The Endless Age To Come

The Endless Age To Come
by Tom Logan
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The bible speaks of two great ages. This age and the age to come.
These great ages speak of the duration of two worlds.
Lexicons show this:
C. Aion in the Sense of the Time of the World.
l. aion as the Time of the World; the End of the aion. In the plural the sense of aion is that of a stretch of time. In particular the word is used for the duration of the world. Thus the same term can signify both God’s eternity and the world’s duration (cf. the Parsee word zrvan). The doctrine of creation absolute beginning underlay the distinction in use. aion for time of the world occurs in the NT in the expression end of the aeon (Mt. 13:39 etc.). The plural in Heb. 9:26 and 1 Cor. 10:11 (aeons) represents no essential change; it merely indicates that the one aeon is made up of many smaller aeons, though as yet the word is not used for a particular period.
2. Aion as World.
From time of the world aion easily came to mean the world itself (cf. Mt. 13:22; 1 Cor. 7:33) with an equation of cosmos and aeon (1 Cor. 1:20; 2:6; 3:19). The plural can mean worlds along the same lines (Heb. 1:2;11:3).
3. The Present and Future aion.
a. If aion means duration of the world, and the plural occurs, the idea is obvious that eternity embraces a succession or recurrence of aeons (cf. Eccl. 1:9-10 though here the aeons are periods of the world, and the biblical concept of creation, and hence of the uniqueness of this aeon, ruled out the idea of an unending series).
b. Instead of recurrence the antithesis of time and eternity combined with the thought of plural aeons to produce the belief in a new and future aeon (or cosmos or kingdom) which will succeed this one but will be completely different from it. For the present and future aeons in the NT cf. Mk. 10:30; Lk. 16:8; Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 1:20; Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 6:17; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 6:5 (and with kairos instead of aion, Jn. 8:23 etc.).
c. The NT took over this concept from Jewish apocalyptic, e.g., Ethiopian Enoch.
Similar ideas occur in rabbinic writings and there is hope of a future age in Vergil. In the NT, however, the new aeon is not just future. Believers are already redeemed from this aeon (Gal. 1:4) and taste the powers of the future aeon (Heb. 6:5 which Christ has initiated with his resurrection. ---Theological Dictionary of the New Testament - Colin Brown
Man in the bible exists in these two great ages or worlds alone.
W.G.T. Shedd notes:
In reference to man and his existence, the Scriptures speak 0£ two, and only two aeons or ages ; one finite, and one infinite; one limited, and one endless; the latter succeeding the former. An indefinite series 0£ limited eons with no final endless aion is a Pagan, and Gnostic, not a Biblical conception.
This age corresponds to the duration of this earth. It is finite for this earth ends:
2 Pet 3:4-13
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (KJV)
The age to come speaks of the duration of the earth that is coming.
This new earth is endless:
Isa 66:22
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. (KJV)
thus its duration (aion) is endless.
Additional Proofs that the age to come is eternal.
(1) It is the age of eternal life:
Mark 10:30
30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.
(NAS)
Luke 18:30
30 who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life." (NAS)
Of course the universalist will for the most part deny eonian life is eternal life.
However let us note first this (eternal, eonian) life is life which is peculiar to the age to come .
Let us then also notice the promise of this (eternal, eonian) life is of a fact the promise of unending life.
John 6:27-48
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life. (KJV)
John 3:15-16
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (KJV)
...for it warrantees one will not perish or come into condemnation and only that which is truly eternal may provide such a warranty.
This (eternal, eonian) life answers the need for immortality and incorruption:
Rom 2:7
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
(KJV)
Rom 2:7
7 to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: (ASV)
2 Tim 1:10
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (KJV)
2 Tim 1:10
10 but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, (ASV)
both immortality and incorruption come together as a package:
1 Cor 15:50-54
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (KJV)
(2) The sin which is not forgiven:
Luke 12:10
10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. (KJV)
Note this verse clearly states blasphemy of the Holy spirit will not be forgiven.
That is not forgiven for a day, a year or a million years it just is not forgiven ever.
The sin which is never forgiven:
Matt 12:32
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. (KJV)
...is forgiven neither in this age or the age to come. Since the sin is simply not forgiven not ever and this age is finite the age then the age to come is logically infinite.
(3) The age to come sees the establishment of the endless kingdom of God upon the earth.
The bible shows Christ returns at the end of the age of this earth:
2 Pet 3:4-13
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (KJV)
The same passage shows that as this old earth is brought to an end the new earth begins.
The bible also shows the establishment of God's kingdom at the end of this age:
Matt 13:39-43
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
40 "Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (NAS)
Thus we see the kingdom of God and the new earth are established simultaneously at the age to come, both the kingdom of God and the new earth are endless realities, Isa 66:22, Luke 1:33, Dan 2:44.
They are also eonian or age abiding or age relating realities Since these endless realities are related to an endless age and are established in the age to come the age to come is again shown to be endless.
(4) Jewish thought on this subject:
This two age/world schema is a thoroughly Jewish conception which the Christians picked up on.
Adam Clarke in his commentary frequently quotes Jewish thought in this regard The rabbis have a saying similar to this: "It is better for thee to be scorched with a little fire in this world than to be burned with a devouring fire in the world to come."
"This money goeth for alms, that my sons may live, and that I may obtain the world to come. ---Bab. Rosh. Hashshanah.
[Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.] The rabbis have a similar saying: "He that gives food to one that studies in the law, God will bless him in this world, and give him a lot in the world to come." ---Syn. Sohar.
This distinction of `owlaam (OT:5769) hazeh (OT:2088), this world, and of `owlaam (OT:5769) ha-ba' (OT:935), the world to come, you may find almost in every page of the rabbis.
"The Lord recompense thee a good reward for this thy good work in this world, and let thy reward be perfected in the world to come. ---Targum on Ruth.
"It (that is, the history of the creation and of the Bible) therefore begins with the Hebrew letter beth (b), in the word bªree'shiyt (OT:7225) because two worlds were created, this world and a world to come. ---Baal Turim.
"The world to come hints two things especially (of which see Rambam, in Sanhed. cap. 2 Chelek.)
I. The times of the Messiah: `Be mindful of the day wherein thou camest out of Egypt, all the days of thy life: the wise men say, by the days of thy life is intimated this world: by all the days of thy life the days of the Messiah are superinduced.' In this sense the apostle seems to speak, Heb 2:5, and 6:5.
II. The state after death: thus Rab. Tancum, The world to come, is when a man has departed out of this world."
Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. [Whose wife shall she be of the seven?] The rabbis have said, That if a woman have two husbands in this world, she shall have the first only restored to her in the world to come. ---Sohar. Genes. fol. 24.
[Ye do err] Or, Ye are deceived-by your impure passions: not knowing the scriptures, which assert the resurrection:-nor the miraculous power of God (teen (NT:3588) dunamin (NT:1411) tou (NT:3588) Theou (NT:2316)) by which it is to be effected. In Avoda Sara, fol. 18, Sanhedrin, fol. 90, it is said: "These are
they which shall have no part in the world to come: Those who say, the Lord did not come from heaven; and those who say, the resurrection cannot be proved out of the law."
Perhaps the Scriptures were never more diligently searched than at that very time: first, because they were in expectation of the immediate appearing of the Messiah; secondly, because they wished to find out allegories in them; (see Philo;) and, thirdly, because they found these scriptures to contain the promise
of an eternal life. He, said they, who studies daily in the law, is worthy to have a portion in the world to come, ---Sohar. Genes. fol. 31.
From the tract Kiddushin, fol. 81."Some captive women were brought to Nehardea, and disposed in the house and the upper room of Rabbi Amram. They took away the ladder (that the women might not get down, but stay there until they were ransomed.) As one of these captives passed by the window, the light of her great beauty shined into the house. Amram (captivated) set up the ladder; and when he was got to the middle of the steps (checked by his conscience) he stopped short, and with a loud voice cried out FIRE! FIRE! in the house of Amram! (This he did that, the neighhours flocking in, he might be obliged to desist from the evil affection which now prevailed in him.) The rabbis ran to him, and (seeing no fire) they said, Thou hast disgraced us. To which he replied: It is better that ye be disgraced in the house of Amram in this world, than that ye be disgraced by me in the world to come.
There is a saying among the rabbis very like that of the apostle in this and the preceding verse. Siphri, in Yalcut Simeoni, page 2, fol. 10: "The faces of the righteous shall be, in the world to come, like suns, moons, the heaven, stars, lightnings: and like the lilies and candlesticks of the temple."
It is remarkable that the Jews themselves maintained that Abraham was saved by faith. Mehilta, in Yalcut Simeoni, page 1., fol. 69, makes this assertion: "It is evident that Abraham could not obtain an inheritance either in this world or in the world to come, but by faith."
Other sources note:
In the Old Testament the believer looked forward to the future reign of Messiah. For the Jews there were but two ages, the present age and the "age to come" which was Messiah’s reign on earth. The prophets had much to say about Messiah’s future reign ---Moody handbook theology
Jewish people frequently divided history up into many ages (they proposed a number of different schemes), but the most basic was the division between the present age and the age to come. The consummation of the ages (NASB) thus refers to the goal of history, climaxing in the coming of God's reign; in the decisive act of *Christ, the writer recognizes that the future age has in some sense invaded history (cf. 6:5).
Isaiah had already predicted the new heavens and new earth (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22); the focus of attention in this new creation would be the new Jerusalem (Isaiah 65:18). Many Jewish depictions of the age to come (e.g., in *1 Enoch, *Jubilees and *Pseudo-Philo) emphasized the new heavens and earth. Some Jewish texts spoke of the renewal of the first creation; others spoke of its replacement by a new creation; Revelation holds to the latter position. Many texts described the end time in terms of the beginning, as a renewal of paradise (see comment on 22:1-5); so here the new creation recalls the goodness of the
first creation before sin marred it (Gen 1:1). ---IVP bible background commentary.
Leon Morris notes:
The jews divided time into the present present age and the age to come, but the adjective referred to life in the coming age , not the present one "Eternal life" thus means means "the life proper to the age to come". It is an eschatological expression conception (cf. 6:40, 54). But as the age to come is never thought of as coming to an end the adjective came to mean "everlasting", "eternal".
It would seem that any reality transpiring in the age to come would be of eternal duration.
W.G.T. Shedd agrees and notes:
Since the word aeon, aion or age, in Scripture, may denote either the present finite age, or the future endless age, in order to determine the meaning of " aeonian " ( aionios), it is necessary first to determine in which of the two eons, the limited or the endless, the thing exists to which the epithet is applied; because anything in either Aeon may be denominated " Aeonian.. If anything belongs solely to the present age, or aeon, it is aeonian in the limited signification; if it belongs to the future age, or aeon, it is aeonian in the unlimited signification.