Romans – God’s Timeline X: The Third Eon, Continued

 

“Eon,” Singular: For the Eon

The next major phrase in the New Testament which refers to the current eon is “for the eon.” This phrase is sometimes used of the current eon (which are the only uses which we will first consider here,) and it is sometimes used of the next eon (which we will consider when we begin talking about the fourth eon.) This is a more heavily debated phrase, even among those in the body of Christ. I pray that all believers gain the wisdom to consider the context of each use of the passage, as this is the key to apprehending which eon is in view.

(Side note: We have, I think, fully demonstrated at this point that aion cannot possibly mean “eternity.” At this point, most expositors would ease up on pointing out how it cannot mean eternity. I will not be doing this, and will be pointing out that, lest we have the memory of a goldfish, we have demonstrated multiple times that it cannot possibly be translated “eternity” without abandoning many other verses in the text, especially including the immediate contexts. In truth, we only need one example of this for the point to be made – yet I made twenty-one. Let us press on with the twenty-one prior examples in mind, so that, if it does not become immediately apparent that “eternity” is a false translation of the word, articles 6-9 still exist for your reading pleasure!)

The first appearance of the phrase “for the eon” in reference to this eon is Matthew 21:19, where Jesus gets mad at a fig tree:

Now in the morning, leading them back into the city, He hungers. And, perceiving one fig tree on the roadside, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And He is saying to it, “No longer, by any means, may fruit be coming of you for the eon.” And withered instantly is the fig tree.

We see another aspect of this event from Mark (11:14)–

And on the morrow, at their coming out from Bethany, He hungers. And perceiving one fig tree from afar having leaves, He came, if, consequently, He will be finding anything on it. And coming to it, He found nothing except leaves, for it was not the season of figs. And answering, He said to it, “By no means may anyone still be eating fruit of you for the eon.”

Okay, okay, as amusing as it may be, Jesus is not simply hangry, as the kiddos say. This is thematic and figurative for the nation of Israel, who is often figured as a fig tree in the text (Jer. 24, Hos. 9:10, etc.) As such, this figure should come as no surprise to the learned Israelite. Jesus would naturally be referencing the apostate condition of the nation. This is more readily inferred from the latter example, in which it was “not the season” of figs – i.e. it was not the time for Israel to be bearing worthy fruit. They had not yet grown into a people willing and able to be subjected by their God, under His authority in the millennial kingdom, and the bulk of Jesus’ brushes with the Pharisees simply demonstrates this.

Therefore, when Jesus mentions the eon, and the fig tree withers and dies immediately (alluding the imminent destruction of their second temple,) it can only be understood that this refers to now.

Of course, the positive side of this is that this apostasy will not last (Rom. 11:26.) All Israel shall be saved, and their kingdom and Messiah will arrive – in the next world, or eon, when they will be able to bear fruit, no longer withered (Matt. 24:32, Mark 13:28.) Once again, we may readily understand from this that “eternity” cannot be translation, or Israel would never bear fruit again, making Paul, John on Patmos, and Peter liars for claiming that the millennial kingdom will still come about.

We see the confusion of the throng in John 12:34–

The throng, then, answered Him, “We hear out of the law that the Christ is remaining for the eon, and how are you saying that the Son of Mankind must be exalted? Who is the Son of Mankind?”

These poor folk simply did not apprehend Who Jesus was, that is, the Chief of this world, who was about to be judged by those in it (12:31.) The holy spirit which we believers today are baptized into (more on this in Romans 6,) and which the apostles were filled with to enact great and powerful deeds in the first half of Acts, is the fulfilment of the throng’s concern – is the Christ remaining for the eon, as was proclaimed by David? Indeed He is, and to this very day we are joined to Him (Rom. 6:1-7,) making us new creations (2 Cor. 5:17,) the firstfruits among those who are being drawn to Christ, as He declared He would do (John 12:32, Rom. 3:21-26, 5:18-19, Eph. 1:9-11, Col. 1:20, 1 Tim. 2:4, 4:10.)

(Note that this passage could be referring to the following eon; I’m not quite sure on that point, yet. Could be a double entendre, but let’s not get fancy, here.)

While one could, for their own judgmental purposes, forcefully impose “eternity” into the passage, here, without the passage losing much force, the fact is that the passage in John is concerned with “this world” (12:31,) which aligns with the eon in reference. To alter this to uphold some other pre-supposed doctrine is shoddy work (Matt. 7:21-23.)

Anyway, let’s watch Peter get shocked. Here’s John 13:5-8, a passage that is such a treat, thematically, that you may have missed that aion dwells in its midst:

Thereafter [Jesus] is draining water into the basin, and begins washing the feet of the disciples and wiping them off with the cloth with which He was girded. He is coming, then, to Simon Peter. And he is saying to Him, “Lord, You are washing my feet!”

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you are not aware at present, yet you will know after these things.”

Peter is saying to Him, “Under no circumstances should You be washing my feet for the eon!”

Jesus answered him, “If ever I should not be washing you, you are having no part with Me.”

Mmmm, I love this prose. It never gets old. There is much for us to dwell on in this passage, but alas, we are to focus on aion specifically, here. Peter evidently did not understand that it is Jesus’ place to be humble and lowly at present. Peter would not realize that Jesus was his demonstration until after the fact. No doubt this honored him in his day to day meditations in his life. For the eon, the Christ is to suffer and be made low. This is not merely true of His earthly sojourn, but of His experiences in His saints today, daily. It would be arguable that this phrase fits the context of the coming millennial eon, if it were spoken by Jesus, I think. But the fact that Peter speaks it demonstrates its lack of apprehension at the current event happening in front of his face.

Can this be translated as “eternity?” Assuredly not, given Jesus’ reply. “If ever I should not be watching you” gives us the clue that Jesus did not believe Peter told him that He would not “eternally” wash his feet (it would make for a rather boring perpetuity, too.)

We can explore another use of “for the eon” a little further on, in John 14:16–

And I shall be asking the Father, and He will be giving you another consoler, that it, indeed, may be with you for the eon…

This use of “for the eon” refers to the period of time in which Israel does not yet have their promised millennial kingdom (for, there is no other period of time in which the faithful need consoled!) We will cover this verse in relation to the Acts period, concerning the “consoler” itself, in the “administrational” portion of the study.

Our final consideration, at present, for “for the eon,” will be 1 Cor. 8:13. This use of the term will be our final consideration of aion in 1 Corinthians.

Now in thus sinning against brethren, and beating their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Wherefore, if food is snaring my brother, I may under no circumstances be eating meat for the eon, lest I should be snaring my brother.

This is another self-evident example, I think, in which “for the eon” can only refer to the present. Paul is not only speaking of a hypothetical concerning himself at present, but speaks of the potentiality for one brother to sin against another, which is only possible in this present wicked eon, in which the dying flesh has not yet caught up to the internal verities of our respective spirits, which are now life (Rom. 8:10-11.)

Finally, this cannot, again, mean “eternity,” for one does not live apart from time, nor would one living apart from time (such as God, Who at present is the only One Who could claim such an ideal) have the need to eat meat, or to snare another with it.

This concludes almost every use of the phrase “for the eon” which concerns this current eon. I stress “almost,” as there is, in truth, one more use of the phrase, but it must be considered with the others, and you’ll see why when we get there.

“Eon,” Singular: From the Eon

There are three uses of aion in the singular form, which are in the phrase, “from the eon.” All three of them are penned by Luke. First, in Luke 1:70, when Zechariah is filled with holy spirit and speaks after being mute during his wife’s pregnancy with John–

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, For He visits, and makes a redemption for His people, And rouses a horn of salvation for us In the house of David, His boy, According as He speaks through the mouth of His holy prophets, who are from the eon…

Of course, no one would (or… should, I dunno, we have comment sections) argue that the prophets in question are our fans Ezekiel, Jonah, Jeremiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Isaiah, and more, all of whom are from the eon we are in now, and not a later one. And, unless you would call these individuals like God Himself, you cannot say that they are “from eternity,” for they died, a long, long time ago.

Acts 3:21 gets more specific. Peter says,

…heaven must receive [Christ Jesus] until the times of restoration of all which God speaks through the mouth of His holy prophets who are from the eon.

Sorry, Acts 3:22-24 get more specific, including Moses and “all the prophets from Samuel” as some of the “holy prophets” who are from the eon in view.

This is a brief aside, but I feel it must be mentioned. A year or two ago (if it’s still around today, I am not aware,) there was a growing theory among a few in Christ that there are not five eons, as there are worlds, but seven eons. Not only does such a theory not line up with the five demonstrable worlds in view, but I believe that the verse above aptly demonstrates the fallibility of this claim. One of the proposals of this theory is that the crucifixion of Jesus caused a new eon to unfold, yet Peter refers to this eon with the same force and verbiage as Zechariah, deferring to the same prophets of Israel. Zechariah, of course, makes his proclamation before Christ’s death, while Peter makes his after – yet the eon evidently remains the same.

We find one more use of the phrase “from the eon,” found in Acts 15:18. In context, this is one of the references in Acts to the fact that Paul is spreading a separate evangel to the nations, which, as Paul himself observed in Rom. 1:2, was promised before through His prophets in the holy scriptures. Observe 15:14-18–

Simeon unfolds how God first visits the nations, to obtain out of them a people for His name. And with this agree the words of the prophets, according as it is written,

‘After these things I will turn back, And I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen… And its overturned structure will I rebuild, And I will re-erect it… So that those left of mankind should be seeking out the Lord, And all the nations, on them over whom My name is invoked, Is saying the Lord, Who is doing these things.’

Known from the eon to the Lord is His work.

This verse further elaborates upon the fact that the eon itself began after Noah stepped off the ark, as both Israel’s prophecy and God’s fulfillment of it, both before and after Christ’s crucifixion, are encompassed in the eon. Moreover, this word could not mean “eternity,” for the very work of calling out individuals from nations is not said to be eternal, but to last for a specific amount of time (2 Thess. 2:1-12, Rom. 11:25.)

“Eon,” Singular: Out of the Eon

There is one singular use of this phrase, “out of the eon,” found in John 9:32–

From out of the eon it is not heard that anyone opens the eyes of one born blind.

…Yes, that about sums it up. Jesus is the only one who has ever truly done this apart from human sleight. The power our Lord displays is, in truth, not merely “His” power, but the power of His God and Father (John 5:19.) This power will be dwelling in those who have the law written in their hearts, in the coming kingdom – thus, through Israel, all the nations will be blessed (Gen. 12:3, 22:18.)

If we remove the concept of time from this phrase, that is, to make it say, “From out of eternity,” the thought of the verse is lost, for there would be no basis or point of reference for the Pharisees to grasp the second half of the sentence.

“Eon,” Singular: The Conclusion of the Eon

Man. There are five individual uses of an actual phrase in scripture: sunteleia tou aionos, “the conclusion of the eon,” and yet there are people who genuinely believe that aion means “eternity”?? How, exactly? Please, tell me – how does eternity conclude??

And of course, the KJV guys don’t give a shit, instead giving us the ominous end of the world phrase which the pastors have used to browbeat and fear-monger for 500 years straight. No – it’s not end, but conclusion, and there’s not some light that just snuffs out and all that’s left are the morally pious sipping mimosas with Abraham in heaven. Each verse which acknowledges that an eon concludes implicitly concedes that another eon commences shortly thereafter.

Of the five appearances of the phrase “conclusion of the eon,” only four refer to the present eon. Let’s take a brief look at these first two uses of the phrase, starting with Jesus’ elaboration on the parable of the sowing (Matt. 13:24-30,) to His disciples, in Matt. 13:37-40–

Now [Jesus,] answering, said, “He Who is sowing the ideal seed is the Son of Mankind. Now the field is the world. Now the ideal seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. Now the darnel are the sons of the wicked one. Now the enemy who sows them is the Adversary.

Now the harvest is the conclusion of the eon. Now the reapers are the messengers. Even as the darnel, then, are being culled and burned up with fire, thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon.

I love this. Matt. 13:24-30 is the code, and verses 37-40 are its cypher. From this, we are expressly told how this eon will end. We may insert the key into the lock and twist it thus:

“Jesus spends the eon preparing His children for the kingdom. Yet while He and His faithful workers toil to effect this goal, the Adversary comes along and establishes others who look like they would be fit to be Jesus’ children, but are, in truth, vain imposters who look the part, but cannot play the part. The children are confused, and subsequently wish for the removal of these imposters. Jesus, however, points out that removing them now in the middle of the eon will only cause others to take their place, and will expose His children to severe chastisement from the world. So, instead, He waits patiently to the conclusion of the eon to expose and eradicate all of the hypocrites at once, and then resurrect His fallen saints to enjoy the prosperous kingdom with the law written on their hearts.”

We learn, in this, a critical detail that the conclusion of the eon will destroy the chief men of this eon. There is one major passage which demonstrates this, and it is Revelation 19:11-21, when Jesus returns and wipes the irreverent kings, captains, strong, and more from the face of the earth. If aion meant “eternity,” then this, of course, would be an impossibility, and Revelation (as well as Jesus’ parable itself) would never reach fruition. And, furthermore, this further shows that there are five eons, and the cross does not consummate the eon, for Jesus’ statements here do not come to pass at Golgotha.

Jesus adds another detail to the conclusion of the eon later in Matthew 13. Let’s read 13:47-49–

Again, like is the kingdom of the heavens to a dragnet cast into the sea, which gathers of every species, and, when it was filled full, hauling it up on the beach and being seated, they cull the ideal into crocks, yet the rotten they cast out. Thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon.

Once again, we see the same idea – the sons of the kingdom being “harvested” after the sons of the Adversary, who have been disposed of, at the conclusion of the eon. As we considered in the first few articles of this study, the “sea” represents chaos – in this national perspective, to Israel, it represents the sons of the kingdom having been dispersed among the nations, carried about. The kingdom has cast a wide net, and many various objects have been caught within it. The rotten are disposed of, just as the darnel are culled and burned, and the eon – not the eternity, because that’s an increasingly ignorant notion – concludes therein.

We have one more use of this phrase, in Matt. 24:3–

Now at [Jesus’] sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what is the sign of Your presence and of the conclusion of the eon?”

In the following chapter, Jesus gives many prophetic glimpses into the conclusion of the eon, which align with John’s claims in Revelation. This would be a longer study, which I will not undertake at present, but there are many studies in which these comparisons are given (see: The Unveiling of Jesus Christ by A.E. Knoch, or The Series on Revelation by Martin Zender.)

The First Three Eons Identified

We have, then, identified the first three eons. The first ends with a major rebellion (the cause of which can only be known when we recognize the purpose of the eons in a future article.) The second begins with sin’s entrance into the eon’s respective world, grows in irreverence (Gen. 4:6-20,) and ends with a necessary flood to wipe out human life (Gen. 6-8.) The third commences with the establishment of the nations, and, as we see, ends with God’s repudiation of the joined (“united”) nations as one beast. The fourth, then, will concern us with the millennial kingdom, which will be the righteous anti-type to man’s failure to govern properly. More on this in the next articles.

- GerudoKing