What is the meaning of Acts 17:31? For He has set a day • God’s calendar is fixed, not fluid. Just as Hebrews 9:27 declares that “people are appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,” so here we learn that the Judge already knows the date. • Nothing in history is random; Acts 1:7 says “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.” The same settled certainty stands behind the promise of Christ’s return in 2 Peter 3:7–10. • Because the day is set, our response cannot be procrastination. Proverbs 27:1 reminds us, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” when He will judge the world with justice • Judgment will be comprehensive—“the world.” Romans 14:10-12 echoes this: “We will all stand before God’s judgment seat…each of us will give an account of himself to God.” • God’s justice is perfectly fair. Psalm 96:13 rejoices that He “comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in faithfulness.” • Every wrong will be set right (Ecclesiastes 12:14), every hidden thought exposed (1 Corinthians 4:5). No bribes, no partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17). by the Man He has appointed • The appointed Man is Jesus. John 5:22-23 states, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.” • This appointment underscores Christ’s unique role: He is fully God yet fully man (1 Timothy 2:5). Only as the God-Man can He judge with both divine authority and human understanding (Hebrews 4:15). • Philippians 2:9-11 shows the result: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” He has given proof of this to everyone • God has not asked for blind faith; He supplied public evidence. Acts 2:32: “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses.” • The resurrection was never a private vision but a historical event corroborated by “over five hundred brothers at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6). • Romans 1:4 calls the resurrection the declaration that Jesus is “the Son of God in power.” That same proof guarantees His authority to judge. by raising Him from the dead • The empty tomb is the hinge of history. Luke 24:6-7 announces, “He is not here; He has risen!” • Because Jesus lives, believers have assurance: “He has been raised… so we will also be raised” (1 Corinthians 6:14). • His resurrection also warns the unbelieving world. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 speaks of “Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath,” linking resurrection with coming judgment. Revelation 1:17-18 confirms: the living Christ holds “the keys of Death and Hades.” summary Acts 17:31 proclaims a fixed future event: God has set a specific day when He will judge every person with perfect justice. The Judge is Jesus Christ—the appointed, risen Man—whose resurrection is God’s public guarantee that this judgment is real and certain. For the believer, the risen Lord is Savior and refuge; for the unbeliever, He stands as the unavoidable Judge. Today is the time to trust and obey the living Christ, because the day already fixed on God’s calendar is drawing nearer with every heartbeat. |
    |