1.
The Eons
In accord with the
purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord…. (Ephesians
3.11 CV)
The
most encouraging truth revealed in Scripture is that God has a purpose, and a
plan to accomplish His purpose, and this is all being worked out in the eons
through His Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord. This purpose and plan extends to all
mankind, but it does not stop with mankind, for it embraces all God’s creation
and created beings, both visible and invisible, in the heavens and on the earth.
The word all best sums up the purpose
of the eons, for out of Him and through
Him and for Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans
11.36 CV).
In
order to understand God’s purpose of the eons according to Scripture, we are
presented with a challenge. The word eon
does not appear in most English Bibles, for most translations use words like eternal, everlasting, eternity, eternal, forever, world and age.
So,
to begin understanding the purpose of the
eons we need to understand the eons,
and when we come into an understanding of the eons, we will see that the eons
are driving toward a glorious consummation, so that God may be All in all throughout His creation.
Now,
anyone with any curiosity over the meaning of words is presented with another
challenge. Looking at the Greek Scriptures (New Testament), if words such as age, eternal,
everlasting, eternity, eternal, forever and world are translated from the same Greek word, which they are, then
how can one Greek word be translated as age,
eternal and world when these English words have different meanings? Age refers to a period of time that has
a beginning and an end. Eternal
refers to endlessness or that which has no beginning and no end. World refers to an orderly arrangement
or system.
Eternal
and eternity.
Today,
many believers place great emphasis on the words eternal and eternity, and
the concept of endlessness, as if this is the emphasis of Scripture. But is
this truly what Scripture emphasizes? Among theologians, scholars and commentators
of Scripture that possess knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages, there
are those who claim it is the emphasis, and there are those who claim it is
not. According to the latter group, the Hebrew and Greek languages do not have
any words that mean eternal. The
Hebrews looked out to the future and saw it as something concealed or obscured.
The Greeks thought in terms of long periods of time with beginnings and ends
and did not think in terms of endless.
Accordingly,
the concept of eternity (eternal) is not a fundamental concept in
the original languages of the sacred [1] Scriptures,
for everything is either obscured or is bound within time and marked by a
beginning and an end.
If
one agrees with this latter thinking, then the challenge deepens because it
appears that many, if not most, English translations are based on the former
thinking; that is, the concept of eternity
(eternal) is a fundamental and
essential tenet of Scripture. Is it possible that many translators have placed
these words and their meaning into the modern-day English Bibles based on
tradition and what could be called interpretative
bias? [2]
Perhaps! What if the fundamental tenet is actually the concept of ages or eons? Wouldn’t this change the way we view Scripture and God’s
purpose and plan, or at least add some dimension to it that would otherwise be
missed? I think so.
Olam.
In
the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), the words everlasting, eternal and forever are usually derived from the
Hebrew word olam, which means “to
hide, keep secret, obscure.” Olam
relates to an age whose end is unknown and thus whose end is obscure, but not
endless. In other words, it refers to an indefinite period of time, and not to
the concept of eternal or eternity, that is, endlessness. There are several
examples in Hebrew Scripture to prove the point, but two will suffice.
Jonah
was in the bowels of a large fish for three days, but it is recorded in most
translations that the prophet cried out that the earth with its bars was around
him forever (Jonah 2.6 KJV, NASB). But how could Jonah be in the belly of the fish
for three days and nights and forever (eternally) at the same time? The answer
becomes apparent when we see that the word forever
is translated from olam. The more
literal and accurate translations use the words eon (CV) or age-abiding
(REB, YLT) rather than the word forever.
The
second example is discovered in Psalm 45.6 in which the chief musician
proclaims: Thy throne, O God is forever
and ever (KJV,
NASB, most other translations). In the
Hebrew, it reads olam va ad, which
means “the age and beyond”, and proves beyond any doubt that the Psalmist had
to add va ad to olam to bring in the concept of forever. The more literal and
accurate renderings of this verse read “the eon and further” (CV), “the age and beyond” (REB), and
“age-during and forever” (YLT).
Now,
as we turn to the Greek Scriptures (New Testament), we will discover the same
concept of ages or eons. However, before looking at the Greek, we need to be
reminded that the writers of what we call the New Testament often quoted the
Old Testament and when they did they usually quoted the Septuagint, which is
the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. Consequently, the
meaning of a Greek word is often dictated by the meaning of the original Hebrew
word used to translate into the Septuagint.
A
classic example is discovered in Psalm 45.6, as just quoted. This verse is
quoted in Hebrews 1.8: “Thy throne, O
God, is for the eon of the eon” (CV). The word eon comes from the Greek word aiōn. Since aiōn must refer back to the Hebrew text, it must also convey
the same meaning as the Hebrew word olam.
As shown in what follows, aiōn refers
to an age as well.
Aiōn
and aiōnion.
Now,
turning to the Greek Scriptures, the word eon
is an Anglicized [3] word
of the transliterated [4]
Greek word aiōn, which means a
long segment or period of time that has a beginning and an end. There is also
another Greek word, aiōnion,
which is the adjective [5]
form of the noun aiōn. The
English equivalent of aiōnion is
eonian.
Generally,
Greek-English Lexicons acknowledge that aiōn
[eon] is an indefinite, long period
of time―an age. However, the theology of our day has stretched the
meaning of the word to make it mean forever,
evermore, everlasting or eternal,
and in some cases, world or universe. Is this justified, or is it man
injecting his traditions or interpretative bias into Scripture, rather than
consistently translating the Greek words and allowing the reader to interpret
the word under the guidance of the spirit of God? Let us attempt an answer to
this question.
In
the Greek text, the word aiōn is
used 128 times (singular [aiōn] and
plural [aiōnōn] forms), and
the word aiōnion is used 71
times.
Aiōn (and its forms) is translated in many English New
Testaments nearly forty different ways, including: age, ages, ago, age-lasting,
age-long, duration, earliest ages, last ages, latest ages, remote age, remotest
age, always, ancient, any more, beginning, does, end, eternal, eternity, ever,
for ever, and ever, for evermore, first, very first, Immortal, life, never,
nevermore, never while the world lasts, never to the end of my days, of old,
permanently, time again, all time, old time, today, universe, world, yonder
world.
In
the King James Version, the Greek words aiōn
and aiōnion are translated
using the following English words (the number of times each word appears is
noted):
|
aiōn
(eon) |
aiōnion
(eonian) |
|
Ages |
2 |
Never |
7 |
Everlasting |
25 |
|
Course |
1 |
Evermore |
4 |
Eternal |
42 |
|
World |
40 |
Eternal |
2 |
World |
3 |
|
Ever |
72 |
|
|
Ever |
1 |
These
statistics, alone, should be a red flag to anyone who is diligently seeking for
the truth contained in Scripture. How can nearly forty English words for one
Greek word not produce confusion or, worse, downright error? As an example, we
discover that the word aiōn is
translated both world and eternal. How can one word have such
divergent usage and maintain the true meaning of the Greek? Further, if the
Greek word meant world, then why do
the translators not use the word world
in all places for the word aiōn?
The answer is that it would not make sense in all cases. Conversely, the same
argument is made with the English word eternal.
Isn’t
it far better to use the words eon
(noun) or eonian (adjective) every
place that the Greek words aiōn and
aiōnion appear in the original
language, to define the eons as “a long segment or period of time that has a
beginning and an end,” and to leave it to the seeker of truth to discern the
meaning of the verses? Ah, some theologians might say that the common reader of
Scripture is too ignorant of all the nuances of the Greek language to come to
the proper conclusion. But this begs for the question: Is the spirit of God
ignorant?
[From
this point forward, the words eon and
eonian will be used exclusively with
the understanding that they are the English equivalents of the words aiōn and aiōnion, respectively.]
Concordant
method.
Most
of us who read the Bible daily do not have a working knowledge of Hebrew or Greek.
However, there is a way to study Scripture, and it is called the concordant method. According to the
concordant method, one takes a Hebrew or Greek word, finds all the places it is
used in Scripture, and then determines its usage, and thus its meaning based on
all the texts in which it is discovered. Anyone can do this with a concordance
in hand, such as Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance, The Englishman’s Greek
Concordance or Young’s Analytical
Concordance, to name a few.
There
is one translation of the sacred Scriptures that is based on the concordant
method; however, the editors applied a more rigorous standard to the method. An
investigation of each and every Hebrew or Greek word found in the ancient
manuscripts was conducted in order to find the single most exact English
equivalent for each and every word. For example, instead of having 44 English
words for one Greek word, they assigned only one English word for each Greek
word, and this English word is not used for any other Greek word. Further, the
English word was chosen based on the most accurate and consistent meaning as
presented every place the word appears in the available manuscripts. The result
of this work, which took many years to complete, is called the Concordant Literal New Testament with
Keyword Concordance (designated CV). [A similar
work was completed for the Hebrew Scriptures, but it has not been compiled into
one book.] The result is that when one reads an English word, no matter where
it is discovered in Scripture, the word presumably has the same meaning. This
method helps to reduce interpretative bias; however, it does not eliminate it
entirely. After all, the editors of all translations are but weak vessels, as
we all are, especially those of us who attempt to write exposition of Scripture.
The
CV is not perfect, and undoubtedly, there is some interpretative bias built
into it, as there are in all translations; nevertheless, it is quite helpful.
Lately, I have used this version quite extensively; however, I have by no means
restricted myself to this version. In fact, I use over twenty translations as I
study Scripture even if I do not quote all of them directly. It is helpful to
compare versions and not rely solely on any one version.
Man-inspired
translations or God-inspired words?
Now,
returning to this matter of studying Scripture and the word eon; when we apply the concordant method,
we discover that the Bible comes into sharper focus. To prove the point,
consider two verses from the King James Version in which aiōn is translated as world.
So shall it be at the end of the world. (Matthew 13.49)
…throughout all
ages, world without end. (Ephesians
3.21)
If these two verses are
allowed to stand unchallenged, then we have a clear contradiction in the Scriptures,
and we must agree with those detractors who argue that Scripture is not
consistent and thus not inspired (that is, the original sacred text). The
problem lies not with the inspired words of God but with the man-inspired
translations of God’s words.
Just in case you have
missed the inconsistency in the King James Version, answer this question: How
can the world have an end and also have no end? In other words, the King James
clearly states that the world has both an end and is endless. It just cannot
be! The problem starts with the fact that the word world has no place in these verses, for the Greek word is aiōn. The Greek word for world is kosmos; however, this word is not in these verses in the original
Greek.
Following the concordant
approach, these verses literally should read:
Thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon.
For all the
generations of the eon of the eons.
Note that the concordant
rendering of these verses has no contradiction, even if one has no
understanding of the word eon. The eon in the first verse has a conclusion,
but there is no direct reference to an end of the eon of the eons in the
second verse. We need to see that the focus of these verses is on a period of
time, an eon, and not on the world.
The world must either end or go on endlessly, but eons have a beginning and an end. In considering verses dealing
with eons, we need to understand
which eon is in view, and when we do,
there is no contradiction of Scripture.
Forever
and ever.
A
fact that is lost in most English translations is that in some expressions in
which the word aiōn appears in
the Greek text, it is in both the singular (aiōn)
and plural (aiōns) form. Using
the Anglicized word eon or eons, we discover the phrases the eons
of the eons, the eon of the eons
and the eon of the eon. These phrases
specifically refer to the last two eons; that is, the oncoming or impending
eons that follow our present wicked eon. These are discussed later. However,
anyone reading most English Bibles would never see this and would never be able
to even question its meaning, for these phrases generally appear as forever and ever (e.g., Romans 16.27;
Galatians 1.5; Philippians 4.20; 1 Timothy 1.17; 2 Timothy 4.18; Hebrews 13.21;
1 Peter 4.11; all in the King James Version).
I
have no understanding of the Greek language; however, those who do have such
understanding state that the Greek sometimes uses the plural and singular forms
differently than we do in the English language; that is, the plural can refer
to the singular. I must confess that I am not sure if this is the case with
these words; however, if the translators rendered forever and ever in the singular or plural form, as in the Greek,
the result would have been the phrases forevers
and evers, forever and evers and forever and ever. Perhaps, realizing the
difficulty of such renderings, most translators have chosen to ignore the
plurality of the Greek.
By
using the phrase forever and ever, the translators are trying to convey
the idea of eternal or eternity, a concept generally not
conveyed in the Greek language. However, again, just for the sake of argument,
if the Greek does refer to the concept of eternity, then why use the phrase forever and ever? Would not the phrase forever be sufficient to convey the
thought of eternal? It is an unneeded redundancy to add the word ever. Some argue that it is used to add
force to the idea of being forever or eternal. If this alone were the issue,
then there might be some credence to such a notion; however, it is not the only
issue, for I believe we would still have to answer the question of why the
Greek words are in the singular or the plural.
Let
us put aside the traditions of men for a moment and see if Scripture has
another answer for us. If we allow Scripture to stand on its own, we discover
the expressions the oncoming eons
(Ephesians 2.7), from the eons (Ephesians
3.9; Colossians 1.26), for the eons
(Luke 1.33; Romans 1.25; 9.5; 11.36; 2 Corinthians 11.31; Hebrews 13.8), the eons (Ephesians 3.11; 1 Timothy
1.17; Hebrews 1.2; 11.3; Jude 25), the
conclusion of the eons (Hebrews 9.26), and the consummation of the eons (1 Corinthians 10.11; see 1
Corinthians 15.24).
These
Scriptures alone should resolve any doubt in one’s mind as to the concept of an
eon, for they clearly reveal that there is more than one eon, there are eons to
come, and there is a conclusion or a consummation of the eons. All one needs is
an understanding of the meaning of the word eon,
and these verses will make perfect sense.
However,
this is not the case if we were to substitute the words forever, everlasting or eternal in these phrases because in the
plural form they would read the oncoming
forevers or the oncoming eternals,
or the consummation of the forevers
or the consummation of the everlastings.
In these examples, what would forevers
or everlastings mean? It would imply
that eternity consists of many eternities. How can forever have a consummation?
It would imply that forever truly is not forever. Do you see the problems
created by such translations of the Greek words aiōn and aiōns?
There
are a few points that need to be stressed before proceeding to a discussion of
the specific eons revealed in Scripture.
The Son makes the eons.
The first thing that we
must see is that the eons and the Son of God are inseparable. We must never
lose sight of God’s Son in our understanding of the eons or in our
understanding of all Scripture, for that matter. It is essential that we
understand that through His Son, God makes the eons, and that the eons begin and end in His Son. It is
in Him that we see the purpose of the
eons.
God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets, in
the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the
allotment of all, through Whom He also makes
the eons.… (Hebrews 1.1-2 CV) [6]
He [the
Son] brightly reflects God’s glory and is the exact representation of His
being, and upholds the universe by His
all-powerful word (Hebrews 1.3 WNT).
Remove the Son
from the universe and there is no universe. It is like removing the sun from
our solar system. Remove the sun that shines upon our earth and human life on
earth will cease to exist. Likewise, remove the Son from God’s purpose and
there is no purpose of God. All creation is held by the powerful word of the
Son of God, who is the Word of God. The eons are nothing apart from
the Son of God. He is the Origin and
the Consummation of the eons.
Let this one truth be indelibly
engraved on our hearts and in our minds: God established His purpose in His Son
before He even brought forth the eons, and His purpose for the eons has been,
is being and will continue to be worked out in His Son until the glorious
consummation of the eons (1 Corinthians 1.10), and God is All in all (1 Corinthians 15.24).
Before
times eonian.
In
light of this truth, the second thing we need to see is discovered in
Paul’s epistles where he refers to before
times eonian or before the eons.
God’s purpose and promises in Christ were set before times eonian. Another way
of stating this is that they were set before the eons were made by the Son. In
fact, the eons are made (past, present, future) to accomplish God’s purpose in
Christ.
Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not
in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which
is given to us in Christ Jesus before
times eonian…. (2 Timothy 1.9 CV)
Paul, a slave of God, yet an apostle of Jesus
Christ, in accord with the faith of God’s chosen, and a realization of the
truth, which accords with devoutness, in expectation of life eonian, which God,
Who does not lie, promises before times
eonian…. (Titus 1.1-2 CV)
Yet wisdom are we speaking among the mature, yet a
wisdom not of this eon, neither of the chief men of this eon, who are being
discarded, but we are speaking God’s wisdom in a secret, wisdom which has been
concealed, which God designates before–before
the eons, for our glory, which not one of the chief men of this eon knows,
for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians
2.6-8 CV)
All the eons.
The third thing we need to
see is that Scripture establishes that there are eons, meaning that there is
more than one eon. In concluding his epistle, Jude referenced all the eons.
Now to Him Who is able to guard you from tripping,
and to stand you flawless in sight of His glory, in exultation, to the only
God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might and
authority before the entire eon,
now, as well as for all the eons.
Amen! (Jude 24-25 CV)
Notice
how Jude also refers to the entire eon,
which refers to our present eon.
Meaning
of eon.
The fourth
thing we need to see is the meaning of the word eon. The Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it as “an extremely
long, indefinite period of time, thousands and thousands of years.”
Interestingly, this same dictionary defines eonian
as “lasting forever; eternal.” Do you see something odd in such definitions?
How can the noun form be a long period of time and the adjective form be
eternal?
Fortunately,
we do not have to rely on man’s definitions, for Scripture has its own
definitions built into it. Some scholarly brethren who have carefully
investigated the use of the word eon in Scripture have concluded that it usually refers to a period
of time between two
great physical and moral cataclysmic judgments of the earth and its inhabitants. [7] Each of these
long periods of time has a beginning and is punctuated by an end.
Five eons.
The fifth
thing we need to see is that based on this definition, there are five eons referred to in Scripture,
which are separated by four great physical and moral
changes, punctuating the history of the
human race and the earth, namely, the
disruption, the deluge, the wrath or indignation, and the great
white throne, bounded in the past
by the beginning and in the future by the consummation.
I have concluded that this offers
a plausible view of the eons that can be seen in Scripture, and that this provides
a timeframe upon which to understand God’s dealings with mankind in light of Scripture.
Whether there are other eons that preceded these, we are not given explicit
instruction in the word of God. However, I must also stress that this is not
the only way that the times or ages can be viewed or even should be viewed. As
shown later, one commentator emphasizes three ages based on the three feasts of
The
beginning of the eons.
The
sixth thing we need to see is when the eons began, at least as far as we
can discern from Scripture. This is discovered in knowing when the worlds began. The word worlds is used because Scripture clearly
speaks of more than one world. The word world
(Greek word kosmos) means “an orderly
arrangement or system,” which refers not to land but to an orderly arrangement
of the inhabitants of the land. It should be distinguished from the word earth, which refers to the land.
Scripture
intimates that there are five world orders from the beginning to the consummation
of the eons. Actually, the world orders correspond with the eons. There was a
world before the disruption, an ancient world after the disruption
and a world after the deluge (great
flood) called this world; then there
will be a regenerated (renascence) world in the
day of the Lord and an entirely new world of the highest moral order in the day of God. [8]
The
Hebrew Scriptures start with in the
beginning God [Elohim] created the
heavens and the earth (Genesis 1.1 REB [TSS]). This
establishes our starting point, even though we are given no indication of when
this occurred or what it looked like. All we know is that at a certain point,
God created. It is at this point that perhaps the first eon began.
The
first eon.
We
know little about the first eon. Peter called it the then world.
For they want to be oblivious of this, that there
were heavens of old, and an earth cohering out of water and through water, by
the word of God; through which the then
world, being deluged by water, perished. (2 Peter 3.5-6 CV)
In
His wisdom, God has not given us any explanation of this eon, so we are left to
conjecture about its character and demise, which many have attempted to do. I
offer no such conjecture at this point other than to state that this eon may
hold the key to unlock the secrets of the many fossil records, the extinction
of huge animals called dinosaurs and the millions of years that our planet has
been suspended in the vastness of God’s universe. Scripture seems to indicate
that about 6,000 years ago this earth was restored and Adam was created. It
appears that something catastrophic occurred to this planet before it was
restored in order to make it inhabitable for mankind.
The
then world ended with disruption.
In
Genesis 1.2, we discover that the earth was something other than an inhabitable
ordered world. In fact, it was a dark chaotic world. Yet the earth became a chaos
and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos (Genesis
1.2 CV). Another translation reads: The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of
the deep (NASB).
Did
something happen to bring the earth into this condition after it was first
created? Some people believe that something did happen and yet others believe
this is simply how God created; that is, God sort of flung parts throughout the
universe and then went about organizing them. In other words, God made the
universe in a chaotic state and then made order out of it. Man definitely
proceeds on this ground, but God is not man. God speaks and whatever He desires
comes about. Besides, this theory seems to go against Scripture. Consider the
view presented in the book of Isaiah.
For thus says the LORD [Yahweh], who created the
heavens (He is the God [Elohim] who formed the earth and made it, He established
it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited). (Isaiah 45.18 NASB [REB/TSS]) [9]
The
word states that He did not create it a waste place. According to Job, when God
created this earth, it was a magnificent sight to behold. The angels could not
withhold their shouts of joy as they saw the glory of the Lord shining forth in
the heavens and the earth (see Job 38.3-7). It was perfect order and beauty. It
was a place to be inhabited.
God
is a God of order, not of chaos. God is light, and when He speaks forth, His
creative power brings forth life and order. Are we to believe that Elohim started
with chaos and created order? Perhaps not! Scientists try to prove that life
started in some primordial ooze that somehow grew from chaos into a highly
specialized order. This is man’s reasoning. In the natural world, there seems
to be a universal principle that only God could have set forth—chaos never
leads to greater order. Just consider a cultivated garden; once it is left on
its own, what happens? It is overtaken by weeds and loses all sense of order
and beauty. A garden will never grow on its own into a beautiful, cultivated
garden. It takes man tilling the soil and caring for the garden for it to
thrive. If order goes to chaos or ruin if let untended, then how can chaos or
ruin ever be expected to produce order on its own?
In
the beginning, God created, and part of His creative genius was the creation of
good and evil (Isaiah 45.7). He created an evil adversary, Satan, who sinned
from the beginning (1 John 3.8) and has been a murderer from the beginning
(John 8.44). In other words, Satan was not created as a good messenger who fell
in sin; but rather, he was created as an evil one to be part of bringing about
God’s purpose and plan. It is possible that, through the great dragon, the
ancient serpent called Adversary and Satan (Revelation 12.9 CV), God’s beginning creation was brought into ruin or waste. God’s
creation was in ruin for a reason not made clear to us in Scripture. However,
given this thought, it is possible that this eon had something to do with a
battle between good and evil, which has continued unabated to our present
wicked eon. Although we are not given any indication of what transpired during
this time or the reason for its existence, we are given some indication of how
it ended to usher in the second eon.
If
between Genesis 1.1 and 1.2a, there is a period of time, an eon that ended in
disaster, then this could answer why the earth became a dark, vacant chaos of
raging waters (Genesis 1.2), at some point after
it had been created a beautiful, inhabited planet.
Let
us look at Genesis 1.1 and 1.2a in some detail.
Seven
Hebrew words (ten English words; ten
is the number of completion) are recorded in the beginning of the prophetic word
of God. In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. Seven is
the number of divine perfection and refers to perfection of what is in view. In
other words, when God created, He created with divine perfection. It was a
complete and perfect work. He created the earth to be inhabited. It was not
created to be a waste place.
However,
Genesis 1.2a reveals something that seems entirely contrary to God’s creative
power: Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the
submerged chaos. Some (not all) scholars of the Hebrew language state that
“and the earth was” should be
translated “but the earth became.”
Adding this thought to the meaning of the words which follow—formless, void,
darkness and deep—gives a much different picture of the earth that in the
beginning was created in divine perfection as a place of habitation. In fact,
Genesis 1.2a declares that the earth was just the opposite of a place to be
inhabited.
To
understand the condition of the earth as recorded in Genesis 1.2a, it is
necessary to look at the Hebrew meaning of formless
(without form), void, darkness and deep. The Hebrew word for formless
is tohuw, which comes from another
word which means “to lie waste; a worthless thing.” Attached to this word is
the sense of confusion, vanity and wilderness. In other words, the earth was in
a vain, worthless condition. It was in chaos.
The
Hebrew word for void is bohuw, which comes from another word
which means “to be empty” or “an indistinguishable ruin.” In other words, the
earth was an empty ruin. It was vacant.
The
Hebrew word for darkness is choshek, which means “the dark”, or
“something in misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness.” The
sun was no longer giving light to the earth, and it was in misery. Thus, the
earth was in misery or wickedness because there was darkness; the sun had
ceased to give its light. Most likely, the heavens were disrupted as well.
The
Hebrew word for deep is tehowm, which refers to “an abyss, as a
surging mass of water.” The waters on the face of the earth were not quiet and
gentle but were raging.
Thus,
when all these words are studied together, a picture is presented of the earth
as a dark (without sunlight), worthless, wasted ruin with raging waters flowing
over its surface. Surely the sons of God did not rejoice over the earth in this
condition. The earth was in vanity and chaos.
Peter
adds to our understanding of this matter, for in his second epistle he takes us
back to the very beginning, to the heavens and earth of old, which he called the then world. In other words, there
was an orderly arrangement or a world in existence on this earth, but something
must have happened to it for it to be deluged by water.
For they want to be oblivious of this, that there
were heavens of old, and an earth
cohering out of water and through water, by the word of God; through which the then world, being deluged by water,
perished. (2 Peter 3.5-6 CV)
These
verses are often thought to refer to the flood of Noah’s day; however, they seem
to refer to a time before man was created in which this world or earth went through
a major change called the disruption,
which corresponds with Genesis 1.2a. The earth was covered by water due to a
cataclysmic event or series of events that brought the earth and the then world into chaos. It must have
destroyed the entire world order. We can only surmise that this chaos had
something to do with the adversary, the serpent of old.
So,
there was a beginning and then there was
a disruption, which means that there
was a world (the then world) that
existed from the beginning until it was brought into chaos, that is, disruption, for it was disrupted from
its original, pristine state.
The
word disruption is a translation of
the Greek word katabole, which means
“down-casting.” Most English Bibles translate this word as foundation, but the CV uniformly uses the word disruption. Physiologically speaking, it refers to the discharge of
the seed from the woman’s ovaries (Hebrews 11.11 CV). The
same Greek word is used in reference to the Lamb who was slain from the disruption of the world (Revelation 13.8
CV; also see Matthew 25.34; Luke 11.50; John 17.24;
Ephesians 1.4; Hebrews 9.26; 1 Peter 1.20; Revelation 17.8), which refers to a time
before sin entered the world. In the English language, disruption means “a forcible separation, a breach.” Thus, it speaks
of a time when something was discharged or breached and before sin entered into
man’s kosmos (world).
For
those who still might have doubts about what has been presented, consider this
prophetic word from Jeremiah.
I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains,
and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked,
and behold, there was no man, and
all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and
all its cities were pulled down before
the LORD, before His fierce anger. (Jeremiah 4.23-26 NASB)
Of course, this language could be viewed as signifying
something spiritual, and yet, it also seems that Jeremiah was given a glimpse
of a time ages ago that seems to fit the description given to us in Genesis 1.2
of the earth as formless, void and dark (no light). Obviously, there was no man
at this time, for Adam came along in the sixth day of restoration. If we accept
that Jeremiah saw the disruption of the ancient earth, then we have to accept
that there was life during the first eon (or prior eons) of this earth. There
were even cities that ultimately were completely destroyed. This leaves us
wondering who or what lived on the earth at that time. Perhaps, it was the
angelic host or a precursor to man. We can only conjecture, but for those of us
with inquisitive minds, the thought of it is most intriguing.
Thus,
the first eon (or perhaps a series of eons) ran from the beginning of creation to
the disruption of the heavens and the earth, and possibly the entire universe.
Obviously, we are not given any information about this eon other than it
existed. As stated already, it is possible that many of the mysteries about
this earth, such as the origin and extinction of dinosaurs and the multitude of
fossils, are all hidden in this eon. Perhaps, this eon and even the disruption
lasted for millions of years.
I
recognize that to some believers this last suggestion is most untenable, for
they see Genesis 1.2 as the beginning of the universe as well, and thus place
the age of the universe at about 6,000 years. [10]
However, the evidence does not seem to support such a theory and Scripture
does not declare it so. In His wisdom, God has not revealed all the secrets of
the universe or the many secrets hidden in our earth. The more men seek to
understand the universe in which our little planet resides, the more men see
the unfathomable extent of this universe and the vast number of secrets
hidden within it. This should remind us of the unsearchable or unfathomable
riches of Christ, the One who upholds the entire universe.
The
second eon.
The
second eon began with the restoration of the ruined earth as the spirit of God [Elohim]
was brooding on the face of the waters (Genesis 1.2b REB [TSS]), after which on the sixth day man was created to
be in the image and likeness of Elohim and to have dominion (Genesis 1.26 TSS). Peter called this age the
ancient world that extended from Adam to Noah and the great flood (2 Peter
2.4-5). Elohim created man and restored this earth in six days and rested on
the seventh, setting the pattern for the restoration or salvation of mankind
once Adam fell in sin and death entered into the fiber of mankind.
The
restoration was a glorious garden, which soon turned into a plot of weeds as a
result of God’s ordained plan to allow the adversary to lead man to disobey his
Creator, which means that this was all in the plan of God in order to bring
about His purpose of the eons. The result was that death passed through into all mankind, on which all sinned (Romans
5.12 CV). Mankind possessed knowledge of good and evil and
was thrust out of the garden. It is safe to state that rather than choose good
and live by it, ancient mankind chose evil instead.
The
ancient world ended with a deluge.
The
result was that after about one to two millennia, [11]
the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, the earth was filled with violence,
and all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth (Genesis 6.11-12 NASB). God determined to destroy mankind through the deluge, except for Noah and his immediate family.
For if God spares not sinning messengers, but
thrusting them into the gloomy caverns of Tartarus, gives them up to be kept
for chastening judging; and spares not the ancient world, but guards Noah, an
eighth, a herald of righteousness, bringing
a deluge on the world of the irreverent…. (2 Peter 2.4-5 CV)
Thus,
the ancient world was destroyed through a great flood; all in accord with the
purpose of God, who works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians
1.11).
The
third eon.
After
the water receded, a third eon commenced through Noah and his three sons. In a very broad sense, this could be called
the present wicked eon (Galatians 1.4
CV). As shown later, there most likely are other eons
of shorter duration within this eon, such as the Passover Age and the Pentecostal
Age.
Clearly,
the deluge that wiped out the ancient world was a major physical and moral
change for this earth. It most definitely was a moral change since all flesh
had corrupted their way upon the earth (Genesis 6.12). There has been no major cataclysmic
physical change of this earth since the deluge. We could say that we live in
the post-deluge eon. Consequently, the ordered world in which we live today has
continued unabated as an eon. Paul tells us that we are in the eon of this world. Obviously, this world refers to the world order after the deluge.
And you, being dead to your offenses and sins, in
which once you walked, in accord with the
eon of this world, in accord with the chief of the jurisdiction of the air,
the spirit now operating in the sons of stubbornness…. (Ephesians 2.1-2 CV)
According
to the CV, there are many scriptural references to our current eon. Paul called
it the present wicked eon (Galatians
1.4) and the current eon (1 Timothy
6.17; 2 Timothy 4.10; Titus 2.12). In other places, it is called this eon (Matthew 12.32; 13.22; Mark
4.19; Luke 16.8; 20.34; Romans 12.2; 1 Corinthians 1.20; 2.6, 8; 3.18; 2
Corinthians 4.4; Ephesians 1.21; 2.2).
The
day of Mankind―Man’s day.
The
third eon is also called the day of
Mankind or, more accurately, Man’s
day.
Now to me it is the least trifle that I may be being
examined by you or by man’s day. (1 Corinthians 4.3 CV)
To me it is for a very little thing that by you I may be
judged, or by man’s day, but not
even myself do I judge…. (1 Corinthians 4.3 YLT)
What is Man’s day?
An Expanded Translation by K.S. Wuest expresses this day in a slightly
different manner, which might add some light: But with me it is a very small thing
that I am being put on trial by you by the [judicial] day of mankind
(1 Corinthians 4.3 WAET). In other words, it is a
judicial day, and it relates to mankind judging one another.
The context of Paul’s epistle confirms that he used Man’s day in this manner.
For of nothing am I
conscious as to myself, but not by this am I justified. Now He Who is examining
me is the Lord. So that, be not judging anything before the season, till the
Lord should be coming, Who will also illuminate the hidden things of darkness
and manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then applause will be coming to
each one from God. (1 Corinthians 4.4-5 CV)
To
Paul it meant nothing that he would be judged by man or judged in the context
of Man’s day, for he was entrusting
himself to the faithful Judge who will come one day and set all things right.
He refused to be examined by the Corinthians. How could he agree to such a
thing when they were challenging his motives and his methods, even his
God-given apostleship? Their standard of judgment was not God’s and was filled
with prejudice. Is this not a good description of Man’s day? Man’s laws and judicial systems are weak and often
failed attempts to keep order among mankind. Man’s justice is often based on
fear and punishment of the individual and seldom on forgiveness, restitution
and restoration of the individual. In other words, man’s justice is penal in
nature and not corrective in nature. Only God’s law is righteous and just, for
it is for correction, restitution and restoration, based on love. It is never
for destruction.
Essentially,
Man’s day is the period of time in
the history of man in which man rules over man and passes judgment on one
another. Simply, it belongs to man and reveals all his failures. But let us not
think that Man’s day is some
aberration or blot upon God’s plan, for it is not. Rather, it is by design, for
it provides mankind with the experience of good and evil, but even more than
this, it will prove that the self-sufficiency of mankind is a failure and that
only God’s Son can truly rule and administer God’s law in the earth. The theme
that could be written across Man’s day
is found in Paul’s Romans epistle: For
God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all (Romans
11.32 NASB).
This
leads to the question: When did Man’s day
start? There are only two points in the history of mankind that could be
considered for the starting point.
The
first point in history could have been when death passed through into mankind.
Adam had chosen to live by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and even
the ground was cursed on account of his one transgression. Since Adam lost the
right to eat of the tree of life that would have given him God’s righteous way
to rule over the earth, Adam and all mankind were left to their own prejudices.
Essentially, there were no governments and laws of the land. Some say there was
anarchy. We get a glimpse of this as Cain and Abel were in the field, and Cain
became angry with his brother and killed him. However, it was not man that
passed judgment, but the Lord Himself who declared that Cain was cursed from
the ground. In response to Cain’s fear of being killed, the Lord pronounced
that sevenfold vengeance be taken on any who killed him (see Genesis 4.1-15).
Although
this point in history is possible as the start of Man’s day, the second point in history seems just as plausible.
Man’s day most likely began when men began making judgments
about one another, which clearly occurred after the great deluge of Noah’s day
when the Lord gave a command or, we could say, the first law of this new era: Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood
shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9.6 NASB). This is a very clear statement about man’s rule over man (by man), which is what Man’s day is all about. At this time,
capital punishment was instituted, which has continued throughout our present
eon. Consequently, it appears that Man’s
day began immediately following the deluge.
During
this eon, government was formed and man began to govern over man. However,
there were two types of governments that began to emerge, one with man as the
center (humanism, secularism [12]),
and the other with God as the center (theocracy).
The
man-centered government followed the line of Noah’s son, Ham, who caused a
curse to fall on his son
The
God-centered government followed the line of Noah’s son, Shem, and progressed
to Abraham, the Hebrew, until it broke forth through the sons of Israel as
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt as a theocratic nation under the one,
true God—a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Exodus 19.6), chosen to lead all
the nations of earth to God. Although there were times of glory for the
Israelites, their history is marked by failure as they turned from their God
and became apostate lovers [harlots (Hosea 1.2)] with the kingdoms of the
world. They became the tail instead of the head. In a sense, they joined with
the Nimrods of the world, which placed them under
What
is the purpose of this eon? There are two answers to this question.
First, the purpose is to prove that nothing has changed
in the heart of man and that man cannot rule over man or live without God and
His Son. Everything that man touches according to his own will leads to death,
not life. Simply, mankind is lost in sin. Throughout history,
Second, the purpose is discovered at
The
crisis of the eons.
In
the middle of the five eons or the midpoint of this present wicked eon is the
one great tragedy and triumph of the universe that we could call the crisis of the eons. In the fullness
of time, God’s Son came to this world to die on the cross of
Let
us be clear that the cross was not a fix to a problem that caught God off
guard. We could say that the cross is the apex of the eons and was according to
the preordained plan of God. In fact, it was the predetermined and deliberate
purpose of God to send His Son to this earth and pierce Him for the sin of the
world (Acts 2.23). God’s Son is the Lambkin slain from the disruption of the
world (Revelation 13.8 CV), which means that before sin even entered into
mankind, the Son of God was slain to the Father, even before the heinous act
was carried out at the hand of man. God has every detail planned out to fulfill
His purpose, and He is executing His plan accordingly and on schedule.
Ultimately, God alone is responsible
for the salvation, reconciliation and restoration of all mankind.
The
present eon of this world ends with the indignation and glory!
Scripture
clearly tells us that this present wicked eon has a conclusion. In fact, Jesus
Himself tells us so as He taught His disciples on the secrets of the kingdom of
the heavens, and the signs of His presence and the end of the eon.
Now the harvest is the conclusion of the eon. Now
the reapers are messengers. Even as the darnel, then, are being culled and
burned up with fire, thus shall it be in the
conclusion of the eon. …. Thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon. The messengers will be coming out and
they will be severing the wicked from the midst of the just. (Matthew 13.39-40,
49 CV)
Now at His sitting on the
Given
the words of Jesus and others, we know that there is a conclusion to our present
wicked [evil] eon [age] (Galatians 1.4 CV [NASB]), and
it will occur with first the removal of the darnel or tares followed by the harvests
of the barley, wheat and grapes. We could say that our present eon will end
with two opposing events: the wicked will be judged by the wrath of God (for
chastening judging, which may include physical death, but not eternal annihilation
or torture), and the glorious freedom of the children of God will begin to be
revealed (Romans 8.21). It will be life coming out of death, all to the glory
of the God of the living.
However,
it is appropriate to conclude that, apart from
The
fourth eon.
The
fourth eon will not be perfect in every sense, for death and sin will continue;
nonetheless, it is a glorious eon as the King of kings and Lord of lords ushers
in the kingdom of the heavens on earth and progressively heads up or sums up
all things in the heavens and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10).
Unlike
all previous eons, this eon is given a very specific number of years. Referring
to the conquerors of the tribulation and the length of their reign, John perceived:
They will be reigning with Him the thousand years. And whenever the thousand years should be finished….
(Revelation 20.6, 7 CV)
This
glorious eon is mentioned numerous times throughout both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures.
The Hebrew prophets spoke often of this eon. In Greek Scripture, it is called
the coming or impending eon, or the age to come, depending on the translation
(Mark 10.30; Luke 18.30; Hebrews 6.5). It can be described in a number of ways,
either in whole or in part—the
millennial (1,000-year) kingdom, the kingdom of His Christ, the Messianic
kingdom, the kingdom of the heavens, the day of the Lord, the Kingdom Age, and even
the Renascence.
Jubilee.
This
eon is also a time of jubilee in which all debts are paid, and we could say,
mankind is set free from the bondage of the previous six days of 1,000-year
days (2 Peter 3.8). During this time, the law of jubilee will no longer be
ignored, for every 49 years all debts will be forgiven. Do you realize that
worldwide the debt that is owed among the nations of the world is staggering?
It is measured in the trillions of US dollars. The
It
is difficult not to have a growing sense of the bondage that mankind is under
in our day due to the love of money and the power associated with it. This is
nothing new, for all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of
life, is not from the Father, but is from the world (kosmos, system that governs our world), that is passing away, and also its lusts (1 John 2.16-17 NASB). Our lives are in increasing bondage to an unrighteous system that
is none other than
God
has set six days of labor (the day of
Mankind) and a seventh day of rest (the
day of the Lord). The next eon will usher in the seventh day or the seventh
millennium since the restoration of the earth. In type, we see the day of
jubilee as recorded in Leviticus 25; only the seventh millennium is on a much
grander scale than the jubilee celebrated by the ancient nation of
In
reference to those led out of
For He has said
somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY
FROM ALL HIS WORKS”; and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.”
Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had
good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,”
saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY
IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” (Hebrews 4.4-7 NASB)
God
again fixes a certain day. Although many are being called into this day in our
present eon, it has not come, for yet in
a little while He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous
one shall live by faith (Hebrews 10.37-38 NASB).
Until then, those of faith must hear and obey His voice while they wait
patiently for His presence.
The
day of the Lord.
It
might be helpful to briefly mention the
day of the Lord, which is the term used by the Hebrew prophets and repeated
in Greek Scripture to describe the wrath of God that occurs during our present
eon and precedes the second coming of Christ when He takes the scepter to reign
over this earth after being gone for a long time (e.g., Isaiah 13.6; Ezekiel
30.3; Joel 1.15; 2.1, 31; 3.14; Amos 5.18, 20; Obadiah 1.15; Zephaniah 1.7, 8,
14, 18; 2.2, 3; Malachi 4.5; Acts 2.20; 1 Thessalonians 5.2; 2 Thessalonians
2.2). The prophets placed the emphasis on the indignation or wrath of the Lamb
as they saw the coming of the Lord in great power; however, they also saw it as
the day in which the glory of the Lord will fill the earth (Isaiah 6.3; 40.5;
60.1; Habakkuk 2.14). They saw beyond the indignation to what John saw in his
vision of the day of the Lord that
will extend for 1,000 years. According to Peter, the day of the Lord will come as a thief, and it will be a time
when the second heaven and the second earth will be purged or cleansed of all
unrighteousness until all is new in the last eon.
Now the day
of the Lord will be arriving as a thief, in which the heavens shall be
passing by with a booming noise, yet the elements shall be dissolved by
combustion, and the earth and the works in it shall be found. (2 Peter 3.10 CV)
Interestingly,
Peter wrote as if this day will end as soon as it starts. For years, I have looked
at this verse as if it refers to an actual dissolution or destruction of the
earth. However, lately I have seen that this is perhaps a spiritual purging and
cleansing of the countless wicked works that have been manifested on the earth.
We could say that the heavens and earth must go through their own lake of fire
of judgment according to God’s divine law. One thing for sure, according to Scripture,
we know that although it will come as a thief, it will last for 1,000 years,
and most likely, the cleansing (dissolution) will continue throughout the eon as
righteousness is taught and enforced (Isaiah 26.9). The glory of the Lord will
fill the earth, and glory is like a consuming fire (Exodus 24.17).
The
fourth eon ends with the great white throne.
The
conclusion of the fourth eon comes when the adversary is released from his jail
to deceive the nations of Gog and Magog, resulting in fire coming from God that
devours all the rebellious nations and the adversary being cast into the lake
of fire (Revelation 20.7-10). Then heaven and earth will flee away from the
presence of the great white throne that will be set to judge mankind not raised
from the dead in the first or former resurrection that will have occurred about
1,000 years prior. Those whose names appear in the book of life will be saved,
yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3.15; Revelation 20.12). The works of the
great and the small whose names are not in the book of life will be judged in
the spiritual fire of God’s judgment, for God is spirit and He is a consuming
fire (John 4.24; Hebrews 12.29; Revelation 20.11-15).
Thus,
the fourth eon concludes with a major physical and moral change. All the wicked
or unjust are judged in the spiritual
lake of fire outside the new Jerusalem (but not tormented in a physical fire forever and ever).
The
fifth eon.
The
fifth and last eon is unlike all the eons that precede it. This day begins when
a new heaven and a new earth come into view. Also, the holy city, new
Jerusalem, the spiritual
For, behold, I
create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind. (Isaiah 65.17 KJV)
Since all these things are thus pre-destined to
dissolution, what sort of men ought you to be found to be in all holy living
and godly conduct, eagerly looking forward to the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the
heavens, all ablaze, will be destroyed, and the elements will melt in the
fierce heat? But in accordance with His promise we are expecting new heavens
and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell. (2 Peter 3.11-13 WNT)
And I perceived a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former
earth pass away, and the sea is no more. I perceived the holy city, new
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I hear a loud voice out of the throne saying, “Lo! the
tabernacle of God is with mankind, and He will be tabernacling with them, and
they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them. And He will be
brushing away every tear from their eyes. And death will be no more, nor
mourning, nor clamor, nor misery; they will be no more, for the former things
passed away.” And He Who is sitting on the throne said, “Lo! New am I making all!” And He is saying, “Write, for these
sayings are faithful and true.” And He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and
the Omega, the Origin and the Consummation. To him who is thirsting I shall be
giving of the spring of the water of life gratuitously.” (Revelation 21.1-6 CV)
Truly,
this is an entirely new world order. There is a new heaven and earth and a new
Jerusalem in which there is no more death.
The
day of God.
As
quoted from the second epistle of Peter, the fifth and last eon is also called the day of God (God’s day in the CV). Why is this day called the day of God? Simply, God will possesses
this day as His own as His will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
without any further failure. His throne will be established on the new earth
from which will proceed the very source of life. During the day of the Lord, Christ will sit upon the throne of David as the Son of Mankind, but in the day of God He will sit upon the
throne of God as the Son of God and the
Lamb.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22.1 KJV)
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it…. (Revelation 22.3
KJV)
We
are not told how long this day will last. All we know is that this is the last
eon revealed in Scripture. What comes after this day is not ours to know, but
we can be assured that it will be glory beyond measure for all mankind, for
this is in accord with the purpose of God. What we do know is that death will
be completely abolished, which means that sin also will be completely removed
because it can only reign in death. Most of all, we know that all mankind will
be restored, so that God may be All
in all throughout His entire creation.
The
last eon ushers in the consummation of all.
Thankfully,
this is not the end of the story. Christ has begun heading up or summing up all
things in the heavens and on the earth, and He will reign until He has placed
all His enemies under His feet and has nullified all sovereignty and all
authority and power, and even has abolished the last enemy death (see Ephesians
1.10, 22; 1 Corinthians 15.24-26). When He ascended back to heaven to sit at
the right hand of His Father, the Son of God ascended far above all. Today, He
alone has immortality (1 Timothy
6.16), and He alone has ascended into
heaven (John 3.13). Consider what Scripture tells us about the exalted
position of the risen, glorified Christ.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power
[spiritual and physical] is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28.18 KJV [writer])
Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being
made subject unto him. (1 Peter 3.22 KJV)
Christ, rousing Him
from among the dead and seating Him at His right hand among the celestials, up
over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, and every name
that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending: and subjects all under His feet, and gives
Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body, the complement of the One completing the all in all.
(Ephesians 1.20b-22 CV)
When
the Son has subjected all things under His feet, including the last enemy
death, then He will give up the kingdom to His God and Father, so that God may
be All in all. When this glorious
work is accomplished, the eons, as made known to us in Scripture, will come to
God’s intended conclusion, and His purpose will have been accomplished.
For since, in fact, through a man came death,
through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. For even as, in Adam,
all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified. Yet each in his own
class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ’s in His
presence; thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He
should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority and power. For He must
be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet. The
last enemy is being abolished: death. For He subjects all under His feet. Now
whenever He may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside
of Him Who subjects all to Him. Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then
the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.) (1
Corinthians 15.21-28 CV)
These
few verses are filled with some of the most profound truths in all Scripture.
Christ is the Firstfruit of all who are dead and remain so until the first or former resurrection (CV rendering of Revelation 20.5). When He comes at the end of this eon,
He will raise to life all the anointed firstfruits (the saints of light, the
conquerors, the barley believers) that are destined to reign in the coming or
impending eon. At the end of the millennial kingdom, He will raise the rest of
the dead (all that missed out on the first resurrection, believers and unbelievers)
that must appear before the great white throne, either to be saved yet so as
through fire, or to be purified in the spiritual lake of fire, so that eventually
they too may enter the glory of God and know God is love for eternity (or more
eons) that follow. Thereafter, at the consummation of the eons, all mankind will
be fully restored, and death will be swallowed up in victory, the victory of
the cross of
Thus,
the eons have a beginning, and they have an end, and in between there have been
and yet will be major physical upheavals and moral change, until the purpose of
the eons is accomplished. That which started at the beginning must continue
until the consummation of all, so that God may be All in all. Praise God!
One
final word on this matter needs to be stressed, and that is that although there
seems to be very definite breakpoints between each eon, it may not always seem
this way. It does seem that the Lord has transitions between the eons as He
begins to close down what He is doing in one period and opens up something
entirely new that he will do in the next period. These transitions may appear
to be a time of mixture. We see such a transition when Messiah came the first
time that extended from the beginning of His earthly ministry to His death on
the cross in 33 AD, to the total destruction of
Now,
there is another matter that needs to be addressed, and this deals with the
three phrases already mentioned: the eons
of the eons, the eon of the eon
and the eon of the eons.
The
eons of the eons—the last two eons.
The
phrase the eons of the eons is used
twenty-one times in the Greek Scriptures (Romans 16.27; Galatians 1.5;
Philippians 4.20; 1 Timothy 1.17; 2 Timothy 4.18; Hebrews 13.21; 1 Peter 4.11;
5.11; Revelation 1.6, 18; 4.9, 10; 5.13; 7.12; 10.6; 11.15; 14.11; 15.7; 19.3;
20.10; 22.5). The following are a few examples.
Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ, Who gives Himself for our sins, so that He might
extricate us out of the present wicked
eon, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen! (Galatians
1.3-5 CV)
Paul
referred to the present wicked eon and looked forward to what he called the eons of the eons.
The Lord will be rescuing me from every wicked work
and will be saving me for His celestial
kingdom: to Whom be glory for the
eons of the eons. Amen! (2 Timothy 4.18 CV)
Paul
joined the celestial or heavenly kingdom with the eons of the eons.
Each, according as he obtained a gracious gift, be
dispensing it among yourselves, as ideal administrators of the varied grace of
God; if anyone is speaking, as the oracles of God; if anyone is dispensing, as
out of the strength which God is furnishing; that in all God may be glorified,
through Jesus Christ, to Whom is the glory and the might for the eons of the eons. Amen! (1 Peter
4.10-11 CV)
Peter
concluded these verses with the exact same phrase as Paul, and that these eons
are joined with glory.
And from Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness, the
Firstborn of the dead, and the Suzerain of the kings of the earth. To Him Who
is loving us and looses us from our sins by His blood and makes us a kingdom
and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and might for the eons of the eons! Amen! (Revelation
1.5-6 CV)
Finally,
John opened The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which unveils Christ in the Lord’s
day, which speaks of the last two eons or the eons of the eons. So, it is clear that all three of these
mighty apostles referred to the eons of
the eons.
The eons of the eons are to be viewed as the eons that stand out among
all the eons. When Paul referred to the purpose
of the eons, I believe he was primarily referring to the last two eons. In
other words, he had these two eons in view when he wrote of the purpose of God,
for it is during these oncoming eons that the glory of God will begin to shine
brighter and brighter, until it is like the brightness of the noonday sun. Why
will these eons shine so brightly? They will shine because this is when the
reign of God’s Son is truly manifested, so that all will see and know who rules
in the affairs of mankind. It will be when the kingdom prayer is truly
answered: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6.10).
We
could say that the five eons are divided into two groups—the first three eons
and the last two eons. The last two eons are referred to as the oncoming eons and the eons of the eons because they are in relation to the preceding
three eons.
The
Lord’s day.
Before
moving on, it might be helpful to look at the
Lord’s day. As with Man’s day,
the term Lord’s day is found only
once in Scripture as used by John in reference to his
I
might be alone when it comes to the meaning of the Lord’s day, but I
perceive it on two levels. First, it is foremost a spiritual day, for John was in spirit in this day. Consequently, it must be understood by interpreting spiritual by spiritual (1 Corinthians
2.13 ALT). Second, it refers to all the events perceived from
Pentecost to the eons of the eons. After all, John was in spirit in the Lord’s day, which is described in
all twenty-two chapters of the Revelation. Consequently, the entire Revelation encompasses
our present eon and the last two eons, the
eons of the eons, and it is called the
Lord’s day. These eons are possessed by the Lord as He heads up all in the
heavens and on the earth. Simply, the
Lord’s day is a glorious day that progresses from glory to glory, and it is
a spiritual day that progresses until all mankind is brought into the spiritual
realm of God, into the presence of God.
Now,
to most believers, the Lord’s day is
the first day of the week, Sunday, and represents the day of worship. However, we
worship in spirit and in truth (John 4.23). And yet, this does not negate the
need for us to have a weekly sabbatical rest according to God’s divine law. To further
our understanding, the following Scriptures are presented from the Concordant
Version. Compare the following verses to the version that you are currently
reading. Most translations use the phrase the
first day of the week, or something similar. [14]
And, very early in the morning on one of the sabbaths, they are coming to
the tomb at the rising of the sun. … Now, rising in the morning in the first sabbath, He appeared first to
Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. (Mark 16.2, 9 CV)
Now in the early depths of one of the sabbaths, they, and certain others together with them,
came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they make ready. (Luke 24.1 CV)
Now, on one
of the sabbaths, Miriam Magdalene is coming to the tomb in the morning,
there being still darkness, and is observing the stone taken away from the door
of the tomb. … It being, then, the evening of that day, one of the sabbaths, and the doors having been locked where the
disciples were gathered together, because of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood in the midst and is saying to them, “Peace to you!” (John 20.1, 19 CV)
Now on one
of the sabbaths, at our having gathered to break bread, Paul argued with
them, being about to be off on the morrow. (Acts 20.7 CV)
On one of
the sabbaths let each of you lay aside by himself in store that in which he
should be prospered, that no collections may be occurring then, whenever I may
come. (1 Corinthians 16.2 CV)
Is
there anything in these verses to indicate the first day of the week? Of course
not, for all of them refer to sabbaths,
which is the seventh day, not the first day of the week. The term one of the sabbaths refers to one of the
weekly sabbaths between Wave Sheaf and Pentecost. The only way that these words
can become the first day of the week is if the words are intentionally changed
to make them refer to Sunday. Translators have taken the word for one and made it first and the word for sabbaths
and made it into the singular week (compare
John 20.1 in the KJV).
This
is a vital point in our understanding of the Lord’s day, for this bias is almost exclusively carried over by
commentators to the verse that uses this term in reference to John’s
I, John, your brother and joint participant in the
affliction and kingdom and endurance in Jesus Christ, came to be in the island
called
John
came to be in the Lord’s day; that
is, in spirit he found himself in the Lord’s day. The term Lord’s day is used in most translations
(24 out of 25 that were checked). However, the difference among the versions is
in the use of the prepositions in or on. Most translations use the expression
on the Lord’s day. The Concordant Version and the Modern King James
Version use the expression in the Lord’s day. Interestingly, Green’s
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament translates from the Greek using the
word in but then uses the word on for its final literal English
translation.
The
fact of the matter is that the word in
comes from the Greek preposition εν and is used in both phrases under discussion: in (εν) spirit and in
(εν) the Lord’s
day.
Why translate εν
two different ways in the same
sentence? Could the answer be because of interpretative bias? Obviously, the
use of on or in can change the meaning of the sentence depending on one’s bias.
The use of on restricts the time to a
certain day of the week. The use of in
removes the restriction of a fixed day and opens up the possibility that it
refers to a period of time.
What
are we to conclude? Perhaps, John’s vision had nothing to do with a day of the
week, not even the sabbaths (or, even time or ages, for that matter), for John
was in spirit in a very specific day
which belongs to the Lord. In this case, the word day does not refer to a 24-hour period of time but to something greater.
Simply, in spirit, John saw the Lord
Jesus Christ. After all, the title of John’s book is The Revelation [Unveiling] of Jesus Christ, which means that at the
heart of John’s vision is the vision of Jesus Christ. This is what John’s
vision is all about; therefore, it only makes sense that the day that John saw
be called the Lord’s day. It is not Man’s day; it is His day. The day belongs to Christ alone, and this spiritual day
extends from our eon to the eons of the eons and beyond. In His day, mankind
will progressively move into the spiritual, celestial realm of God, that is,
not all of mankind will come into this glory at the same time; each class will
enter into it in their own era.
The
eon of the eon.
Now,
moving on to the other eon phrases, the phrase the eon of the eon refers to the relation of one eon to the
preceding eon. It is used only in one place, and it most likely refers to the
last eon as presented in Scripture.
Yet to the Son: “Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of the eon, and a scepter of
rectitude is the scepter of Thy kingdom.” (Hebrews 1.8 CV)
Could
this refer to the day of God when
there is a new heaven and a new earth? We could say that, during the Lord’s day, Christ’s throne progresses
from the throne of God to David’s throne to the throne of God and of the Lamb.
During the day of the Lord, Christ
sits on the throne as the Son of Mankind and during the day of God He sits on the throne as the Son of God. Of course,
He has always been and always will be the Son of God.
The
eon of the eons—the last eon.
The
phrase the eon of the eons refers to
an eon in relation to all the preceding eons. In this case, it too refers to
the last eon or the day of God. This
makes perfect sense, for of all the eons it is truly the eon of the eons. It is the highpoint of all the eons and even
stands out from the preceding eon or the Messianic era. It is just like Jesus
as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. There is no other like Him. In
relation to all other kings and lords, He alone is preeminent.
Now to Him Who is able to do superexcessively above
all that we are requesting or apprehending, according to the power that is
operating in us, to Him be glory in the ecclesia and in Christ Jesus for all
the generations of the eon of the eons!
Amen! (Ephesians 3.20-21
CV)
Paul
was given revelation that the ecclesia, [15]
which is the body of Christ, is a new
creation in Christ and, as such,
is more closely related to the last eon when all things are new (2 Corinthians
5.17; Galatians 6.15; Revelation 21.1). Those who are called and chosen to be
enjoyers of an allotment (inheritance) in the oncoming eons will transcend time
to spiritually enter where the chief priests were allowed to enter only once a
year, the most holy place, the holy of holies, which speaks of being in the
presence of God. The new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven having the
glory of God (Revelation 21.2, 10-11) is a picture of the corporate body-bride
of Christ that has been conformed into His image. The city-bride is not a
picture of a literal city but of a literal people that have received the full
inheritance of the land, which refers to glorified bodies like that of Jesus. The
new Jerusalem is the holy temple in the
Lord that has been built together into a
dwelling of God in the spirit
(Ephesians 2.19-22). It is the one new
man in Christ (Ephesians 2.15). Praise
God!
Paul
testified that he was snatched to the third heaven, which, most likely, refers
to the third heaven in sequence, not a place in the far reaches of the
universe. [16]
The
holies of the holies.
Actually,
Scripture reveals a pattern for the eons, especially for the last two eons or the eons of the eons, and this is
discovered in the five divisions of the tabernacle and the temple system.
Just
as the tabernacle consisted of five physical divisions (spatial), so do the
eons consist of five divisions (time). However, although we are tempted to
leave both the tabernacle and the eons in the realm of space and time, they
actually speak of a spiritual reality and refer to the spiritual and the
celestial realms, which are something other than time and space, as we know it.
The
tabernacle and the temple system were divided into outside the camp, within the
camp, the court, the holy place, and the holy of holies or the
most holy place. The first three divisions are far different from the last
two divisions, which in Scripture are called the holies of holies. It is unfortunate that most translations do
not render the Greek accurately, for they drop the s from the first holy, when, in fact, it is rendered holies in the Greek.
Nor yet is it that He may be offering Himself
often, even as the chief priest is entering into the holies of holies year by year by the blood of others…. (Hebrews
9.25 CV)
As
the chief priest was called and chosen to enter the holies of the holies and no one else was allowed to enter, so today
there are those who are being called and chosen to enter the eons of the eons at the conclusion of our present wicked eon.
The rest will follow either at the great white throne or at the consummation of
the eons, but until then, only the called and chosen of God, the ones who more
than conquer through the One who loves us, will enter into this most glorious
celestial realm to be with the Lord.
As
with the eons, the first three divisions are different from the last two, for the holy place and the most holy place are parts of the tabernacle itself. This is
what the writer to the Hebrews referred to as the holies of the holies, just as the last two eons are referred to
as the eons of the eons. This alone
should perk one up to see that it just might be possible that the spirit of God
designed it this way to reveal God’s purpose of the eons to those with open
minds.
There
is an uncanny similarity between the tabernacle divisions and the eons that is
hard to pass off as mere coincidence. God does not work in coincidences but with
purpose and plan.
The
first eon is likened to outside
the camp. We are given very little information about this eon. It was
simply outside the view of mankind as outside the camp was not under the
jurisdiction of the tabernacle and temple system.
The
second eon is likened to within
the camp and represents when death and sin entered into mankind and the
world. Mankind was barred from the garden, but God made provision for their
nakedness by sacrificing an animal and covering them with its skin, which pointed
to a future provision for their sin. This is a picture of the camp, which
consisted of the sinners that had to rely on the sacrificial system to deal
with their sins and to approach God in the temple.
The
third eon is likened to the
court and represents man moving toward God, although he is not there
yet. Christ has made the way, but concerning the world at large, many are still
in the court. This is the present wicked eon, which is highlighted by the fact
that it was during this eon that the Son of God was crucified, at which time He
began the process of “dragging” all unto Himself (Greek rendering of John
12.32).
The
fourth eon is likened to the
holy place and represents the Messianic kingdom when the true
Israelites are a kingdom and priests; when the conquering saints enter their respective
places in the kingdom. The holy place and all its furniture are a type of
Christ and speak of the day of the Lord.
The revealed sons of God will manifest the magnificence and glory of Christ to
the nations on earth, and they will teach them righteousness and administer
justice. Further, the sons are the ecclesia, which is His body, the complement
of the One completing the all in all, that join Christ as He continues to
gather up all things, both that in the heavens and on the earth (Ephesians
1.10, 23).
Finally,
the fifth eon is likened to the
holy of holies or the most holy place, and represents
the last eon or the day of God when
there will be no need for the temple, for mankind will be brought into the
presence of God.
And I hear a loud voice out of the throne saying,
“Lo! the tabernacle of God is with mankind, and He will be tabernacling with
them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them. And He
will be brushing away every tear from their eyes. And death will be no more,
nor mourning, nor clamor, nor misery; they will be no more, for the former
things passed away.” … And a temple I did not perceive in it, for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and
the Lambkin. (Revelation 21.3-4, 22 CV)
Thus,
the last two eons are typified by the holies
of the holies.
Nor yet is it that He may be offering Himself
often, even as the chief priest is entering into the holies of holies year by year by the blood of others, since
then He must often be suffering from the disruption of the world, yet now,
once, at the conclusion of the eons, for the repudiation of sin through His
sacrifice, is He manifest. (Hebrews 9.25-26 CV)
The
chief priest entered into the holies of the holies, the last two and most sacred
divisions of the temple. In like fashion, mankind, according to their own class,
will begin to enter into the last two and most sacred divisions of time, the eons of the eons. But let us not
become fixated on this entrance as if the emphasis is in space and time. This
is a spiritual matter. It is entering into the very realm in which God
operates. It is entering into the very presence of God where there is no need
for a temple, for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lambkin
(Revelation 21.22 CV). God is
Spirit (John 4.24) and God is Love
(1 John 4.8, 16), and He dwells among the celestials. It is entering the
spiritual and celestial realm of God that operates on the principle of His
love.
Today,
there are a people, the body of Christ, seated together among the celestials,
in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2.6 CV). The body of Christ is
blessed with every spiritual blessing among the celestials, in Christ
(Ephesians 1.3 CV). These are spiritual realities for all who are
called and chosen in this eon to be in Christ. Those who are called and chosen
have a foretaste of what it will be like when the eons of the eons commence, for they will be the first to enter the holies of the holies, even the most holy place, in spirit and among the celestials.
Oh,
the wonderful symmetry of Scripture! It is no coincidence that Scripture speaks
of the holies of the holies and the eons of the eons. One is in space
and the other is in time. Both speak of a spiritual and celestial reality for
the called and chosen and ultimately for all mankind. When we see the beauty of
this symmetry, we begin to see the beauty of God’s purpose of the eons. The
longing of mankind should be to enter into the presence of God.
The
three feasts of Israel―three ages [eons].
Now,
before concluding this chapter, there is one more matter that needs to be
addressed that was mentioned earlier and that pertains to the three main feasts
of
One
commentator [17] has
shown quite convincingly that these three feasts are prophetic in that they
speak of three stages of development in the
This
progression perfectly matches the secret of His will in Christ as revealed to
Paul. God has purposed in His Son to sum up (gather up, head up) all in the
heavens and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10). By His spirit, Christ has been
progressively summing up all on two levels; a national level and an individual
level.
On
the national level, we see this starting with Moses and the ecclesia in the wilderness
and then we see a much greater measure with the pouring out of the spirit on
the ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. However, this will not begin to be
manifested on earth in its greatest measure until we approach the oncoming eons
or ages when the firstfruits, the conquerors of Christ’s body, enter into the
celestial realm, glorified as Christ is glorified, and the kingdoms of this
world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11.15). Only
then will the kingdom increase in much greater measure and intensity until all
has been subjected to the Son, bringing about the restoration and reconciliation
of all and the consummation of the eons.
On
the individual level, we see a similar progression for all who believe in this
eon and are overwhelmingly conquering through Christ who loves us (Romans
8.37). Passover represents justification by His blood (Romans
5.9); Pentecost represents sanctification through the infilling of the
Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2.13); Tabernacles
represents glorification as one is conformed
to the image of the Son of God, conformed to the body of His glory (Romans
8.29; Philippians 3.21).
Concluding,
the glory of God will begin to shine ever so brightly in the eons of the eons until all creation is brought into the realm
of God. Then all creation will be bathed in His love and glory, and all will enter
the most holy place to the glory of God and His Son. Praise God for this
glimpse of His purpose!
[The
following charts summarize the eons.]
