The Five Eons (Ages)
God's plan for the
salvation of mankind by Jesus Christ consists of working that plan
through the eons (ages). It was conceived in the heart of God who purposed all things
after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11).
That plan is being accomplished one step at a time in each succeeding age.
Ephesians 3:11 (Diaglott) according to a
plan of the ages, which he formed in Anointed Jesus the Lord of us;
In
the previous article on "The Plan of God" we examined scriptures
that revealed that the plan has 5 eons (ages), also referred to in
scripture as "eonian times". As far as we know, the Bible indicates
5 distinct eons.
Our all-wise heavenly Father planned the events of each successive
eon
from the very first one unto the last one culminating in the
consummation. If you remove
God's plan of the eons
from your understanding, then your spiritual treasure house of hope
will be incomplete.
Understanding God's plan opens to us entirely new and greater vistas
of the love, wisdom and power of God.
It is not any longer a
question of the Church working to get souls saved, but it has become
the reality of God working out His plan and purpose for all people
through the eons
He created.
All the
eons are
created for Jesus the Christ.
Hebrews 1:2 (ECB)
and in these final days
speaks to us in Son: whom he placed heir of all; through whom also
he made the eons:
The 5
eons are:
the
Disruption, Gen. 1:2
the Deluge, Gen. 6
the Day of
Indignation,
Rom.
2:5
the
judgment Rev. 20
the consummation
This
entire long phase is called eonian
times in scripture. Though
these times deal with long periods, nevertheless, each one of the
five always has a beginning, and an ending. Every ending has a
calamitous effect.
The first eon
This first eon that began with the
creation of the physical universe. After
completing their planning and design, God
(Elohim) formed physical
laws, matter, and life by converting spirit into the physical
universe. Man had not been
created yet.
HEB
11:3 (KJV) –
the things which are seen
were not made of things which are visible.
Genesis 1:1
(CLV)
Created by the Elohim were
the heavens and the earth.
Isaiah 45:18
(CLV)
For thus says Yahweh,
Creator of the heavens; He is the Elohim, and Former of the earth,
and its Maker, and He, He established it. He did not create it a
chaos. He formed it to be indwelt. “I am Yahweh, and there is none
else.”
Isaiah 45:18
(KJV)
For thus saith the LORD that
created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it;
he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it
to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
The
physical universe was not created in state of chaos.
It became that way at some
time after the initial creation This
event is often referred to as the disruption.
Genesis 1:2 (CLV) Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and
darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos. Yet the spirit
of the Elohim is vibrating over the surface of the water.
The
Concordant translates the Hebrew as became chaos and vacant.
The King James translates the Hebrew
as it became without form and void.
The earth was "perfect" when it was
created, but something catastrophic happened afterward.
The earth became a chaos and
void. Physical evidence for
the disruption abounds in the geology of the earth, which predates
the great flood of Noah's time by millions of years. Some people
believe that the disruption occurred when Satan was brought into
existence to play his part as the Adversary of God.
God allowed him to unleash
his destructive power to cause the disruption.
It may well have been a time
that the pre-historic creatures roamed the earth, all of which
perished in the cataclysm.
Now God would renew the
surface of the earth and make it ready for His creation of man.
Psalms 104:30
(CLV) You send forth Your
spirit; they are created, And You renew the face of the ground.”
The
second eon commences with the renewal of the earth and the creation
of everything necessary for man and his existence, including man
himself.
The second eon
A long time after the disruption God
renewed the face of the earth in preparation for his supreme
creation.
Genesis 1:3 – 5 (CLV)
And saying is the Elohim,
“Become light!” And it is becoming light.4 And seeing is the Elohim
the light, that it is good. And separating is the Elohim between the
light and the darkness. 5
And calling is the Elohim the light "day, and the darkness He
calls "night." And coming is it to be evening and coming to be
morning, day one.
Then God (Elohim) continues
creating for the next six days as we read in the verses Gen 1:2- 26.
). How long ago did this
stage of creation take place? Many believe that according to the
Bible the creation of the physical universe was only about 6,000
years ago. However, the text allows for a different interpretation.
A close examination of the Scriptures reveals that there could have
been a long period of time between the original creation of the
earth and the re-creation of all that was on it described in Genesis
1:3-31.
There are some very strong
proponents of a day being a literal 24 hour period.
This is a point of
considerable contention. The
day can also be understood as a Hebrew idiom, representing an
unknown length of time. The
Hebrew word is YOM (H3117). The
concordances indicate it has a wide range of meanings, not just a 24
hour period. A good web site
which discusses this topic including the meaning of sunrise to
sunset is:
http://godandscience.org/youngearth/longdays.html
So
in the first and second chapters of Genesis are described the
beginning of mankind in the Garden of Eden. It is interesting that
despite this being a Paradise where Adam
and Eve lived in the presence of God, Satan existed even in this
place. The serpent lived in their midst, and had access to Adam and
Eve so as to tempt them. This was not a neutral setting, where Adam
and Eve would simply live in obedience to God. The evil one lived
among them, and tempted them. We
know what happened.
Thus began the deterioration
of man. Once expelled from
the Garden, mankind follows a steady course of sin and
self-destruction. Cain kills Abel. Evil runs rampant.
Mankind degenerates to such
a great degree that God destroys them all in a great flood, also
called the Deluge. This most
certainly does not mean that God made a mistake in this second eon
because of what happened. But
it does tell us that without knowledge of God and His ways leads to
ruin. Sin results in death.
In Genesis 6 we find the wicked being
destroyed and only the righteous Noah and his family surviving.
Thus end the second eon and
the third eon commences.
The third eon
The third eon emerged from that watery destruction with a new
beginning. We are
presently in that third eon.
It
began when Noah and his family exited the ark.
It is interesting that he
and his family are unique because they lived in the previous eon as
well as the present one. The
long third eon will end when the greatest tribulation ends with the
return of Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
From
Noah and his sons, the earth was repopulated greatly.
But we read on, and mankind
continues to be sinful and do evil. At
Babel
(Genesis 11) God finds it necessary to confuse the tongues of
mankind, and scatter rebellious mankind.
God
then began to deal with specific individuals and nations as part of
His plan. Abraham was called
and was given unconditional promises of blessings for mankind.
The nation of
Israel
was formed and they were to be an example to the other nations
around them. They failed.
Jesus Christ was born from
the nation of
Israel
and became the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
This
third eon
is remarkable because it is the age where Satan is ruler of the
world and also the age of grace. When
this eon
ends, the fourth eon
begins and is the millennium.
The fourth
eon
The fourth eon
begins with Jesus Christ taking ruler ship of the earth with His
resurrected saints for 1000 years and disposing of Satan for this
time period. This fourth
eon
is described as the coming eon
or the impending
eon in scripture.
There are many scriptures in
the Old Testament as well as the New giving information on this
righteous rule of Christ on the earth for 1000 years.
It is a time when swords
will be beaten into plowshares, nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, the wolf
shall dwell with the lamb. It
will be a time of peace and prosperity.
Rule of Christ will be with
a rod of iron.
Righteousness
will reign. Sins by people
will continue because of carnal human nature.
But the sins will not be of
the severity as in the previous eons under the sway of Satan (Isa.
30:21). Note that some of
the gentile nations will not be in total subjection to Christ's rule
since we read in Zachariah 14 that there will be nations that will
refuse to come to
Jerusalem
to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. They
will experience drought on the land.
After the 1000 years are over, Satan is
loosed for a while, deceiving the nations.
Rev 20:1 (KJV) And I saw an
angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 (KJV) And he laid
hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 (KJV) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him
up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he
must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 (KJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had
received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Thereafter
the fifth and final eon
begins. It commences with the new heavens and new earth,
resurrection of the rest of the dead and the White Throne Judgement.
The fifth and final eon
This
last eon is mentioned primarily in the last 3 chapter of Revelation.
It is also alluded to in 2
Pet. 3. The last eon is when
God the Father descends from Heaven to dwell with mankind.
2
Peter 3:10 (KJV) 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.
2
Peter 3:11 (KJV) Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy
conversation and godliness,
2
Peter 3:12 (KJV) 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?
2
Peter 3:13 (KJV) Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Rev.
20:11 (KJV) And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on
it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there
was found no place for them.
The
white throne occurs at the last eon.
It is the time of the resurrection of the rest of the dead.
It is the resurrection to
judgement. It will also be a
time of peace and joy, and all unrighteousness will be removed.
Rev
20:12 (KJV) And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works.
Rev 20:13 (KJV) And the sea gave up
the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to
their works.
It is surprising that most
students of the Scriptures practically ignore this last
eon.
Perhaps because it seems so
distant and obscure. Much
more is made of the millennium when Christ rules with His saints on
the earth after the great tribulation of the third
eon.
The
last eon is when the rest of the dead are resurrected and the earth
is renewed with fervent heat, heavenly
Jerusalem
descends to earth. This is
the time of the white throne judgement for all resurrected mankind.
God dwells with mankind
(still flesh) during the final eon
and judges from His white throne in righteous judgement.
This
eon is a
time when mankind will dwell in peace and harmony under the ruler
ship of Christ (no rod of iron in this
eon).
We
are told in Revelation that in this eon there is no need for the
sun, people will not die during this eon because of access to the
tree of life, there will be fruit of trees for healing of nations.
No more death because of
taking the tree of life during this eon..
It is evident from this that
a tree of life can counteract the effects of mortality. It imparts
life, which is the opposite of the death which operates in us. God
did not want Adam to live indefinitely and in this last
eon He
does want the sons of mankind to live. So He
provides a tree of life in the very center of the paradise to come.
The
fact that there will be no more death on the earth is only hindered
by the presence of the tree of life.
The last
eon will be one of exceptional earthly blessedness.
Rev
21:1 (KJV) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more
sea.
Rev 21:2 (KJV) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.
Rev 21:3 (KJV) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away.
At the end of this last eon,
the consummation occurs. The
consummation is not described in revelation but in I Cor. 15.
The consummation is when God
becomes All in All. It is at
the conclusion of eonian times.
1
Cor 15:26 (KJV) The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death.
1
Cor 15:27 (KJV) For he hath put all
things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under
him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things
under him.
1
Cor 15:28 (KJV)
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the
Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him,
that God may be all in all.
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