CHAPTER 5

THE SEVEN AGES IN GOD’S PLAN FOR ALL

The Bible is a book of ages, and in this chapter we will show you that there are seven distinct ages referred to in the Bible. All that is written from Genesis to Revelation is related to one or more of these ages. Everything that God has done, is doing and will do, must be understood in the context of the ages, because God has a specific purpose for each age. It is essential to understand that God’s Plan of Universal Reconciliation, which culminates in the creation of the Eternal Kingdom of God of the New Heaven and the New Earth, is being worked out in ages by Jesus Christ.

The first important thing to understand is that Jesus Christ Himself is the Maker of the Ages, and God of the Ages.

Jesus Christ – God of the Ages

Hebrews 1:1-2

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (ages - aion).

The Greek word for ages is aion. In this scripture, the literal translation of worlds is ages as given in Young’s Literal Translation below and some other versions of the Bible.

Hebrews 1:1-2 (YLT)

1 In many parts, and many ways, God of old having spoken to the fathers in the prophets, 2 in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages (aion).

The Greek word aion is a very significant word used in the original manuscripts of the Greek New Testament for our understanding of God’s Plan of the Ages.

In the original Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the Greek word aion occurs 128 times. Young’s Literal Translation together with a few other versions of the Bible consistently translate aion to mean age or ages; however, most popular versions like the KJV, the NKJV, and the NIV give several other meanings to aion.

We give full details on how aion and aionios and their equivalent Hebrew word owlam are translated in various versions of the Bible in Chapter 17, Translations of Aion, Aionios and Owlam.

In this chapter, we are only interested in the literal meaning of aion which is age or ages. Jesus Christ who is God of the Ages is indeed also Creator of the Ages and King of the Ages.

Revelation 15:3 (NIV)

They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages (aion).

All of the ages, apart from the final Eternal Seventh Age, have a definite beginning and an end. The Seventh Age differs in that it will have a beginning but no end.

Matthew 24:3

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when these things will be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age (aion)?”

The disciples were asking Jesus Christ about the end of the age (aion). They understood that the Second Coming of Jesus would mark the end of an age (this present age) and the beginning of the next age.

Ephesians 1:20-21

20 ...and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age (aion) but also in that which is to come.

Please note, this scripture confirms that there are ages in God’s Plan. This age will end and it will be followed by another age, which is yet to come.

Hebrews 9:26 (NLT)

If that had been necessary, he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for all time, at the end of the age (aion), to remove the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death for us.

The death of Jesus Christ marked the end of the age, which was actually the end of the Third Age in God’s Plan of the Ages. The resurrection of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of the Fourth Age, which is this present age. This present age will end at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ when the next age, the Fifth Age, which is the Millennial Age, will commence.

When did the ages begin? The ages began when God first created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, as the very first verse in the Bible says.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

When God first created the physical universe, including the earth through Jesus Christ, this marked the beginning of the First Age in God’s Plan of the Ages. Ages do not only begin, they also end. Ages do not continue forever, except for the last Eternal Seventh Age of the Kingdom of God of the New Heaven and the New Earth. 

When will the ages end? They will end at the conclusion of God’s Plan of the Ages as written in Revelation 21:1-6.

Revelation 21:1, 6

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End….”

Ages will end when Jesus Christ will shout those glorious words, ‘It is done’ at the creation of the New Heaven and New Earth after Jesus Christ has reconciled to God the Father all things in heaven and all things on earth having made peace through His shed blood on the cross. This is when there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. God the Father Himself will come down to this earth and dwell with men and be all in all. (Revelation 21:1-6, Colossians 1:19-20, 1 Corinthians 15: 20-28)

Jesus Christ - The Beginning and the End of the Ages

Please note in Revelation 21:6 above, that Jesus Christ Himself exalts His name as ‘The Beginning and the End’ just after He brings the ages to an end by shouting the glorious words, ‘It is done’. Of course, Jesus Christ is God and He is eternal, and He Himself neither begins nor ends. When the Bible says that Jesus is the Beginning and the End, it means that He began the ages and He will end the ages, thus bringing to pass God’s Plan of the Ages for Universal Salvation and Reconciliation.

Jesus Christ emphasises God’s Plan of the Ages through the meaning of His name given in three different ways: ‘The Alpha and the Omega’, ‘The Beginning and the End’, ‘The First and the Last’. (Revelation 1:8, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:13)

A key to understanding God’s Plan of the Ages is to understand the importance of the name of Jesus Christ that He is indeed the Beginning and the End of the ages.

God’s Plan of the Ages consists of six ages plus the final Eternal Seventh Age. Three ages have already passed and there are still two ages to follow this present Fourth Age, before God completes His Plan of Universal Reconciliation.

Let us now state the seven ages, as revealed in the Bible, which come under the following headings:

1.      The Pre-Adamic Age (the Age of Angels)

2.      The Adamic Age (the Age of Men)

3.      The Age of Israel under the Mosaic Law

4.      The Age of the Church under God’s Grace

5.      The Millennial Age of the Kingdom of God

6.      The Lake of Fire Judgement Age

7.      The Eternal Age of the Kingdom of God

The Seven Ages, which we will discuss, should not be confused with the Seven Dispensations as promoted by J N Darby and C I Scoffield. The Seven Ages are different and distinct from the Seven Dispensations. Dispensationalists fail to understand and believe in God’s Plan of Universal Reconciliation.

We shall comment on each of the above listed Seven Ages in detail, but before we do so, we need to understand why God’s Plan of the Ages remains a mystery to the world. 

THE MYSTERY OF THE AGES

God’s Plan of Universal Reconciliation has been kept secret from the world, a mystery revealed only to God’s Elect since the foundation of the world, the beginning of the ages.

Jesus Christ spoke in parables to the general public to hide the mystery of the Kingdom of God because it wasn’t their time to know God’s Plan of Universal Reconciliation.

Matthew 13:34-35

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world”.

Only Jesus’ disciples were given to understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 13:10-11

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Notice that the Kingdom of Heaven, which means the same as the Kingdom of God, has mysteries, and only Christ’s disciples are meant to understand them. Jesus Christ spoke in parables to hide the meaning of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God from unbelievers. Apostle Paul was absolutely awed to understand the unsearchable riches of the mystery of Christ, which was hidden from the beginning of the ages. 

Ephesians 3:9

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ.

Apostle Paul was one of the first among the early apostles to whom God clearly revealed all aspects of the mystery of the Kingdom of God. The whole of Ephesians 3, written by Paul, is a marvellous chapter that speaks about the Mystery of God’s Plan for Universal Salvation of both Jews and Gentiles through the work of the Cross.

The Mystery, which has been hidden for ages, is God’s Plan to bring everything together in Christ, everything without exception in heaven and on earth.

Ephesians 1:9-10

9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him.

This scripture reveals that the mystery of God’s will is to gather together in one absolutely all things in Christ. The wonderful and powerful expression ‘in Christ’ means that all will come to believe in Christ and accept Him as their Saviour and Lord. This will happen in the fullness of times (in the fullness of the ages), which means at the right time when God has completed His Plan of the Ages. Paul clearly repeats God’s Plan of Universal Reconciliation in Colossians 1:19-20.

Colossians 1:19-20, 26

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

As we see, Scripture very clearly confirms that the Mystery of the Ages is the Universal Salvation and Reconciliation of all. This is an exciting and an important study. God formulated a Plan for all from the beginning of the ages, which has been kept secret from the foundation of the world. The Plan of God is nothing less than the Universal Reconciliation of absolutely all things through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.

We now give the key events for each of the Seven Ages as revealed in the Bible. These are the key historical events that have already occurred, and the prophesied key events yet to be fulfilled in this present age and in the ages to come.

1. The Pre-Adamic Age, the Age of Angels

The First Age is from the creation of the universe to the creation of Adam, the age when the angels were the key focus of God’s dealings.

Time Period: Unknown, but likely to be many millions or even billions of years in duration, as confirmed by star distances.

Key Events: The First Age began with the creation of the universe with the earth. This marked the beginning of time and the beginning of God’s Plan of the Ages.

The First Age is an important age in God’s Plan of the Ages because it helps us to understand the following six points:

1        God created angels before He created the universe with the earth.

2        God created the universe with the earth instantaneously in the beginning, which marked the beginning of time and the beginning of the ages. God created the earth in such a beautiful perfect condition as a garden, teeming with plant and animal life that the angels responded with singing and shouts of joy. God put angels in charge of His beautifully created earth with Lucifer as the leading angel.

3        At some point in the Pre-Adamic Age, Lucifer, who became Satan, convinced a third of the angels to join him in a rebellion against God to usurp the throne of God in heaven. These rebellious angels were severely punished by God for their sins and He violently cast them back down to earth. The judgement of God against the sinful fallen angels resulted in a total global cataclysmic destruction of the earth’s surface and sudden extinction of all Pre-Adamic plant and animal life.

4        The abundant existence of fossils and vast deposits of fossil fuels throughout the world bear witness to the sudden extinction of Pre-Adamic plant and animal life. Also, in addition to its long age, earth’s geology bears clear witness to massively cataclysmic upheavals of the earth’s surface in its past, such that even the seabeds were raised to form sedimentary mountains like the Himalayas. All these resulted from God’s global judgement against the sinful fallen angels. 

5        Star distances and many other modern scientific methods all show that the earth is many millions of years old; hence the Pre-Adamic Age lasted for many millions of years. 

6        God has chained Satan and his fallen angels in spiritual darkness and confined them to earth and its atmosphere awaiting their final judgement in the Lake of Fire.

In Chapter 25, The Pre-Adamic Age, the Age of Angels, we give detailed answers to understand the scriptural, scientific and geological aspects of the truth of the Pre-Adamic Age. 

2. The Adamic Age, the Age of Men

The Second Age is from Adam to Noah’s flood, the age when men were the key focus of God’s dealings.

Time Period: Approximately 1,700 years in duration.

Key Events: The Second Age began approximately 6,000 years ago when God renewed the earth’s surface and its heaven (the earth’s atmosphere). God created life as we know it today in six literal 24-hour days. He created Adam and Eve in His own image. (Genesis 1:3-28)

Adam and Eve sinned when Satan tempted them and, as a consequence, the judgement of God’s curse fell upon them and all of their descendants. Thus, sin and death entered the human world. (Genesis 3:1-7, Romans 5:12) The wickedness of men multiplied, and some of the fallen angels had ungodly relationships with women.

The Second Age ended approximately 4,300 years ago with the destruction of Noah’s world by a global flood, but God saved Noah and his family. (Genesis 6, Genesis 7)

3. The Age of Israel under the Mosaic Law

The Third Age is from Noah’s flood to Jesus Christ’s First Coming, the age when Israel under the Mosaic Law was the key focus of God’s dealings.

Time Period: Approximately 2,300 years in duration.

Key Events: The Third Age began with God’s promise to never flood the earth again. God blessed Noah and his sons and instructed them to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth.

God became displeased with men when they built the tower of Babel, a symbol of man’s pride, unity and power. Consequently, God caused disunity and confusion among men by giving them different languages and scattering them across the globe. The descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, formed the nations that re-populated the earth.

God called Abraham, and made a covenant with him known as the Abrahamic Covenant, a covenant of faith. God promised to make Abraham and his descendants a great and blessed nation, and also to bless all the families (nations) of the earth through the Seed of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ Himself.

God chose the Israelites, who are the descendants of Abraham, as a special people above all peoples in order to fulfil the Abrahamic Covenant. He chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and He made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai, called The Mosaic Covenant. It is a conditional covenant based on God’s laws and commandments. The most important commandments in The Mosaic Covenant are the Ten Commandments.

God punished the Israelites for breaking the Mosaic Covenant and, because of their sins and rebellion, God allowed foreign armies to take them captive. The time will come in the future when God will restore the Kingdom of Israel and He will enter into a New Covenant with His chosen people. Full details are given in Chapters 6 and 7, God’s Purpose for Israel – Part 1 and Part 2.

The birth of Jesus Christ, who is the Seed of Abraham, was the most important event to occur in this age. The Third Age ended approximately 2,000 years ago with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of the whole world.

4. The Age of the Church under God’s Grace

The Fourth Age is from the resurrection of Jesus Christ to His Second Coming, the present age when the Church under God’s Grace is the key focus of God’s dealings.

Time Period: Unknown, but probably not many more than 2,000 years in duration.

Key Events: The Fourth Age began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the most central event in God’s Plan for All to reconcile all things to God the Father.

In this present Fourth Age, God is preparing His Church, His Bride, who are the called and chosen believers from both Israel and the Gentile nations. Many people claim to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour, but only a few are chosen to be God’s Elect. Many false prophets and false teachers come in Jesus Christ’s name, and they deceive many. (Matthew 24:4-5)

There are two important signs to watch out for before this present age comes to an end. Firstly, the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. Secondly, the earth will suffer a horrific judgement called the Great Tribulation. It will involve worldwide cataclysmic events and result in the earth’s population being decimated.

This Fourth Age will finally come to an end when Satan is bound and confined to a pit, which will be his prison for a thousand years, to prevent him from deceiving the nations during Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. (Revelation 20:1-3)

5. The Millennial Age of the Kingdom of God, the age of the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel and the Church

The Fifth Age is the glorious reign of Jesus Christ on this earth with His resurrected Elect Bride, and the fulfilment of all the promises made to Israel and the Church.

Time Period: Exactly 1,000 years in duration.

Key Events: The Fifth Age will begin with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the First Resurrection, which is the resurrection of God’s Elect, the Bride of Christ.

The Millennial Kingdom of God will be a glorious thousand-year age when Jesus Christ will rule and reign with His Bride on earth. Christ and His Bride will rule over the mortal fleshly people who survive the Great Tribulation and their descendants born during the Millennial Age.

The Millennial Kingdom of God will be a time of fulfilment of all the promises made to Israel and the Church. It will be a time of great blessings for Israel and all nations, and the whole earth will become like the Garden of Eden and full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Full details are given in Chapter 11, The Millennial Age of the Kingdom of God.

The Fifth Age will end with the release of Satan from his prison. (Revelation 20:7)  

6. The Lake of Fire Judgement Age, the age of judgement and reconciliation of all resurrected unbelievers and all fallen angels. 

Time Period: Unknown, but likely to be of short duration.

Key Events: The Sixth Age will begin with the Second Resurrection when all of mankind who have lived and died throughout the ages will be resurrected from the dead with the exception of the Bride of Christ who have already been resurrected in the First Resurrection.

Satan, who will be released from his prison at the end of the Fifth Millennial Age, will deceive the great multitudes of resurrected unbelievers (the non-elect), represented as Gog and Magog, who rise in the Second Resurrection in their immortal but still unsaved bodies. Satan will lead these deceived unbelievers in a rebellion against Jesus Christ and His Bride. This rebellion will be easily crushed by God’s devouring fire.

God’s devouring fire will engulf the earth as a ball of fire and the whole earth will become a literal Lake of Fire. It is in this Lake of Fire that Jesus Christ will judge, refine and reconcile to God the Father all resurrected unbelievers and Satan and all fallen angels. The purpose of God’s Lake of Fire is to instil Godly fear, to soften and humble the fallen, sinful hardened hearts of unbelievers and fallen angels. It will prepare them to freely and thankfully accept the gift of God’s salvation through repentance and God given faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Ultimately, in God’s time and His order, everyone without exception will believe and be reconciled to God because Jesus Christ died to forgive the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2, Luke 23:34) Jesus Christ has been working in the past three ages and He will continue His work throughout this age and during the next two ages until the biblical truth of Universal Reconciliation is fully realised and accomplished. Full details of the Sixth Age are given in Chapters 12 and 13, The Lake of Fire Judgement Age – Part 1 and Part 2.

7. The Eternal Age of the Kingdom of God, the age of the New Heaven and the New Earth

The Seventh Age will begin when Jesus Christ has reconciled to God the Father all things in heaven and all things on earth having made peace through His shed blood on the cross. 

Time Period: For Eternity

Key Events: Once Jesus Christ has reconciled all things to God the Father, the Holy City, New Jerusalem will descend onto the refined and renewed earth with its refined and renewed atmosphere, referred to in the Bible as the New Heaven and the New Earth. (Revelation 21:2)

Jesus Christ will deliver the Eternal Kingdom of the New Heaven and the New Earth to God the Father, and Father God Himself will come down to earth to dwell with men. Everyone will enter the Eternal Kingdom of God of the New Heaven and the New Earth where there will be no more death, no more pain, no more sorrow and no more curse, and God will be all in all. Thus, Jesus will bring to completion God’s Plan of the Ages for the Universal Reconciliation of all things.  (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28, Revelation 21:3)

All people are created in the image of God and we are called His family. Our future in the Eternal Kingdom of God will be glorious beyond description for the whole family, Adam and Eve and all of their descendants along with all of God’s angels.

As 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him”. We love God because He first loved us, and He loves the whole world.

The earth will become the headquarters and governing planet of the universe in God’s Eternal Kingdom. Jesus Christ will begin the Seventh Age but it will never end as it will last for eternity.  Truly, it will be the glorious Eternal Sabbath Rest from sin and unrighteousness for all of God’s creation. Full details of the Seventh Age are given in Chapter 14, The Eternal Age of the Kingdom of God.

Diagrammatic Overview of the Seven Ages in God’s Plan for All

Note: In this table, the age of the earth from Adam of approximately 6000 years, is based on the Hebrew Masoretic text. Some scholars, using the Septuagint, arrive at an age of the earth from Adam of approximately 7500 years. However, this time difference of 1500 years does not affect our understanding of God’s Plan of the Ages in any way.

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