Romans – God’s Timeline XI: The Fourth Eon, Introduced

 

The Fourth Eon

We will now begin considering uses of the word eon which could only refer to a specific period of time in the future. When we refer to the Divine Calendar, we see that we are dealing with the fourth eon. The fourth eon, as we have previously considered, is the fourth world, the millennial kingdom.

I can’t remember if I said this before, so I’ll say it again: the fourth eon and the second eon are juxtaposed. We will consider this in more detail when we consider “the administrations,” but for now, we may point at the obvious: from Adam to Noah (eon 2,) the world was increasingly irreverent (Gen. 4:16-24, 6:1-5, Ju. 1:14-15.) There was no righteous rule on the planet to speak of – it was, in a very real sense, every man for himself (Gen. 4:23-24.) In contrast, the thousand year reign of Christ will not accept any irreverence. The citizens in Christ’s kingdom will have the law written in their hearts (Jer. 31:33-34,) and He will shepherd the outlying nations with an iron club (Rev. 19:15.) Irreverence will be forcefully subjected, and there will be no place for evil to hide.

The symmetry here, I think, gives strong credibility to the “five eons” notion, for God is structured in His word, His creation, and His hierarchy. Why would this cease to be, time-wise? I wouldn’t submit it as “undeniable evidence,” but it’s certainly appealing in a logistical sense. Nevertheless, we will be considering the undeniable evidence which will prove that the following uses of the word “eon” not only refer to the following eon, but that the following eon is indeed the millennial kingdom.

“Eon,” Singular: The Coming Eon

The fact that there is a “coming” aion is further evidence that aion cannot mean “eternity.” The thought in both passages which utilize this phrase are lost if we forced such an assumption. The fourth eon, as previously considered, is the fourth world, the millennial kingdom. As we consider each use of “the coming eon,” “the impending eon,” and “that eon,” let’s see if this interpretation carries any validity.

The first appearance of “the coming eon” is found in Mark 10:30–

Jesus averred to [Peter,] “Verily, I am saying to you that there is no one who leaves a house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, on My account and on account of the evangel, who should not be getting back a hundredfold now, in this era, houses and brothers and sisters and mother and father and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the coming eon, life eonian.”

We will return to this phrase, as well, when we consider the term “eonian.” For now, “this era,” in which Jesus is speaking of the years when His evangel to His chosen nation were in view, is complemented by the coming eon. A future time period is undoubtedly in view, and, considering Jesus’ evangel is the evangel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23,) it is safe to say that the coming eon, by proxy, is the kingdom. We will consider the phrase “life eonian” later.

The other appearance of “the coming eon” is found in Luke 18:30–

Now [Jesus] said to [the disciples,] “Verily, I am saying to you that there is no one who leaves house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children on account of the kingdom of God, who may not by all means be getting back manyfold in this era, and in the coming eon, life eonian.”

The same thought is provided, here. “The coming eternity” has no beginning, hence will never “arrive,” and has no ending, thus can never “be consummated” (cf 1 Cor. 10:11.)

“Eon,” Singular: The Impending Eon

The impending eon. This interesting little word “impending” is mello, literally “BE-ABOUT.” We first saw this word back in Rom. 4:24, when we read that righteousness “is about” to be reckoned to those believing on Him Who rouses Jesus from among the dead. The word typically concerns us with a timeline of events; Paul contrasts the present with that which is “about to be” in 1 Cor. 3:22. Herod was “about to be” seeking Jesus to kill Him and preserve his kingship. The term appears 111 times in the Greek, and is well worth the study. English idiom prevents the term from being translated uniformly, so it is sometimes translated “impending,” as that is a good adjective form of something that is “about to be.”

We considered Matt. 12:32 previously, in relation to that “unpardonable sin” (which is not for “eternity,” as we’re clearly seeing, but tell that to Satan’s children!) Let’s look at the verse once more:

And whosoever may be saying a word against the Son of Mankind, it will be pardoned him, yet whoever may be saying aught against the holy spirit, it shall not be pardoned him, neither in this eon nor in that which is impending.

We may stress “that which is impending” here because it is specifically regarded as the eon which follows this eon. If the fourth eon concerns the duration of the millennial kingdom, and, during the millennial kingdom, Christ rules righteously and leaves no room for irreverence, it follows that this eon would, naturally, not pardon blasphemy against the holy spirit, either. Indeed, discussing the kingdom of God and the time for Israel to produce ideal fruit is very much the context of this passage (Matt. 12:28-33.)

We may also revisit Ephesians 1:21–

[God rouses Christ] from among the dead… 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…

The stress here is on the impending eon. The sovereignty, authority, power and lordship of the Christ is hidden during this eon. Satan is still demonstrating his failure to subject (2 Cor. 4:4.) The only ones, it seems, who have any certainty as to Christ’s true authority over all at present are Satan himself (which he has had to disguise and hide,) and the body of Christ. The impending eon, however, will see the universe’s greatest adversary bound for a thousand years, leaving Christ’s authority, as Son of David (giving Him special kingship over Israel,) Son of Abraham (stretching His authority over the entirey of Israel’s history,) and Son of Adam (giving Him authority over all mankind,) with no opposition. Irrational disagreement on this fact will not be tolerated in the impending kingdom.

There is one new use of the exact phrase, “the impending eon,” found in Heb. 6:5–

For it is impossible for those once enlightened, besides tasting the celestial gratuity and becoming partakers of holy spirit, and tasting the ideal declaration of God, besides the powerful deeds of the impending eon, and falling aside, to be renewing them again to repentance while crucifying for themselves the Son of God again and holding Him up to infamy.

Ah, Hebrews. The greatly misunderstood letter. I have said before on this blog that I am not knowledgeable on Hebrews, and I stand by that statement, but what I have learned, I have shared, and will do so here as well:

Hebrews… is written to Hebrews.

I know, I feel your shock, and I’m willing to work through it here too. Hebrews is just that! A Hebrew letter! I doubt most expositors have taken the time to point this out to you, and often point at Hebrews willy-nilly as if there are truths there that we may personally apply to our identity and standing in Christ. I am here to tell you, today, that this is not true, and will be given a simple demonstration when we reach the “administrations” portion of this study. The letter here, written to Hebrews, concerns their concern over the end of Acts (28:28.) It resumes the topic by dealing with the question, "If Israel is set aside nationally, then in the meantime, what of the faithful Hebrew, who had been waiting for the kingdom? The Pharisees kind of ruined it for them, and now they’re on hold while Paul screws around with the Greeks, so…"

Hmmm. That question was going somewhere, but kind of fell off at the end. Oh well. You get it.

The verse in view is in the middle of a longer breakdown of “The Order of Melchizedek.” The verse itself is a commentary on the “holy spirit” receivers in the first half of Acts, who were filled with its power and able to participate in some of the powers which will be inherent in many during the millennial kingdom (Acts 1:5, 8, 2:5, 4:31, etc.)

These individuals “tasted” the powers of the impending eon. The powers that came upon them receded throughout the book of Acts. During Paul’s ministry, the “power” of the holy spirit becomes less and less apparent. And, well after the fact, when writing to Timothy from prison, Paul does not recommend the power of the holy spirit to Timothy to help his tummy turns, but a sip of wine, a very practical resolve (1 Tim. 5:23.) Thus we see a practical demonstration of these powers being “tasted,” and then being “held back.”

“Eon,” Singular: That Eon

We covered the one use of “that eon” before, Luke 20:35. Let’s take another look at it–

And, answering, Jesus said to them, “The sons of this eon are marrying and are taking out in marriage. Yet those deemed worthy to happen upon that eon and the resurrection from among the dead are neither marrying nor taking out in marriage.”

The phrase “this eon” from verse 34 is contrasted with “that eon,” of verse 35, which will be the millennial kingdom which Jesus was speaking of. The “problem” the Sadducees presented was ignorant to the point of the law of marrying a widow. It was an unfortunate caveat in the face of death, which itself is unnatural. This will not be the case during the kingdom, as doers of the law will live, and those who are in the kingdom will have the law written in their hearts (Jer. 31:33-34.) Marriage, as Jesus points out here, will also no longer have a place in resurrection. As marriage is still indeed prevalent today, we cannot yet be in “that eon.”

“Eon,” Singular: For the Day of the Eon

There is only one passage with the use “the day of the eon,” in 2 Pet. 3:18–

Yet be growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now, as well as for the day of the eon. Amen!

Here, yet again, the simple grammar of the phrase debars any notion that aion could mean “eternal” or “everlasting” in the phrase, being directly enjoined with the term “day.” The day of the eon will be the beginning of that beloved kingdom, which Peter so longed for and holds the keys to.

“Eon,” Singular: For the Eon

Alrighty, let’s go over the rest of the uses of “for the eon.”  The phrase “for the eon” appears far more often, contextually, in relation to the millennial eon. This will now be demonstrated, in tandem with the fact that it cannot mean “eternity.”

In many famous verses, you will find it extraordinarily difficult to find this phrase, “for the eon,” as the phrase eis ton aion has been mistranslated so as to read “for ever,” casting passages such as John 6:51 in a perplexing light (“If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” More on this verse and its complexity in the next article.) When we consider the evidence which came before (that is, all the uses of this phrase which we have considered thus far in the prior article,) and translate the terms harmoniously, in the same way as before, we find its proper force in regards the following eon.

I will first point at the complementary passage to Matt. 12:31-32, found in Mark 3:29–

Whoever should be blaspheming against the holy spirit is having no pardon for the eon, but is liable to the eonian penalty for the sin…

Here Jesus gives the truth revealed under a different context from Matthew 12. This phrase is used in conjunction to the eonian penalty for the sin, which we will deal with further when we consider each use of the term “eonian.” This is one of the few verses which could refer either to this eon or the next, which is why I mention it first (I’d rather be upfront on my own misunderstandings, unlike a few translations I know.)

The next passage, however, is not so unclear. Let’s observe Luke 1:55, the tail end of Miriam’s elated proclamations–

He supported Israel, His boy, to be remined of mercy (according as He speaks to our fathers) to Abraham and to his seed, for the eon.

The faulty translation here is “forever” in most popular versions. It is impossible for this verse to read “forever,” for they are currently set aside in apostasy, and will be facing an indignation harsher than any prior indignation in all the history of man. Though you could fairly say that God is having mercy on… well, everyone right now, the context speaks specifically of Miriam receiving her Son Who will pull down potentates from thones and exult the humble (Luke 1:52.) This has not as of yet occurred – nor has Israel’s mercy (which, let’s be honest, is that they would be a channel by which to bless the nations at all,) been imposed upon the nation. The phrase “for the eon,” then, is the only rational translation (maybe Young’s Literal “to the age,” though I dislike the ‘to’ translation.) To say that it is “forever” hides this current apostasy from the earth, and the only ones who want God’s word on this matter to be hidden are Israel and Satan.

This is but one of many instances where “forever” is used in place of “for the eon” in regards to the upcoming millennial kingdom (once again, laid out by the god of this eon, who blinds the apprehensions of the unbelieving, as we read in 2 Cor. 4:4.) In the next article, we will be considering the full scope of this damaging mistranslation, and exposing it for the prideful lie that it truly is.

- GerudoKing