New Testament Commentary - Acts 3

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 3 Peter and John heal a man lame from birth—Peter preaches repentance—He also speaks of the age of restoration preceding the Second Coming—He names Christ as the prophet of whom Moses spoke.
1 NOW Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man ^alame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an ^aalms.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have ^agive I thee: In the ^bname of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
7 And he took him by the right hand, and ^alifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people ^asaw him walking and praising God:		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the ^aporch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
12 ¶ And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our ^aown power or holiness we had made this man to walk? 13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath ^aglorified his Son Jesus; whom ye ^bdelivered up, and ^cdenied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a ^amurderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the ^aPrince of life, whom God hath ^braised from the dead; whereof we are ^cwitnesses. 16 And his ^aname through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the ^bfaith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 And now, brethren, ^aI ^bwot that through ^cignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things, which God before had ^ashewed by the mouth of all his ^bprophets, that Christ should ^csuffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 ¶ ^aRepent ye therefore, and be ^bconverted, that your sins may be ^cblotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the ^dpresence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send ^aJesus Christ, which before was preached unto ^byou: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of ^arestitution of all things, which God hath ^bspoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began^a. Restitution of All Things "And also with Elias, to whom I have committed the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began, concerning the last days;" D&C 27:6 Now this Elias was not the same as he who appeared with Moses at the mount of transfiguration, who was Elijah. The name Elias being attributed to Elijah in that account. This Elias was, as the next verse 7 of D&C 27 stipulates, was that Elias who had appeared unto Zacharias concerning the birth of John the Baptist. This then stipulates the identity of that Elias of the restoration to be Gabriel who is the same as Noah. And if not Abraham to restore the Covenant of the Fathers, then who better than Noah by whom it remained after the flood? And as D&C 27 continues to state, those covenant blessings of the fathers were further carried down through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph of Egypt the son of Rachel, not Judah the son of Leah Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph. Thus, after Jesus Christ appeared in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, that Elias which appeared along with Elijah and Moses to restore the keys of the kingdom, was this same Elias (See D&C Section 110). Now, as on the mount of transfiguration, where both Elijah and Moses needs be translated beings to restore their keys to Jesus Christ, it opens the speculation that this other Elias in the Kirtland temple might have to be translated also. But perhaps not so. Would not a 'Resurrected' personage also have that same physical essence required for such a transmission of priesthood power. Now whether translated or resurrection, it was, as stipulated here, seeming to be that Elias was the same as Gabriel who was the same as Noah who restored the Covenant Blessings of Abraham unto Joseph Smith.	21^a the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began This 'restitution' speaks of that which was to come forth in the last days. It began with Joseph Smith and the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. It's end is unto the gathering of Israel and the blessing of all the nations of the earth both the living and the dead who ever have been born or will be upon this earthly second estate according to the Covenant of the Fathers. This was not done by the Church that Jesus began in his days. It was the great latter day work. And how else was it to be a 'restitution' except by the ministering of God's angels? Which it was in the restitution of God's word, his priesthood authority, and the keys of the kingdom necessary for the bring about the purposes of the Lord and in preparation of the earth for his Second Coming?
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A ^aprophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be ^adestroyed from among the people^a.	23^a every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed among the people Of course this is Jesus Christ, for every knee will bow and every tongue confess, and all will eventually hear and conform unto the word of Jesus Christ, for there is no other name under heaven where by men are saved. Thus if they will not hear and come unto him, they will needs be destoryed.
24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise ^aforetold of these days. 25 Ye are the ^achildren of the prophets, and of the ^bcovenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be ^cblessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his ^aSon Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.