Romans – God’s Timeline XV: Elaborating on ‘The Eons of the Eons’

 

Christ’s Rule Subordinate to God’s Rule

There is nothing that the Son has effected that had not been the will of His Father – nor would He have been able to effect it apart from His Father. Christ is never once said to be the Cause of anything. The Main Character of God’s story? Sure. The Reason for the story? Indeed. But not the absolute Source of anything. The Son’s place as subject to the Father is fully realized with every step the Son takes.

It follows that any revelation which would run counter to this truth is, really, not a revelation. It is argued that Christ taking a place subordinate to the Father is a poor slander as to the might of the Son. Yet the fact that God would use His Son in all, to nurture and grow His universe into the perfection which awaits it (Rom. 8:20-21,) should highlight the true trust between the Father and the Son. The Father would entrust no other Figure with such an honor. Worse still, if Christ reigns forever, then He never fully subjects mankind and dissolves death’s sting (though He claims He will, per 1 Cor. 15:26, and 15:54-55.) Such a knee-jerk reaction to ignore this component to their relationship, then, would not serve us well in deepening our understanding of the truth.

That Christ is God’s presentation of His own might and glory during the final two eons, reversing insubjection, is evident in many places in scripture. See here, for example, 1 Pet. 4:10-11–

Each, according as he obtained a gracious gift, be dispensing it among yourselves, as ideal administrators of the varied grace of God.

If anyone is speaking, as the oracles of God,

if anyone is dispensing, as out of the strength which God is furnishing,

that in all God may be glorified, through Jesus Christ, to Whom is the glory and the might for the eons of the eons. Amen!

And again, in 1 Pet. 5:11–

Now the God of all grace, Who calls you into His eonian glory in Christ, while briefly suffering, He will be adjusting, establishing, firming, founding you. To Him be glory and might for the eons of the eons. Amen!

Notice, in both of these passages, the connection to present conduct, in the present eon (the latter even explicitly noting the suffering of Christ,) in conjunction with Christ’s effectual glory. This adds further weight to the nature of the phrase “eons of the eons,” which, as we discussed in the previous article, directly enjoins the prior (technically present) place of Christ with His future glorification.

The pattern appears twice more in Revelation. Observe Rev. 1:6–

To [Jesus Christ,] Who is loving us and looses us from our sins by His blood and makes us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and might for the eons of the eons! Amen!

And again, in Rev. 5:11-13–

I perceived, and I hear a sound as of many messengers around the throne and the animals and the elders… saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lambkin slain To get power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and underneath the earth and on the sea, and all in them, I hear also saying, “To Him Who is sitting on the throne-To the Lambkin-Be blessing and honor and glory and might for the eons of the eons!”

Note again, in both of the Revelation passages, that the sacrifice is brought to attention, once again, in conjunction with His following honors. That this dichotomy has been demonstrable in every instance so far, aligns grammatically with the phrase “eons of the eons,” and fits harmoniously with the indication that five eons are in view, is absolutely no accident.

This gives us an implicit motif within this phrase, so that, when passages like this, in Rev. 7:12, appear:

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be our God’s for the eons of the eons. Amen!

We know why blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be their God’s. Further, we know that their God, Israel’s God, is Christ (Luke 1:55.) This is, again, the only means by which God subjects the holy nation, and, through that holy nation, subjects all: through the Son (1 Cor. 15:24-28.) Thus we read, in Heb. 13:21–

Now may the God of peace, Who is leading up our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, from among the dead by the blood of the eonian covenant, be adapting you to every good work to do His will, doing in us what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!

Amen, indeed.

Our Apostle’s Use of “Eons of the Eons”

Paul uses the phrase “eons of the eons” five total times across his thirteen epistles. By briefly covering each use here, we learn of the highest revelations in scripture which utilize this phrase.

It first appears at the very end of Romans, the second to last word:

to the only, and wise God, through Christ Jesus, be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!

Here God utilizes the phrase at the very end of the letter, emphasizing, simply, the bountiful destination of our study in Romans: to recognize this wonderful doxology: this is God. He is the only God Who is able in all. He is the wise God, Who has locked up all together in stubbornness, in vanity, through sin and death – that He may be merciful to all, and free them into the glorious freedom of sin’s opposite (Rom. 5:18-19, 8:20-21, 11:32, 16:27.) His Son promised that, should He be exalted out of the earth, that He would be drawing all to Himself (John 12:32.) In Paul’s evangel, He intimates just how this will occur.

At the beginning of the letter, we ask, “who is Paul, why does he seem so happy about being a frickin’ slave, and what is this “good news” of God he has to share concerning His Son? And, by the end of the letter, the Son and His glories – His faith at Golgotha, His victory over death, His exaltation over all, and His mediatorial achievement, conciliating God and man – have been introduced and expounded upon. As none of this would be operative without His suffering, and in which He even intimates that we, too, are partaking of His sufferings (Rom. 8:18,) it is evident that the phrase “eons of the eons” is a proper summation of all that we have dwelled on in Romans. Dare I say, the longer one studies Romans, the more satisfying this phrase will effectually resonate with our hearts.

Yet this is not all that it intimates. All of the glories which the Son has in Romans are eonian glories – that is, per Paul’s plain statement in 1 Cor. 15:27-28, as well as the messenger Gabriel’s earlier statement to Christ’s mother, Christ will not be “ruling forever,” but ruling for the eons. The justification of all would imply that all are no longer subject to death (and the process for this is, again, confirmed in 1 Cor. 15:22-28.) Christ will rule all, to the glory of this wise God, which is what brings Him such exaltation for the eons of the eons. God, through Christ, will fulfill His agenda; His rule will be a resounding success!

Such a wonderful title, then, is “King of the eons!” Observe 1 Tim. 1:17–

Now to the King of the eons [Christ,] the incorruptible, invisible, only, and wise God, be honor and glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!

Such a title deserves the utmost appreciation, recognizing the true force of time in this beautiful term! God is not the “King of eternity,” for none are “eternal” except Himself, Who is not subject to time (and, as we’ve seen, the Son is subordinate to the Father – not vice versa.) It is no boast to implicitly say, “I am king of me.”

It is, however, a great and bountiful thought that God is the King of the universe, from the end to the beginning, unveiling the greatest tale between good and evil that one could convey, with the goal of bringing all His created characters into His loving arms.

This dichotomy between Christ’s sufferings and His exaltation is summarized for us in Gal. 1:4-5–

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who gives Himself for our sins, so that He might extricate us out of the present wicked eon, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!

That this phrase is conversely presented at the beginning of Galatians helps affirm for us an intimation of the theme of that blessed letter, which was to correct the doctrinal error of the Galatians. They had departed from justification through Christ’s faith alone by supposing that the law was an effectual obligation for the believer to fulfill – which Paul firmly refutes in chapter 3. Yet these men could not have understood, then, the all-encompassing nature of the sacrifice of Christ.

If there is one major conclusion that we can draw, having studied the first five chapters of Romans so carefully, it is that God will not be glorified from our actions, but from His. Our commendations would befall our own actions if we had been able to fulfill law upon believing. Yet God commends His love to us, seeing that, while we are still sinners, Christ died for our sakes (Rom. 5:8.) We are spared of indignation because of His justification, not our effectual deeds. While our works have their place and purpose (Rom. 8:12-14, Eph. 1:6, 2:10, 3:11, 2 Tim. 4:8, etc.) they do not bring about the transcendent glory which will come forth in the fourth and fifth eons.

This does not, however, remove or minimize the blessings which the enduring believer will receive in the coming eons. Indeed, the very basis of Paul’s doxology is salvation for the celestial kingdom. Observe 2 Tim. 4:17–

The Lord will be rescuing me from every wicked work, and will be saving me for His celestial kingdom: to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!

This is one of the only explicit references in scripture to the destination of the believer in Paul’s evangel – the celestial kingdom. As we are now joined to Christ’s death, we, too, partake of the blessings which effectually unfold with Christ in the coming eons (Eph. 2:7.)

There is only one further use of the phrase “eons of the eons” by Paul, and it is found in Phil. 4:20–

Now my God shall be filling your every need in accord with His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!

I saved this one for last, as it is the ending of the letter containing the zenith of divine revelation. The letter to the Philippians, which primarily concerns us with conduct in this present wicked eon, is the most comprehensive demonstration of humility and love for the believer today. The conduct, in truth, is not crafted from our slaving away, but from God working in us (Phil. 2:13,) and for us (Phil. 4:19.) The conduct can hardly said to be with a view to our glorification. We are promised glorification, so that we have nothing but good to look forward to. While we wait, what better to do than thank the One Who fills our every need in accord with His riches in glory?

Life and “Eons of the Eons”

The life of Christ is documented twice in the middle of Revelation 4:9-10, in the middle of John’s preparatory vision (Rev. 4-5) concerning the throne, the scroll, and the Lambkin–

And whenever the animals should be giving glory and honor and thanks to Him Who is sitting on the throne, Who is living for the eons of the eons (Amen!), the twenty-four elders, also, will be falling before Him Who is sitting on the throne and will be worshipping Him Who is living for the eons of the eons (Amen!).

As we have been reading so far, this phrase could not solely be referring to the prior or present eons, but speaking of the two effectual eons which come forth after this. Of course, let no one argue that Christ is not living during this present eon, or that He did not exist in the prior eons in the form of God (Phil. 2:6,) but that His place on the throne is in view here in this passage, thus this phrase refers to His life in ruling, not a broad generalization of the scope of His life.

It may be asked: why can’t this mean “forever?” True as it may be that Christ lives forever, it is simply not the inspired thought of the passage. Since Christ is not ruling forever, it would be false to parallel His “sitting on the throne” with living forever, and would not be revealing anything to us (which should, alas, be the role of a book called Revelation.) The life of His rule should be expressly conveyed to us readers!

Christ is, of course, not the only one said to be living “for the eons of the eons.” We may look also at Rev. 10:6, where another strong messenger speaks with the “seven thunders”–

And the messenger whom I perceived standing on the sea and on the land lifts his right hand to heaven and swears by Him Who is living for the eons of the eons, Who creates heaven and that which is in it, and the earth and that which is in it, and the sea and that which is in it, that there will be no longer a time of delay, but in the days of the seventh messenger’s voice, whenever he may be about to be trumpeting, the secret of God is consummated also, as He evangelizes to His own slaves and the prophets.

I know I cited a longer passage here, but it’s not as complex as it seems. We must consider it, in brief, to grasp why the passage refers to God’s life during these final two eons.

The “seven thunders” are a figure, of course. Thunder follows lightning – it is the audible sound which the lightning imposes. The “lightning” would be referring to the seven messengers who play their fancy trumpets (Rev. 8:6-9:21,) pouring out the seven calamities which consummate the fury of God (Rev. 15:1, 16.) The seven thunders are the “seven calamities” which play out (see A.E. Knoch’s book “The Unveiling of Jesus Christ,” beginning in U.R. Vol. 11 for more information on this.)

The “time of delay,” however, is not a figure, but a real period of delay during the fifth seal, documented back in Rev. 6:11. This passage is the affirmation that the seven thunders shall commence, that no longer is there a wait. The consummation of the fury of God will now unfold (that is, at the time of this prophecy’s fulfillment.) Thus we have the reason for the notation that God is living “for the eons of the eons.” The living Creator, Who has already been certain as to this outcome, having known the end from the beginning, can affirm this, making Him the only certain One to swear by.

It has been argued many times from this passage that “eons of the eons” must refer to “eternity,” as it is used in conjunction with God. “If the eons end, then God’s life also must end!” men cry. This is called a “false equivalency,” for it conflates the eons with God. Since there is a fallacy embedded into the claim, it is, literally, a non-sequitur. It further conflates life with the time-span of the eons. In truth, God says that He will abolish death at the consummation of the eons (1 Cor. 15:26-28.) The notion, then, that He is only living for the eons is a short-sighted reach on the part of the individual who wishes to retain the doctrine of “eternal torment” or some “eternal separation” of man and God – refusing Paul’s clear statements in Rom. 5:18-19.

We see this ideal once more in Rev. 15:7–

And one of the four animals gives to the seven messengers seven golden bowls brimming with the fury of God, Who is living for the eons of the eons. (Amen!)

Here, the affirmation is not that God created, but that God has seen the ultimate good that the brief fury will bring about (Ps. 30:5.) This concept was expounded for us in Romans 1-5, where we read of the indignation of God (Rom. 1:18-32) serving as a necessary response to human irreverence (3:9-20,) with a view to correct all (Rom. 2:1-16) and justify all in new life (Rom. 3:21-26, 5.) The fury is temporary – but the education which man receives from the fury, through the retrospective judgment, will be permanent, and will not be forgotten in their justification.

We will observe one more passage, and then pause. It is not a double use of the term aion, but I saved it for now because of its correlative weight. Observe Rev. 15:3–

And they are singing the song of Moses, the slave of God, and the song of the Lambkin, saying, “Great and marvelous are Thy acts, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Thy ways, King of the eons!”

It has been argued by opponents: does God being King of the eons mean that when the eons conclude, He ceases to be King?

Goodness, may it not be coming to that! The premise does not take into account the fullness of revelation, where the story concludes with God being All in all (1 Cor. 15:28.) We will observe this in greater detail during the “purpose of the eons” portion of this study, of course, but let us not commit a fallacy by silence, here, especially when another passage explicitly clarifies that God is ruling the kingdom beyond the eons as well. Revelation concerns us with a specific period of time, and looks forward to other specific periods of time. It says nothing of what follows this period of time, and we simply cannot make logical assertions based on the information, especially when said logical assertions are only made with a view to justify the merciless torture of the majority of mankind, or their permanent separation from them.

- GerudoKing