And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority.
- KJV And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
- BSB Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
- NASB But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority;
- NLT He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells them the Father alone holds authority over times and seasons, which are not theirs to know. It calls believers to trust God's sovereign timing rather than speculate.
Overview
Jesus redirects the apostles from calculating dates to faithful mission. The timing of the kingdom's consummation rests in the Father's authority. This guards the church against date-setting and grounds it in trust and obedience while awaiting Christ's return.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 24:36But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
- 1 Th 5:1–2But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you.
- Mark 13:32But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
- Deut 29:29The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
- Mark 10:40but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.”
- Dan 2:21He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;
- Eph 1:10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
- Luke 21:24They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- 1 Tim 6:15which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
- 2 Tim 3:1But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come.
- Matt 20:23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
- Acts 17:26He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings,
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 1:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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