The Father has set the time

The disciples asked about the arrival of the Messianic Kingdom, to which Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority.” (1) Jesus did not deny the eventual appearance of the Messianic Kingdom. In other words, He did not deny that He would rule as king over an earthly kingdom. However, He warned against speculating about when it would be realized. “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times.” (a) “Period of time” is a rendering of a Greek word “chronos,” which means “time.” (b) The word rendered as “appointed times” is a Greek word “kairos,” which means “season.” (c) So, what Jesus said was that it is unnecessary for the disciples to know how much longer it will be or under what circumstances the kingdom will come to pass. (d) “Periods of time or appointed times” refers to significant events that will occur before the Second Coming. (3) As Jesus said that “the Father has set [the time] by His own authority,” God the Father has chosen not to reveal it. Therefore, no one, not even the incarnate Jesus nor the angels, knows this apart from the Father Himself. Over time, the apostles came to understand that the fulfillment of Israel’s salvation will be in the future (ref. Rom. 11:25-27).

The mistake of replacement theology

Replacement theology teaches that the promises given to Israel have been inherited by the Church. It is an idea that the Church has superseded Israel. Hence, the Church is called “the new Israel” or “spiritual Israel.” This teaching comes from a figurative interpretation of the Bible. However, when accepting the literal interpretation of the Bible, only one conclusion can be drawn that God’s promises for Israel will certainly be fulfilled on the last day. Not all Jews have rejected the Messiah. If that were the case, then the Acts of the Apostles would not exist. We should recognize that in the first approximately seven years of church history, not a single Gentile believer appeared (Cornelius in Acts 10 is the first Gentile believer). Replacement theology is one of the greatest sins committed by the Church. This teaching has led to cause anti-Semitism and has created confusion in eschatology. God has separate plans for Israel and for the Church.