God’s Mystery: Finished by Judgment

(Essay #11 – God’s Prophetic Spirit)

Previously in this series three related truths about the mystery of God and the work of the Holy Spirit have been established that will be brought together in this essay:

1. The mystery of God was that Jews and Gentiles would serve God together in one body (the church) in Christ (Ephesians 3:6).^[1]
2. The promised coming of the Holy Spirit to the church ended with God’s judgment on the nation of Israel (Joel 2:30-32).^[2]
3. Beyond the revelation of the contents of the New Testament the primary function of the work of the Holy Spirit in the early church was the demonstration of the Gentiles equality with the Jews in the church (Galatians 3:22-4:7).^[3]

This essay will show that the New Testament describes a necessary and understandable link among all of these truths. The highlighting of this connection will add a sure framework in which the Bible’s teaching of the work of the Holy Spirit can be placed. Much of the uncertainty and ambiguous language which so often characterizes modern teaching about the Holy Spirit results from a failure to allow verses describing the work of the Spirit to remain in this framework. When verses speaking about the Holy Spirit’s work as it relates to the finishing of the mystery of God are interpreted as verses which describe the normative state of the Spirit’s work for all-time, students are forced to interpret verses which are speaking about the prophetic powers of the Holy Spirit in non-prophetic ways.^[4] The simple oversight of missing the important place of the finishing of the mystery of God in the New Testament divides Christians more about the Holy Spirit’s role in their lives than any other textual cause. The material presented in this essay (as well as the others in this series on the mystery) will provide an interpretative understanding which will serve to lessen that oversight.

It is Finished! Or is It?

On the cross Jesus spoke these words of finality as He prepared to allow life to slip away from His physical body: “It is finished” (John 19:30). It was to this end that Jesus had come into the world. The New Testament speaks of this intention in Christ and of the cross as the aim of the life of Jesus many times:

1. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:30-31)^[5]
2. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! (Luke 12:50)
3. And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.’” (Luke 13:32)
4. And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.” (Luke 18:31)
5. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34)
6. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. (John 5:36)
7. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. (John 17:4)
8. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” (John 19:28)

It would be understandable to think that as Christ ascended back to heaven the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose for man had been accomplished. If that were the case then all men who lived beyond the cross would be in the same circumstance before God. Each one would live in a time when the fullness of God’s work and been accomplished. There would be no revelatory or necessary event beyond the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus whose fulfillment should impact the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work with man. After all, if God accomplished all things necessary to establish the church of His Son at the cross and the Holy Spirit is the special blessing for those living in that church, then so long as I am in the church, it should follow that I receive the fullness of that blessing with all other saints.

However, there is a textual problem with the view that says that Christ finished the work of God. There are numerous statements after the cross which speak of God’s work coming to an end. Many of these passages have time statements contained within them. Perhaps the clearest of these statements (especially relating directly to the mystery) is found in Revelation 10:

And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.  (Revelation 10:5-7)

The revelation given to John stated that at the sounding of the trumpet of the seventh angel the mystery of God would be fulfilled or finished (KJV). While the many different views of Revelation would point to different times as the specific fulfillment of this verse nearly all admit that this verse refers to something yet future from the writing of John, and so therefore well after the time of the earthly ministry of Jesus. At the very least, we know that “God’s mystery” was not completed at the cross. It was to be fulfilled in the accomplishment of the signs within the book of Revelation. So then, the Bible teaches that while Christ did accomplish the work the Father sent Him to do (John 17:4); God had more work still to be done on the earth.

If Revelation 10:7 is speaking of a continuing work of God beyond the earthly ministry of the Christ, and especially as this series of essays is contending that this work was the primary responsibility of the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled in the first century, one would expect that this work would be described in the New Testament. So is it?

God’s Ongoing “Soon” Work in the New Testament

During the days of the writing of the New Testament there are at least five statements within the epistles which state that God would be moving “soon” or “shortly” toward the completion of some work of His among the saints. For the purpose of this analysis, we will exclude statements found in the gospel accounts which might apply to events before the coming of the kingdom and we will exclude events described in the book of Revelation which many would argue are fulfilled long after the days of the first-century saints.^[6] These are the five remaining statements in the epistles that explicitly state that God would act “soon:”

1. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (Romans 16:20)
2. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, (1 Corinthians 7:29)
3. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)
4. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)
5. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; (Hebrews 10:37)

Additionally, there are at least nine passages in the New Testament which speak of the first-century saints enduring to “the end,” of the coming of the “end of the age,” of an “age to come,” or of the “passing away” of the things that existed in that time:^[7]

1. [W]ho will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:8)
2. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)
3. [F]ar above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:21)
4. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (Hebrews 3:14)
5. [A]nd have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, (Hebrews 6:5)
6. [F]or then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26)
7. The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7)
8. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:8)
9. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17)

At this point, the purpose of these listings is not to establish the specific end of each passage or even to suggest that they have a common fulfillment. However, it must be noted that these passages come from a list that purposefully excludes highly prophetic texts. These verses are passages written in plain, literal language to specific congregations or groups of God’s people. Their language speaks of things that are happening and already occurring. They speak of “the” end, not just “an” end or in general about the end of one’s life. To these saints the end of the age and ages had come. Peter even goes so far as to state that the end of “all things” was “at hand.” Whatever the meaning, epistles from Peter, Paul, and John each speak of some event(s) which had come upon the recipients of their letters and was/were affecting their lives. The tone and the words of the language are too specific and appear too frequently in their writings to discard their meaning into the bin of the non-specific and non-identifiable. God was preparing to do something, or some things, soon regarding the church that would bring “the end” upon them.

The End of the Mystery

The work that is being described in the nine verses above can be broadly stated in the thought of this essay: After the cross, God’s work was the completion of the mystery. A full examination of the significance of that work would require a book unto itself.^[8] Our main concern in this essay is how that mission of God helps to explain to us the role of the Holy Spirit in the church. However, before we can conclude the argument which was begun in the last essay, there are some aspects to this discussion which would be helpful to highlight. There are four concepts in the New Testament which come together in the completion of God’s mystery.

1.      To Finish the Mystery, the Fullness of the Gentiles had to be Brought into the Church

As has been established, the summarizing statement of the mystery of God is found in Ephesians 3:6 and states that the Gentiles were to be fellow-heirs in the one body of Jesus. Establishing that as a fact of doctrine, which Jesus did at the cross, was only the first step in bringing this objective to fruition. We have already seen how the miraculous gifts of the Spirit aided in bringing the Gentiles into the kingdom and provided them a defense against those who would have excluded them.^[9] However, until the time came when enough Gentiles entered the kingdom that the sheer number of their presence would create a “critical-mass” the Jews could not stand against, that truth, no matter how it was defended, would be theoretical at best.

The completion of this phase of the mystery is spoken of in two steps in the New Testament. The first step is that room had to be created in the kingdom to give the Gentiles a place within it. Paul lays out this argument in Romans 11. In his words the Jews were considered as the “natural branches” of God’s tree (Romans 11:21). Their sonship and right of access to God were never questioned. Having them in God’s eternal kingdom was the expected outcome of all of His work through them as a people. It was “natural” for them to be the people of God. But imagine what would have happened if when the Christ came every single person of Israel immediately had believed in Jesus and began to follow Him. What would the world have thought (and the Jews for that matter) about the transition from following Moses to following Jesus? With no controversy between the followers of the two greatest prophets of Israel, there would have been no impetus for the apostles to turn to the Gentiles (cp. Acts 13:46). Moreover, if and when a Gentile did obey the gospel, he then would have had to face the full force of Jewish tradition and heritage. His path to full citizenship in the kingdom would have been extremely difficult. So the falling away of many of the Jews in their rejection of Jesus greatly assisted the Gentiles’ coming into the kingdom. Paul speaks of it in this way:

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. . . . But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. . .  (Romans 11:11, 17-20).

The second step in completing this aspect of the mystery was populating the kingdom with enough Gentiles that their claim to full citizenship would become self-validating. This process began by proclaiming the gospel to all nations. Paul understood that having Christ in the Gentiles was “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Bible speaks of the Gentiles coming into the kingdom to this degree in at least two places. Paul references it in a passage that speaks of the Jews’ falling away: “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25). In those words Paul connects the fullness of the Gentiles entering the church to the work of completing the mystery to which he had been called. Another important connection between this concept and the completion of the mystery is found in the words of Jesus in Luke 21:24: “They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” While many attempt to make this a statement about just the politics of the Gentile world, its similarity to Paul’s argument is too close to ignore. Jesus states that Jerusalem would be spoiled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, while Paul speaks of the blindness of Israel happening until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

The wisdom in this is evident. Just as it would have been impossible for the Gentiles to come into the church without a falling away of the Jews, they would have never had that opportunity given to them if God had given up on the Jews immediately. If God brings the judgment of Luke 21 (A. D. 70) upon the Jews present in Acts 2, who would have been left to support the church? For a time the church had favor among the Jews (Acts 2:44-47). Their economy, system of synagogues, and political clout with the Romans provided the church a needed path to credibility and maturity. For a generation, God was willing to tolerate the “partial” blindness of the Jews before bringing judgment upon them. But once the church no longer needed the incubator of Judaism, God was free to remove that nation and the hindrance created to the Gentiles by the Jews’ claim of primacy in access to God.

So Jerusalem was allowed to linger “until the times of the Gentiles” were completed. In other words, God used the Jews, in spite of the doctrinal conflict they caused, to give the church time and space to establish the place of the Gentiles. Once that was accomplished, God could complete the mystery by removing all the trappings of the Law of Moses and forever divorcing His church from its Jewish ties. This action would bring a lasting freedom to every Gentile in the church.

2.      To Finish the Mystery, God Needed to Glorify His People

The aim of the earthly ministry of Jesus and the subsequent completion of God’s mystery can be expressed in another biblical manner: The glorification of Jesus and His church. Both the Head and the body of the kingdom of God needed to share in the glory of heaven for the full impact of the wisdom of God’s eternal purpose to be seen. The first step of the process was the glorification of the Christ for His sacrifice made on earth.

Even casual Bible students have a working knowledge of the glorification of Jesus. The story of His leaving heaven, earthly ministry, and return to heaven is the basis of all that we believe. Yet it is important to highlight how the scripture does speak of that journey:

1. The Word was God and dwelt in eternal glory with God (John 1:1-2).
2. To come to earth, He divested Himself of that glory to take on the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7-8).
3. He came to earth to accomplish the will of the Father who sent him (John 4:34; 17:4).
4. Upon finishing those works, His glory was returned to Him (John 17:5, 24).
5. After His return to the Father, Jesus is pictured as exalted at the right hand of God (Acts 2:33; Hebrews 1:2-3).
6. The sign of His glorification was that men received the Holy Spirit from Him (John 7:38-39; Acts 2:33).

Daniel’s prophetic statement of this process is helpful as well. In his great visions of the four beasts in chapter 7, he makes this statement about the Christ:

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.  (Daniel 7:13-14)

His description of the time of the glorification of the “Son of Man” matches the New Testament’s statement of the same. He says that when the “Son of Man” came to the “Ancient of Days” He was glorified in his kingdom.^[10] Careful attention needs to be paid to the manner in which Daniel describes this glorification of the Son of Man. He says at the time of His glorification He received “dominion,” “glory,” and a “kingdom.” Those possessions He received at the time He came “to the Ancient of Days.” That fits perfectly with the kingdom’s appearance with the power of the Holy Spirit and the picture of the exalted Christ depicted by Peter in Acts 2:33.

However the glorification of Christ is only one of the works God needed finished in the completion of His mystery. While Jesus is seen as exalted in Acts 2 (and from there on in the New Testament), the New Testament consistently speaks of the glory that is still to come upon the saints in the rest of its pages.  There are dozens of passages which speak of that glory or the exaltation of the people of God in the New Testament. Of special interest to us in this study are those texts which speak of that glory and either the mystery or the work of the Holy Spirit. There are at least nine of those:

1. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:16-18)
2. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:20-23)
3. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7)
4. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? (2 Corinthians 3:7-8)
5. [T]hat the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might (Ephesians 1:17-19)
6. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— (Philippians 3:3)
7. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
8. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:13-14)
9. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11)

Many of these verses have or will receive a full discussion in other portions of these essays, but even cursory reading of them shows they establish a link between the glorification of the saints and the following thoughts:

1. There was glory yet to be revealed (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 3:8; Ephesians 1:18; 1 Peter 4:13).
2. The saints were suffering prior to the revelation of that glory (Romans 8:18; 1 Peter 4:13).
3. That suffering was during a “present time” and would endure for a “little while” (Romans 8:18; 1 Peter 5:10).
4. The glory of the saints of God is compared to and is greater than that of the “ministry of death” or those of the circumcision of the flesh (2 Corinthians 3:7-8; Philippians 3:3).
5. The revelation of the glory would bring the saints into a “freedom” from the “bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:21).
6. This glory was known by “enlightenment,” a “spirit of wisdom,” and a “revelation in the knowledge of him.” (Ephesians 1:17-18).
7. Those promised to come to that glory were those who possessed the “first-fruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23).
8. The revelation of this coming glory made known a “secret and hidden wisdom” from the “ages” (1 Corinthians 2:7).
9. The message of Paul’s inspired preaching was that this knowledge in the Gentiles produced the “hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

These verses speak not of things far off or removed from the saints of the first-century. They speak of things of “this present time” that would occur within a “little while.” The glory of the saints is put in contrast to the Old Law and to circumcision. Their knowledge of these things comes through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. The glory promised in these verses is to find its fulfillment by including the Gentiles in the blessings of the gospel. In other words, these verses speak of the same events around which our discussion of the mystery has developed. They are about fulfillment of the mystery and the glory of God that would be proclaimed in the heavenly places by a church that stood in the full unity of the faith brought by the Spirit.

How Did the Completion of the Mystery Glorify the Saints?

If the glory spoken of in these verses is about the mystery, one must explain how the completion of the mystery brought glory to the saints. The answer to that necessity is explained in understanding the relationship of the church to Judaism. All along in this survey of the mystery, we have touched on the thought, but it needs to be our focus for a few moments. In an earlier essay, we spoke of the “fact” of the end of the Law versus the reality of its ending.^[11] That distinction is critical to the maturation of the church within the New Testament. The whole controversy over the teaching of the Judaizers is based on the early Jewish saints’ inability to understand that the gospel ended the power of the Law. They believed it was to be added onto the Law.  Their inability to perceive and/or accept a new reality led to the persecution of Gentile Christians. Again as we have seen, the Holy Spirit’s prophetic work among the Gentiles provided their defense to those early charges against them.

What was needed all along to settle the issue presented by the Judaizers was a complete removal of the Jewish structures to which they were appealing to place Gentile Christians under the bondage of fleshly things like circumcision. That statement was finally provided by God in A. D. 70. The Judaizers and their doctrine were put to shame once the Roman army overwhelmed Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, the priesthood, and all of its trappings, just as Jesus had prophesied.

It is the manner in which the New Testament speaks of this event that is important in understanding how the completion of those events fulfilled the mystery and glorified Christians of all races in God’s kingdom. The key concept is that of “redemption.” The New Testament speaks of the church being redeemed out of Judaism. In describing the fall of Jerusalem, Jesus says these words to his disciples: “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28) He is not referencing their personal redemption–His disciples already had that. Nor does He refer to their eternal salvation–the events of this verse would happen before the end of the generation in which the disciples were living (Luke 21:32). The redemption of which Jesus speaks is the redemption of the church out of Judaism by God’s judgment on Israel in A. D. 70.

The Hebrews’ writer helps our understanding of this concept. His description of Israel and the trappings of the Old Testament which were still standing in his time is that which is “becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:13).^[12] Earlier in the same chapter he spoke of those priests who were still standing daily making offerings. Those offerings were only shadows of the true reality God had brought into being at the cross and its preaching in Acts 2. The time of those old offerings was coming to an end in the time of the Hebrews’ writing. They were “ready” to “vanish away.”

The exhortation of the Hebrews’ writer to Hebrew (Jewish) Christians was not to fall back into the grasp of that dying system of their family heritage. His call was for them to hold fast their new confidence until the “end” (Hebrews 3:14). This call was urgent because the coming of the Lord in judgment was very near to them. The Lord was coming very soon and “would not delay” (Hebrews 10:37). Finally, his argument comes to a point in chapter 12. His words focus the minds of his readers on the words of Haggai which promised that God would speak one more time and in so doing remove the things that “have been made” and that “are shaken” (Hebrews 12:26-27). His meaning is pointing to the system that was enacted at Mount Sinai (Hebrews 12:18-21). It had been “nailed to cross” at Calvary (Colossians 2:14) and was soon to be wiped from the earth so that the eternal kingdom of God that “cannot be shaken” may remain. In order for the church to stand free, not just the Old Law needed to be ended, but all of its trappings also needed to be removed. Once that was done, the whole of the Jewish system passed from existence, only the true heavenly assembly of God’s people would remain to proclaim God’s glory (Hebrews 12:22).

It is in that sense that the church was redeemed out of Judaism. God’s work with Israel was needed in order to bring the gospel, establish the church, and even breathe life into in its early days. That is one reason it was “necessary” that the gospel was for the Jews “first” (Acts 13:46; Romans 1:16). In Paul’s imagery, the church full of Gentile converts did not replace Judaism but was grafted into the “holy lump” of God’s work (Romans 11:16). In that sense the church is brought or bought out of Judaism. It is the final statement of the holy remnant of God’s people that He has left for Himself. Without Judaism, the church would have never been built, but without Judaism’s falling away the church would have never been one body for all humanity. The first work of God had to die so that the remaining spiritual kingdom could be redeemed out of it.

Still, how does that bring glory to the saints? Look back again to Daniel 7 for the answer. In Daniel’s vision Christ receives His glory when He comes “to” the Ancient of Days. We have seen that happened at His ascension. Now look deeper into chapter 7. In it Daniel sees a war between the “saints of the Most High” and the horns (specifically the “Little Horn”) sitting atop the fourth beast of His vision. In time, the saints prevail against the authority of that horn and it is said of them after that point:

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them. (Daniel 7:27)

For the purpose of this study, it is not critical to identify the beast and all of its horns. What is important to note is that in prophecy the saints receive the same blessings as the Christ. Verse 14 gives to Him “dominion, glory, and a kingdom.” Verse 27 gives to His people “kingdom, dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms.” However, while they both receive the same blessing, they do not receive that blessing at the same time. Jesus receives His blessing at his ascension. The saints receive theirs after the death of the little horn. This separation is noted in the New Testament in the verses which from Acts 2 forward speak of Jesus as glorified and of the saints as still awaiting their glory.

However Daniel 7 says more than that the saints would receive their “glory” or “greatness.” It says they would receive the “kingdom”. As we have noted in these essays, the kingdom came in Acts 2 with the demonstration of the Spirit’s power in fulfillment of Daniel 2, Isaiah 2, and Joel 2. How then could the saints “receive” the kingdom long after it had come to the earth in Acts 2?

The answer to that is found in going back to Hebrews 12. In verse 27, the Hebrews’ writer states that the shaken things of Judaism were about to be removed in the judgment against Jerusalem so that the unmovable heavenly Jerusalem could remain. Notice the language of verse 28: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (NKJV). His statement is that they were in the process of “receiving” a kingdom. The kingdom of Christ came in Acts 2 and men had been coming into it by the preaching of the gospel since that point. Yet, it was not fully mature. Paul speaks of it as still needing to grow up “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” and to be “no longer children” (Ephesians 4:13-14). It still needed to use the “childish” ways of prophecy to sustain itself (1 Corinthians 13:9-11). It was still “tossed to and fro . . . by every wind of doctrine,” namely those of the Judaizers (Ephesians 4:14). Until all of that was removed, the kingdom was still being “received” by the saints of God. Until it could stand on its own and show that it was greater than all human kingdoms, God’s glory would not be seen for what it was. Until it could proclaim an independence from Judaism that the world could see, the story of God’s glory through the Christ would always be shrouded under a Jewish cloak. Once all of that was removed the sublime glory of God’s wisdom in the church would shine in a manner that would never again be mistaken.

It is in this sense that the kingdom “destroys” the image of Daniel 2 and then defeats the little horn of Daniel 7. In both places, the kingdom defeats not just the fourth kingdom, but all of them. The “stone” of Daniel 2 takes down the entire image (2:35, 44-45). In Daniel 7, all of the first three kingdoms are still alive in the fourth (Daniel 7:12). The church of the Lord never physically “destroyed” any kingdom, but when Rome destroyed the city of Jehovah in destroying Jerusalem, it revealed that the true kingdom of God could never be destroyed by human armies. All Titus did in destroying the temple was to highlight that God’s kingdom now existed in all the kingdoms of men. It is in this sense that the mystery is completed. Revelation 11:15 describes this as “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ.” Before the temple fell, it appeared to all that Jehovah dwelt in Jerusalem and His people could be defeated and displaced like any other people. Since A. D. 71, it has been clear that the people of God, Christians, have come from all the kingdoms of the earth. We can never be defeated or displaced. That is the fullness of God’s mystery. All peoples have and can be numbered in God’s kingdom.

The glory of the saints was then realized as the church emerged from under Judaism. Under the hand of the Judaizers, Gentile Christians were placed under the bondage of the corruption in the Law of Moses (Romans 8:21). They were subjected to the same body of death that plagued the Judaizers themselves (Romans 7:24-25). It is against that influence that Paul exhorted the Galatians to stand and defend themselves in the liberty of the freedom they had found in Christ: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you” (Galatians 5:1-2). Once their adversaries in Judaism and the Judaizers were put to shame they would be free to live in the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:21). The glory that Christ shared with them in his death, burial, and resurrection would not only be theirs to know, but for the whole world to see and understand. God’s glory would be found in the church and the church alone throughout all the generations (Ephesians 3:21). God’s mystery would be finished.

3.      To Finish the Mystery, the “End of the Age” had to Come

“The end of all things is at hand.” This declaration of Peter in his first epistle has caused commentators difficulty. It is evident that under any reasonable understanding of the phrase “at hand” the time limit of Peter’s description has long passed. Yet, it is equally evident that “all things” have not come to an end. This is even more troubling as the most natural use of this language within a Christian world-view is that “the end of all things” would occur at “the end” or “the end of the world.” The difficulty has moved commentators to spiritualize its meaning or to personalize its words and say it refers to the end of the lives of Peter’s immediate audience. Others generalize the passage and say that the words are meant to apply to the situation of every generation which reads Peter’s words. There is no common approach taken to these words that allows this verse to have an immediate meaning to Peter’s audience and at the same time follows sound rules of hermeneutics. The problem arises because many fail to appreciate the scope of the message of the Bible and the role of the mystery within it.

The key to understanding Peter’s words is found in allowing the Bible to define its own “ages.” There are various interpretive systems among Bible students today that describe the stages of the biblical story. The dispensational pre-millennialist has at least seven dispensations or ages in which God has and will work. Another common division of the Bible ages has three main ages: the Patriarchal Age, Mosaic Age, and Christian Age. The problem for both of these approaches is that the Bible never uses any such structure or labels to describe its own ages.

The Bible’s approach to the ages within it is much simpler than either approach above. The Bible only knows “the age that is” and “the age that is to come.” In both cases, these ages are identified only in the New Testament. The word “age(s)” is never used in a technical sense in the Old Testament.^[13] It is only in the New Testament that the Bible writers begin to discuss the “end of the age” coming upon man.

The Age that Is/The Present Age

In the New Testament, the time in which the people of its day were living is known as the “age that is,” the “present age” or simply “this age.” At least eleven passages speak of their time period in this manner:

1. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:32)
2. And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, (Luke 20:34)
3. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Corinthians 1:20)
4. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. (1 Corinthians 2:6)
5. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8)
6. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. (1 Corinthians 3:18)
7. [W]ho gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Galatians 1:4)
8. [F]ar above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:21)
9. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17)
10. [T]raining us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (Titus 2:12)
11. ([W]hich is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, (Hebrews 9:9)

The Age to Come

The New Testament also speaks clearly of the “age to come” in five passages:

1. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:32)
2. [W]ho will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:30)
3. [W]ho will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:30)
4. [F]ar above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:21)
5. [A]nd have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, (Hebrews 6:5)

The End or Close of the Age

Since there exists in the New Testament the structure of an age that was in existence and an age to come, it should make sense that the Bible would describe the transition between the two ages. And indeed it does. In six passages the “end of the age,” “end of the ages” or “close of the age” is described:

1. [A]nd the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. (Matthew 13:39)
2. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. (Matthew 13:40)
3. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous (Matthew 13:49)
4. [T]eaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
5. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)
6. [F]or then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26)

When is the End of the Age?

Here again, a full discussion of all of these passages, their context, and individual contribution to our understanding of the biblical ages would take many pages and much of the discussion would reside outside the sphere of a work considering the work of the Holy Spirit. However, a few of the passages above come from contexts which do immediately have an impact on our understanding of the Holy Spirit’s efforts in the New Testament and His  relationship to the end of the age.

At the center of the discussion within the New Testament about the “ages” is Jesus’ warning of Matthew 24. As quoted above, after hearing Jesus predict the destruction of the temple grounds in Jerusalem, the disciples were moved to ask of Him when the “close of the age” would come (Matthew 24:3). It is important to notice that Jesus did not make the connection between there being not “one stone” left upon another in Jerusalem (24:2) and the “close of the age” (24:3); it was the disciples who equated the destruction of their nation to the close of the age. The disciples’ concern was not about the end of the physical world or of the material universe or any other such grand concern. Their focus during the earthly ministry of Jesus was when and how God would “restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6). Yet, they had just heard Jesus announce the end of the government of Israel. To them the only concept that could contain such an incredible announcement about their nation was the “close of the age.”^[14] To the first people ever to ask that question of Jesus, it was a question intended to help them learn about the end of Israel. Does Jesus say anything to correct their understanding of its meaning?

Jesus does not attempt to correct their understanding. In the verses that follow (along with the parallel passages in Mark and Luke), Jesus describes Jerusalem encircled by armies, desecrated by the abomination predicted by Daniel, trodden under the feet of the Gentiles, and as providing no safe haven for those in Judea. He warns His disciples of the dangers of needing to flee their city on the Sabbath. Finally, He identifies the latest date possible for the fulfillment of all these things: “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” The most detailed description of the “end of the age” anywhere in the New Testament is focused on Jerusalem and its fall and is limited to the lifetime of the generation of the disciples standing with Jesus in the very grounds of the temple which were to be destroyed. If Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are sufficient to settle the question about the end of the age then the “age that is,” “this age,” and the “present age” ended with the fall of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.^[15]

The End of the Age, The Holy Spirit, and the Mystery

 The Bible’s testimony about the end of the prophesied work of the Holy Spirit is emphatic and persistent and once it is recognized, its message is powerful in understanding the function of the Spirit in the church. Consider the connections among the end of the age, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the mystery below:

1. Joel prophesied that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit would occur “before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (2:31). As seen, that day is the fall of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
2. Zechariah says that “on that day” the “fountain for sin and uncleanness” is opened, the prophet will pass from the land (13:1-3). It is on that same “day” the Lord would gather the nations to battle against Jerusalem and two-thirds of the city would be destroyed (13:8-14:2). Again, the fulfillment of that is found in the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
3. Jesus stated He would “go with” His disciples on their journey to carry the gospel to the whole world (Matthew 28:20). The fulfillment of that mission was needed before the “end of the age” could come (Matthew 24:13-14).
4. How Jesus went with those disciples is also described. Matthew records the “fact” of Jesus’ “going with” His disciples and its duration: “even to the end of the age” (28:20). Mark records the “function” Jesus fulfilled in His going: “the Lord went with them confirming the word with signs following” (16:20 – KJV). The Lord’s confirmatory work would last until “the end of the age.”
5. Paul’s promises that the confirmatory work of the Holy Spirit in Corinth (a church on whom “the end of the ages” has come) would continue “until the end” (1 Corinthians 1:6-8). That “end” is described as “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” and the “revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The same language as Joel, Zechariah, and Jesus in Matthew 24:28-30.

The end of the age coincided with the finishing of the mystery of God and the end of the promised work of the Holy Spirit.

The End of All Things

Peter’s statement about the “end of all things” being at hand in the first century must be understood in this light (1 Peter 4:7). He was not speaking of the world or of time in that context. In the verses that follow he describes the trial and judgment beginning with the people of God (4:17). That is the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24 which preceded the “end of the age.” He speaks of the glory that was soon to be revealed which is the glory that the saints would know in their “redemption” from the corpse of Judaism at the end of the same tribulation (4:14). His argument is that they should know they were blessed in spite of the suffering because the “Spirit of glory” rested upon them (4:13). Having the Spirit “rest” a person makes that person a prophet able to speak as the “oracles of God” (4:11).^[16]  Again, the miracles of the Spirit are used to reassure the saints and defend their faith in the midst of trial. All of this, Peter says, would last for only a “little while” more before God’s people, who were called to “glory” would be restored, confirmed, strengthened and settled in that glory (1 Peter 5:10).

All of these things (the Jewish age ended, the true children of God glorified, the work of the Spirit completed) were needed to finish “the mystery of God”; or in other words to finish the “eternal purpose of God” (Ephesians 3:11). It is in this sense that “all things” were nearly finished in the days of the saints of 1 Peter. Paul described the work of God in the world by saying, “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself. . .” (2 Corinthians 5:19) – the whole world, not just the Jews. His efforts from the Creation forward were working toward this end. And with the removal of the things of Judaism that could be shaken, the unmovable, universal nature of His kingdom was finally revealed. All the things He had been shaping the events of the world to bring about were finished. Time would still go on. People would still come into His kingdom for salvation. The water of life would still flow freely from His new “holy city.” But His work in securing the reconciliation of all men and uniting them all as one in one body was finished. Not only was the work of the Christ finished, but at the “end of the age” the work of God was “finished.”

4.      To Finish the Mystery, the “Last Days” Needed to End

There is one last concept in the New Testament which needs to be connected to these thoughts. Much controversy exists about the “last days” described in the New Testament. Many hear the phrase and immediately tie it to the last days of the world. Others attach it to the last age of time or the “Christian age.” Still another group would argue that the last days are the last days of the “Mosaic Age” and so point to the end of Judaism.

Once again, it is helpful to understand a time-sensitive New Testament phrase in the context of the mystery. Stated simply, the last days are the last days of the mystery. They are the same days envisioned in Peter’s statement that “the end of all things is at hand.” If Peter’s words are descriptive of the days of the New Testament, then would not the “at hand” days of that time be known as the “last days?” In fact, John states the time element even more strongly. In his writings, which are commonly dated sometime after the writing of Peter, he has dropped the term last days and replaced it with “the last hour”: “Children, it is the last hour . . .” (1 John 2:18).

If one were to ask the question: “The last days and last hour of what?” the most natural answer that would come to the student of the New Testament should be “the last days and hour of the age.” As we have seen there are at least two dozen passages in the New Testament which speak directly to this event. It is not necessary to create a new meaning for the “last days.” A quick survey of the verses in the Bible will show the last days’ connection to the end of the age.

The “Last Days” – A Jewish Expression, Not the End of Time.

One oversight that many Bible students make in studying the “last days” is to think of the phrase as a New Testament creation. The fact is that idea is found numerous times in the Old Testament. Starting with Genesis 49:1 in Jacob’s prophecy about the future of his sons (“last days” – KJV; “days to come” – ESV, NIV) the Old Testament speaks of the “last days,” “latter days,” or other similar expressions at least a dozen times. A survey of those appearances will show the Jewish expectation of the time expressed in the language:

1. Restoration of their relationship to God: “When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:30)
2. Exaltation of the House of God: It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it.” (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1)
3. Establishment of God’s Kingdom: but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these . . . And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:28, 44)
4. Return of the kingship of David through the Messiah: Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days. (Hosea 3:5)

In short, the latter days were the days in which God’s kingdom was established through the work of the Seed of David. 

The Last Days – Not Just the “Christian Age”

In the New Testament, the last days are also tied to the coming of God’s kingdom. Peter’s use of Joel 2:28-32 is the basis of the defense of the apostles’ preaching of the gospel in Acts 2. His quotation of Joel 2 begins, “It shall come to pass in the last days . . .” According to Peter, Acts 2 is “in the last days.” This passage should forever answer those who would point the “last days” to the end of the world. The “last days” were active in Acts 2. They were not a future event for the New Testament.

Many have drawn from Peter’s statement the conclusion that the “last days” is an expression which means the “last age” or, more commonly, the “Christian Age.” While this position does no real doctrinal damage to the New Testament, it does overlook other statements in the New Testament which demand a different understanding of this language.

First, as we have seen, Acts 2 is not the beginning of a new “age.” It is the preaching of a new covenant, but it does not mark the beginning or the ending of “the age that now is” or “the age to come.” The transition of “ages” in the New Testament occurs at A.D. 70. In the same light, if one looks at what Peter says, he will see that neither Peter, nor Joel ever said Acts 2 was the beginning/ending of an age. The statement is that it would come to pass “in” the last days. The statement is not that the outpouring of the Spirit would happen “at the beginning of” the last days, but “in” them. That means the “last days” were already going on before the Holy Spirit was outpoured.

Second, other passages in the New Testament necessitate that the “last days” started before Pentecost. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son . . .” The statement is that in the past the mouthpiece of God was the prophets. However, “in these last days” the mouthpiece of God was “His Son.” In other words, Jesus spoke during the “last days.” The only time God ever spoke directly through His Son was during His earthly ministry.^[17] The “last days” must include the earthly ministry of Jesus. However, the Hebrews’ writers calls the last days “these” days, not “those” days. So, the “last days” were the days of the author’s life as well and so must continue into the time of the writing of that epistle.

The Last Days of the End of the Age

No other biblical concept can tie together the last days of Judaism prophesied about in the Old Testament, the earthly ministry of Jesus, the promised miraculous gifts of the outpoured Spirit, and the days of the writing of the New Testament. The end of the age or the finishing of the mystery of God combines all of those concepts together. The last days of the New Testament are the last days leading up to the finishing of the mystery of God.

Conclusion

Over the last three essays, we have described a most important and often overlooked doctrine in the New Testament. The apostles specifically addressed this topic as much as they did the doctrine of baptism, yet, we discuss it far less. We do so to our own detriment in our understanding of the New Testament and the work of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit’s work was to reveal the contents of the New Testament to man. However, the explosion of prophecy that He brought to the first century church had a much bigger purpose. His work was the finishing of the Godhead’s work from before the Creation. The work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament was the finishing of the mystery of God’s eternal purpose. The completion of that work meant the Gentiles had to be brought into the kingdom, their place defended within it, and their place established against every claim of the Jews. It meant that God’s work with Israel had to be completed. The gospel’s first offer had to go to them and ultimately their rejection of it meant that their nation had to come to an end. The completion of the mystery would finally allow the true children of God to be free of the bondage of the Law of Moses and the corruption that the doctrine of the Judaizers had brought upon the church. The righteousness of God in His dealings with man and the true freedom of the gospel of Christ would shine to Christ’s and to His saints’ glory once the work of the mystery was finished.

This survey of this topic can only begin to describe the impact of the mystery of God in the New Testament. But without at least an introductory understanding of that impact, one cannot hope to appreciate the focused, powerful, and necessary work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. No statement about the Spirit’s work in the church can be understood rightly without asking and answering: “How does this verse about the Holy Spirit relate to the finishing of the mystery of God?”

[1] Essay #9: “What is the Mystery?”

[2] Essay #8: “The End of Prophecy”

[3] Essay #10: “God’s Mystery: Established by the Holy Spirit

[4] This statement is made with the understanding that charismatic and Calvinistic interpretations of the Holy Spirit’s work are incorrect. The whole of the material presented in these essays sufficiently establishes that the prophetic powers given to man through the Holy Spirit are no longer active and that He is not causally responsible for man’s response to the gospel. Once both of those ideas are rejected, only a non-prophetic work of the Holy Spirit remains a possibility in a modern context. The remaining ideas about the Spirit’s work fall into two main camps: 1) The Spirit works immediately within the heart of man in conjunction with God’s word; 2) The Spirit works on the heart of man only through the mediation of God’s word. Both camps seek to find justification for their position in the New Testament by appealing to specific verses, as they should. However, both camps neglect to account for the Holy Spirit’s connection to the mystery of God and so fail to leave verses in a proper first-century context. The assumption that since the verses appear in the New Testament and appear to speak universally to all Christians for all-time ignores the time limited statements about the work of the Holy Spirit and the mystery that will be discussed in this essay.

[5] All quotations taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

[6] If those verses were included the given list would expand to include Luke 18:8; Revelation 1:1; 2:16; 3:11; 11:14; 12:12; 22:6-7; 22:12; 22:20. Their exclusion from this discussion should not be taken to suggest they are not relevant to the discussion of the completion of the mystery.

[7] There are an additional 12 passages in the gospel accounts that refer to the “end” or the “end of the age” which are not included in this listing: Matthew 10:22-23; 12:32; 13:39-40; 24:3; 24:6; 24:13-14; 28:19-20; Mark 3:26;  13:7; 13:13; Luke  20:34-35; 21:9. Revelation 2:26 also speaks of keeping “my works until the end.”

[8] This work’s identification of the finishing of the mystery of God with the ending of the age and the fall of Jerusalem should not be seen as an endorsement of a full preterist view of the Bible. In a more thorough examination of the place of the mystery in the New Testament an analysis of both full and partial preterism would be included. However, it should suffice for the intended purpose here to state that while this work’s use of the time statements of the New Testament and its understanding of the ages described in the Bible does have some commonality with full preterist views, this author in no way believes the resurrection has passed, that the final return of Jesus occurred in A. D. 70 or that the resurrection of 1 Corinthians 15 is not a bodily resurrection.

[9] Please see Essay #10: “God’s Mystery: Established by the Holy Spirit”

[10] Pre-millennial interpretation of this text attempts to support their position by saying this verse is fulfilled when the Christ sets up His alleged millennial kingdom on the earth. However, the verse states this glorification of the Christ happens when he comes “to” the Ancient of Days, not “from” Him. In pre-millennial doctrine the Son of Man is coming “from” heaven to the earth to set-up His kingdom. Daniel prophesies that Christ’s kingdom is established as He travels from the earth “to” the Ancient of Days. Christ has travelled “to” the Ancient of Days, once. That was at His ascension in Acts 1.

[11] Please see the introduction to essay #10: God’s Mystery: Established by the Holy Spirit.”

[12] This imagery of a dying system that had worn out its usefulness is identical in its point to that of the corpse in Jesus’ statements in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. In those passages, Judaism is a corpse around which the vultures had gathered (Matthew 24:28). In Matthew, the corpse would give way to the gathering of all people to the call of Jesus (cp. Ephesians 1:10-11; Ephesians 3:6). In Hebrews, as the text above will describe, the decaying forms would be shaken away in judgment so that God’s immovable kingdom would remain. The message in both places is the same.

[13] The term “age” does appear in Isaiah 60:15 in the phrase “age to age.” Its use there seems non-technical, much like the English idiomatic expression “forever and ever.” The word “ages” appears four times in the Old Testament (ESV – Job 8:8; Psalm 135:13; Proverbs 8:23; Ecclesiastes 1:10). Three times it refers to days of history and once to God’s name “enduring forever.” At no point, does the term attempt to specify periods of time.

[14] The concept of the closing or the ending of the age is actually introduced into Matthew’s account in the parables of chapter 13. In that text the end of the age is a time of purification. In 13:41, the Son of Man will “gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers” at the end of the age. In 13:49, the good and the evil which are drawn out of the sea by the dragnet of the kingdom are separated at “the end of the age.” While many would point these passages to the end of time, they are clearly passages about the “end of the age.” Why would the “end of the age” of Matthew 13 and the “end of the age” of Matthew 28 be speaking of different points in time? The parables of chapter 13 are describing the “judgment beginning at the household of God” of 1 Peter 4:17 (notice the close proximity to the “end of all things” in 1 Peter 4:7) and the purification of God’s people described “in the day” of the opening of the fountain for sin and uncleanness in Zechariah 13:1-2, 7-9.

[15] This conclusion is problematic for some because they equate the end of the covenant to the end of the age. The New Testament never does so. By the time of Colossians and Ephesians, the Mosaic Law has been broken down and nailed to the cross, yet the “age” of Matthew 24 is still a decade from being completed. In like manner, “this gospel of the kingdom” must be preached to all nations before the “end of the age” can come. It is a mistake to equate “covenants” in the Bible with “ages.” As has been discussed in this essay and others on the mystery, the “covenants” of Judaism ended at the cross; yet, the “age” of Judaism and its power to trouble the people of God did not come to a close until the fall of the nation in A. D. 70.

[16] Compare 1 Peter 4:10-11 to Numbers 11:25-26; 2 Kings 2:15; Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16

[17] It cannot be successfully argued that this verse is a statement about the work of Jesus speaking through the apostles. First, the form of the argument in the first half of the verse is: God – Prophets – Man. The second half must match: God – Jesus – Man. Inserting the apostles between Jesus and Man ruins the form and so the power of the argument that, unlike the days gone by when God had many paths of communication, in the last days He had only one in His Son. Second, the verb tense is in the past: God “has spoken,” not “is speaking.” The action envisioned in this verse is a completed one. By definition, if the book of Hebrews was still being written, then Jesus was still speaking through the revelation to the apostles and prophets. Third, chapter 2 makes a clear distinction about the “speaking” of Jesus and the “speaking” of those who heard him: “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard” (2:3). Hebrews 1:1-2 is describing the time when the great salvation was “declared at first by the Lord.”