by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.  For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet 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.  And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.  Yea, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.”  —­Acts 3:  20-24.

[546]Added to this positive statement of the inspired Apostle is the testimony of all the prophets foretelling the time coming for the restoration of the things that were lost through the disobedience of Adam.

[547]Enoch was the first of the holy prophets. (Jude 14,15) Then followed Jacob (Genesis 49:10), Moses (Genesis 3:15; 12:3; 13:15; 18:18; 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:15,19; 30:15), Samuel (1 Samuel 2:6), Job (14:13-15; 33:19-30), David (Psalm 22:27; 30:5; 37:11; 46:10; 67:1-7; 72:3,4,6,10; 86:9; 93:2; 96:11-13; 98:4-9; 104:5), Solomon (Proverbs 2:21; 11:31; Ecclesiastes 1:4), Isaiah (2:2-4; 9:7; 11:4-9; 14:7; 19:22; 25:6-12; 28:17,18; 29:17,18; 33:24), Jeremiah (3:17; 24:7; 31:16,29,34; 32:39,40; 33:8,9; 46:27; 50:4,5), Ezekiel (11:19; 16;55,61-63; 18:2,31,32; 28:26; 34:25-28; 36:26,27,29,30,35; 37:24; 39:29), Daniel (2:44; 7:27), Hosea (2:18,21; 3:5; 13:14), Joel (2:22,32), Amos (9:11,12; Acts 15:14-18), Obadiah (verse 21), Jonah (chapter 4), Micah (4:1-5,8), Nahum (1:15; 2:3-6), Habakkuk (2:14), Zephaniah (2:11; 3:9,13), Haggai (2:7), Zechariah (2:11; 3:10; 8:3,8,12,15,21,22; 9:10,17; 14:9,11,20), Malachi (1:11; 3:11; 4:2), and John the Baptist.  (John 1:29; Matthew 11:9,11) This entire array of holy witnesses, without a single exception, unite in testifying to the coming days of restoration of man.[A]

[Footnote A:  See discussion of this in “The Finished Mystery”, pages 62-95.]

[548]The reasonable mind cannot conceive that Jehovah would develop a new creation and glorify that creation by committing to the head of it all power in heaven and in earth without assigning the new creation some work to do with reference to man.  The very purpose of the glorification of the new creation, the church, is that the members thereof, directed by the head, the Lord Jesus, might judge and bless and restore the families of the earth.  There could be no judgment without a trial; and a trial means an opportunity.  Jesus plainly said:  “In the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel”. (Matthew 19:28) Here is the positive statement of regeneration.  Regeneration means the act of reproducing or giving life anew to a creature.

[549]Again it is written concerning those who participate in the first resurrection and thereby become members of the royal family of heaven:  “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years,” which thousand-year reign is for the purpose of restoring mankind.—­Revelation 20:6; Acts 17:31.