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End Of An Age
March 01, 2015
A lot of religious people talk about "the end of the world". Sadly, they abuse scriptures that are more accurately translated as "the end of the age". What age was coming to an end with the advent of Christianity? The age of the Law of Moses, for Jesus nailed it to His cross, and was the fulfilling of all of the Law and the prophets. It truly ended with the destruction of the temple, and the conquering of Jerusalem and Judah in AD 70. - Bernie Parsons
End of an
Age
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 03-08-2015
Presented to Load church of Christ on 04-05-2015
We have heard religious phrases all of our life that we
accept without investigating them in the scriptures � phrases such as
�the end of time� and �the end of the world�. Today we will take a look
at that. We have already pointed out that �the last days� occurred about
2,000 years ago.
Key to understanding this subject is knowing what certain words mean.
Matthew 24:1 "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his
disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that
shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall
be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you:
and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and
shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Jesus went on to tell His disciples of the signs of all of these things,
incluind the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place, as
Daniel had prophesied. During His discourse, He made the following
statement:
Matthew 24:34 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass,
till all these things be fulfilled."
In verse 3, the disciples asked of the signs of the coming of Jesus and
the end of the world. In the story of the tares, He explains what will
happen in the end of the world. However, the word translated as �end� in
these verses is the Greek word �sunteleia� (soon-tel'-i-ah), which means
�completion, or consummation, as the end of a dispensation. Furthermore,
the word �world� in these
verses is the Greek word, �aiōnos� from �aiōn� which means age. Rather
than talking about the destruction of the planet as many imagine it,
this rather describes the completion of an age. What age? Well, what was
changing?
Matthew 11:13 "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."
Matthew 3:1 "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the
wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent:
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Remember when we studied about the four great empires? Babylonian,
Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman? In the days of that last kingdom, God
established His eternal kingdom on the earth.
Daniel 2:44 "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."
The apostle Peter wrote almost 2,000 years ago that:
1 Peter 4:7 "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore
sober, and watch unto prayer."
The word translated �end� here is from the Greek root word �tello�,
which, according to Strong�s Exhaustive Concordance, means �to set out
for a definite point or goal� or �the conclusion of an act or state�.
Hebrews 1:1 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"
If, 2,000 years ago, all things were being completed, or a goal was
being reached, it is obvious through diligent study of the scriptures
that the thing being concluded was the Law of Moses, and the Prophets,
and they were being replaced by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the
freedom found in Jesus, the church as the body of Christ, and God�s
eternal kingdom here on earth.
What age was ending? The age of the Law and Prophets. What was replacing
it?
Ephesians 1:9 "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth; even in him:"
The word translated fullness above means �fulfillment, or completion�.
When the age of the Law and Prophets was completed, Jesus was sent,
ushering in the new age of enlightenment.
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation."
Hebrews 9:24 "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the
world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them
that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation."
Jesus was offered as our sacrifice, one time for all time. He did not
suffer from the beginning of the cosmos, but rather once at the end of
the ages (aenon, plural).
Hebrews 10:10 "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified."
Becoming our sacrifice, He also became our mediator, sitting at the
right hand of God.
Hebrews 7:24 "But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an
unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice,
first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once,
when he offered up himself.
28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the
word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is
consecrated for evermore."
What remains? Fear God and keep His commandments. Jesus is the eternal
sacrifice.
