Hi Brian, of course I would love to continue. :-)
Romans 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me,
Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
I believe your question about my belief is that if God finds sends men to hell for eternity, could I worship Him? I could not because of Romans 9:19 (and other verses which tell me God is completely sovereign). With my limited understanding of God's plan of the ages, my limited human intellect would prohibit me from worshipping a god that created most of humanity to suffer in a literal, burning, tormenting hell. Since neither you nor I believe in free will, we believe that God is totally responsible for the fate of His creatures. I can find no reason to worship a god who gets his kicks out of watching His creatures suffer forever when he fails to reveal himself to them.
In my opinion,(and again as you stated in your post, in my belief system constrained by the world in which God has placed me), a God who tortures those He created is unworthy of worship. Now this is based on my limited experience of this world. But, God placed me here and He caused all of my experiences. This would make him worse than Hitler or Stalin because it would never end. Again, this is based on my finite mind. It's the only one I've got at the present.
Now, the ages. I believe there have been distinct ages in the past and there will be future ages.
Ie:
Age is my term for aion. Aions are periods of time. The Concordant Literal New Testament uses the English word eon for the Greek aion. It is simply a period of time. I believe this because aion is used of past periods of time.
IE: There was a time before God made any aions/eons/ages (I Cor. 2:7). Then God made the aions/eons/ages (Heb. 1:2). There were aions/eons/ages in the past (Col 1:26). We are living in this present wicked aion/eonage (Gal. 1:4). Satan is the god of this aion/eon/age (II Cor. 4:4). Christ, not Satan, will reign a thousand years in the next aion/eon/age (Lk 1:33). The thousand years will come to an end (Rev. 20:3). Christ will reign in the aion/eon/age that follows the thousand years (Rev. 22:5 and Lk. 1:33). Hence, He reigns for the "aions/eons/ages" (the next two) "of the aions/eons/ages" (all others).
Then the last aion/eon/age comes to an end (I Cor. 10:11). Christ ceases to reign after the aions/eons/ages come to an end (I Cor. 15:24:28) because He turns over the Kingdom to God His Father and God becomes "all in all." The aions/eons/ages end, but that which is of the Kingdom continues (Lk 1:33 & Isa. 9:7). We all continue "living" after the aions/eons/ages because, just like God, we will then all have been given immortality.
My basic divisions are: 5 distinct "aions"/ages/eons
The ages. Substitute ages for eons below. They mean the same in my opinion.
1 [THE BEGINNING]
[creation of the Heaven & Earth] (the 1st)]
Gen 1:1 2 Pet 3:5-7
ALL THE EONS
(all of the eons, 5 revealed in Scripture)
Jude 25
THE EONS
(all or part of the eons)
Eph 3:11 Heb 1:2 Jude 25 1 Tim 1:17 Heb 11:3
FROM THE EONS
(into the distant past, as far as the eons go, beyond history)
Eph 3:9 Col 1:26
[THE DISRUPTION]
[the disruption - casting down the previous world, as foundation for the present one]
Gen 1:2
cf 2 Pet 3:6 and Eph 2:2
2. [CREATION OF MAN]
[the "7 days of creation" - Gen 1:3,ff; the present Heaven & Earth (the 2nd) - 2 Pet 2:5]
OUT OF THE EON
(from the distant past, before this eon)
Jn 9:32
FROM THE EON
(from the distant past, before this eon)
Lk 1:70 Acts 15:18 Acts 3:21
[THE DELUGE]
[of Noah's day]
cf 2 Pet 2:5 and Eph 2:2
3 THE PRESENT EON
(this present eon)
Gal 1:4
THE CURRENT EON
(this present eon)
1 Tim 6:17 2 Tim 4:10 Tit 2:12
THIS EON
(during this present eon)
Matt 12:32 Lk 20:34 1 Cor 2:6 2 Cor 4:4 Matt 13:22 Rom 12:2 1 Cor 2:8 Eph 1:21 Mk 4:19 1 Cor 1:20 1 Cor 3:18 Eph 2:2 Lk 16:8
4.(Future) THE COMING EON the milleniel reign of Christ
(the Kingdom eon or Millenium)
Mk 10:30 Lk 18:30
THE FUTURE EON
(the Kingdom eon or Millenium)
Heb 6:5
THAT EON
[THE JUDGMENT]
[The Great White Throne Judgment, unbelieving mankind judged and enter the second death]
CONCLUSION OF THE EON
(the end of the Kingdom eon)
Matt 28:20
5 (Future) [THE NEW HEAVEN & EARTH]
[The third mentioned - 2 Cor 12:2]
Rev 22:1
cf Gen 1:1 and 2 Pet 3:5-7
EON OF THE EONS
(one eon superior to the others, the last eon)
Eph 3:21
[THE COMSUMMATION]
[The last enemy, death, destroyed]
1 Cor 15:24-27
As you can see Brian, I place us in the third aion/eon/age. 2 more are future. They are the "heaven" you speak of. The believers during life (the body of Christ) will receive aionian/eonian/age during life. They will live and reign with Christ during the last two aions/eons/ages. The non believers during life will receive aionian/eonian/age during chastening. Theirs will be a resurrection of judging.
At the end of all ages (Heb. 9:26 and 1 Cor 10:11), time itself will end. We will eternally be with God beyond the ages.
So I believe there is a difference between the ages and eternity.
Thanks,
YBIC
Alan
PS: I fully understand and respect your belief that all things have transpired prophecy wise. I will just have to agree to disagree. |
