meaning. In order to do that, the first listeners must be more closely defined. Thereafter the method of identifying their frame of reference needs to be chosen. It is obvious that two audiences are involved in Acts 3:19-21. The first is Peter's temple audience; the other the first receivers of Acts. This study concludes that the temple audience consists of pious Jews communicated to in a Semitic language, probably Hebrew. The second audience is represented by the receiver of Luke-Acts, Theophilus, a man educated in general Hellenism and acquainted with Jewish and Christian thinking. He knows Greek and lives somewhere in the Diaspora. The approach to determining the frame of reference of these two audiences is synchronic. Relevant texts concerning age and language form the backdrop to the listeners' perception. For the Jerusalemite audience Semitic texts and traditions available in the first century CE are selected, whereas for the Diaspora the criteria is the Greek language and texts reflecting both a Jewish and a general Hellenistic environment. These documents are analysed from three different aspects: the image of the messiah, and the two motifs, 'times of refreshing' and 'time to restore everything'. The motifs are also analysed within the theological framework of Luke-Acts as a whole. The result of this study is that Luke's eschatology is coherent and fits into the more common Jewish messiology and eschatology of the day. Jesus is the Messiah son of David; the messianic era has already started and manifests itself through the Holy Spirit in the Jesus movement, corresponding to the expression 'times of refreshing'. For Luke, the relatively commonly expected role in contemporary Jewish sources of a Messiah that establishes peace and order in the world is linked to the second coming of Jesus and corresponds to 'time to restore everything' in Acts 3:21.