How the Bible says the end will come - Part 1

What you end up believing about the “last days” is dependent upon the hermeneutic you approach the Bible with when studying the subject. One of the fundamental principles of hermeneutics is that we allow clearer passages to guide us in our interpretation of those which speak about the same subject, but are more obscure. It is this hermeneutical principle which serves to simplify biblical eschatology.

Eschatology has to do with history in general as well as the end of history as we know it in this age. Before we can deal with the numerous difficult figurative passages in the Bible which deal with some of the details of history, we ought to have a notion of the broader and more basic structure of all of redemptive history. The “big picture” is made clear at many points throughout the NT in passages which are not apocalyptic, figurative, or prophetic. There are three broad biblical constructs which clearly show us the overarching structure of biblical eschatology:
1) The two ages
2) The general judgment
3) The eschatological kingdom

It is my intention of deal with each of these and possibly some related implications in a series of upcoming posts. I will deal with the first one here.

If I had to pick one principle which was foundational to a biblical understanding of the “last days”, it would be this first construct – the two ages. It is formative to a proper understanding of much Bible doctrine in general (not only eschatology).

The Bible clearly teaches us that there are only two “ages” – this age, and the age to come. (The Greek word “aiwn”, translated “age” or sometimes “world” is the keyword under examination here.) In order to see the importance of this terminology it is necessary to overview its prolific usage throughout the NT. There are at least 17 places in the NT where this kind of terminology is used: Matt 12:32; Luke 16:8; Luke 18:30; Luke 20:34-36; Mark 10:30; Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 4:4; 1 Cor 1:20; 1 Cor 2:6, 8; 1 Cor 3:18; Gal 1:4; Eph 1:21; Eph 2:2; 1 Tim 6:17-19; Titus 2:12; Heb 6:5. The Bible makes it obvious that there is a clear distinction between the two ages. The age in which we live right now is evil, temporal and spatial (Gal 1:4; Luke 20:35). As we will see in a future post, d.v., the age to come has already been inaugurated and has broken into this age with Christ’s first advent – Christ is king already (Eph 1:21; Titus 2:11-12; Heb 6:5), yet the age to come has not been fully consummated. The age to come will be consummated upon the second advent of Christ. This age and the age to come, then, taken together, exhaust all time. The proof of this assertion can be seen in Matt 12:32 and its parallel in Mark 3:29 – not being forgiven in this age or in the age to come is being guilty of an eternal sin. Therefore, this age and the age to come are viewed in these texts as including all possible times in which one may be forgiven. The next logical question is, “How does Scripture distinguish between these two ages?” In other words, what are the qualitative differences we see described in the Bible between the two ages? There are two passages which will help us at this point: Luke 20:27-40 and Matt 13:24-43.

In Luke 20, what are the differences between this age and the age to come?
• This age
o Marriage
o Death and dying
o Natural men
o Righteous and wicked co-exist
• The age to come
o No marriage
o No death or dying
o Resurrected men
o Only the worthy attain

In Matthew 13, this age is a time of sowing and the end of this age is a time of harvest. What differences between the ages do we see here?
• Time of sowing (this age)
o Mixed wheat (good) and tares (evil)
o Natural condition
• Time of harvest (the end of this age)
o Only the wheat (good)
o Shining-as-the-sun condition (glorified)

From these passages, it is clear that this age and the age to come are qualitatively different, and the primary difference is that between the natural and supernatural order. What are a few of the implications of what the Bible teaches here?
1) Luke 20:35 teaches that attaining to the age to come is equivalent to attaining to the resurrection of the dead. Therefore, the resurrection of the dead is the door out of this age, and into the age to come. And when does this resurrection occur? It occurs at Christ’s second advent (1 Cor 15:22, 23, 50-55; 1 Thess 4:16).
2) Matt 13:39-43 refers to the same event as Luke 20:35. It is clear that it is a reference to the judgment of the wicked and the resurrection of the righteous which occurs at the return of Christ (Matt 24:30, 31; 25:31).
3) Titus 2:12 teaches that the second coming consummates this age and ushers in the age to come in all its fullness. Jesus’ coming brings the consummation of the age (Matt 28:20). The last day of this age is the day of Christ’s return and it is the first day of the age to come (John 6:39).

Points in summary, this post:

The basic scheme of biblical eschatology is truly simple. There are, of course, many difficulties (exegetically and doctrinally) to be worked out, but the basic structure of biblical eschatology is plain and it is simple: there are two ages – this age and the age to come. Every biblical prophecy finds its fulfillment in one of the two ages.

Pause for just a moment and let the simplicity of the biblical scheme of eschatology sink in. Jesus comes back. This age is over, and the new age begins. Biblical eschatology is humiliatingly simple. There is nothing sensational here. Biblical eschatology is not too complicated for you to know well. There are two ages: one temporal and natural, and the other eternal and supernatural. If you understand this, you understand more about eschatology than most of the “prophecy nuts” of our day.

Next post:

Implications of the two-age construct for premillenialism

Long time, no post

Whew! Sorry its been so long since i posted - alot of things going on in life right now! Good things. I love being a daddy. I'll be posting soon on eschatology - stay tuned!