“..Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly me….. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleths
righteousness..”
Matt.13: 24-30; 37-43. In the interpretation given, of the parable of the wheat and Tares,. the FIELD IS THE WORLD (KOSMOS) – ‘the system of things’. The GOOD SEED – WHEAT are the TRUE DISCIPLES – Children of the kingdom. The TARES are the EVIL ONES – Children of the devil – the enemy that planted them. The HARVEST is the END OF THE WORLD

SO WHAT THEN IS THE END OF THE WORLD?
“Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be AT THE CLOSE OF THE AGE” Matt. 13:40 RSV. The Greek word used here is SUNTELLEIA, which means the consummation of a dispensation. That means the harvest is the bringing to an end the age of evil works under the power of Satan. It is this understanding of the words of Jesus, referring to the close of the age, that made the disciples to ask the question “ …. What will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age” Matt 24:3 RSV.

Since the word “coming” in the Greek is “PAROUSIA” which means “PRESENCE”, literally it should read,
“What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things”? Math 24:3. In other words, all the signs
(symbols?) He gave in the entire Chapter 24, are the things that signal the conclusion of the age of evil, realizing
that, He also spoke of His presence, till the end of the age when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of
people of all nations…. Teaching them to observe all the things I have command you. And look! I AM WITH YOU
ALL THE DAYS UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF THE SYSTEM OF THINGS (close of the age).” (Math. 28:19-20). Int. Linear Trans.
Keep in mind again that he was dealing with the Jewish system then, so that age ended at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Again realize that it took some forty years after the death and resurrection of Christ for these things to be written and even before the fall of Jerusalem. They were still observing some Judaistic temple worship even after the Holy Ghost has been poured out hence Peter and John were still going to the Temple and healed the man by the gate. Acts was written between AD 62-63 , That’s some years before the fall which is the total end of the Jewish order of temple and sacrificial worship.

And you know what? He is here with us right from the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2.), right from when He asked the disciples to “wait for the promise of the Father”. (Acts 1:4). For the Apostles saw Him come, in the upper room. And His presence in the saints, shall be intensified at the conclusion of things, just as the Spirit puts it
“And to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in FLAMING FIRE, INFLICTING VENGEANCE UPON THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD AND UPON THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS. They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the PRESENCE of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when he comes on that day to be GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS.. (The reapers – angels)” 2 Thes 1:7-10
RSV.
Again let us understand that, this was a promise to the saints in Thessalonica as vengeance because of the persecution they were facing by Paul, so if they never realized this promise that means Paul deceived them, and if they did get a fulfilled promise, that means the Lord really came in Vengeance. This is why it’s important to understand the various comings of the Lord in the scriptures, when and how he came, and to whom and for what purpose, for he who comes to us as a judge, also comes as the Bridegroom. They are not the same comings but the same person. The letter of 2 Thes. was written in AD 50-51

UNBELIEF, THE COMMON SIN OF THE ‘AGES’
From 2 These 1:5-10, we have been able to see that, the wrath of God awaits those who know not God and refused to believe the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he comes to be glorified in His saints, which also corresponds to the harvest of the age. Math 13:40. The weeds being the wicked unbelievers.

SO HOW LONG HAS THIS UNBELIEF BEEN AROUND AND WHAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF IT?
In Math 12:22, is a record of the story of Jesus healing a blind and dumb fellow and how the Pharisees derided Him by saying “This man is only expelling devils because he is in league with Beelzebub, the Prince of devils”. In Verse 32 we are told, Jesus said “And whoever says 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” RSV. “..neither in this world, neither in the world to come” KJV. “not in this system of things nor in that to come” Int. Lin. Trans.

Looking at the above scripture and the various translations so compared, one might think that, it is referring to the
age of the Jewish law and that of the Grace that will be ushered in by the Christian era, while that is the true, the fact remains that this really goes back to the wilderness world, that is the nature of the people’s heart towards God, and the New Order, that will be introduced thereafter. Now look at it, why did He make the statement? “…He said this because THEY WERE
SAYING, HE IS IN THE POWER OF AN EVIL SPIRIT.” … “30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” kjv Mark 3:22-30.

So you see, “the world” there refers to the age of unbelief in the power of God, knowing that the promise and plan
of redemption was made unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Gen 15:13, Acts 7:17, 26:6. Therefore these promise and the miracles performed on their behalf by God, in the wilderness through the Holy Ghost, their hearts was still hardened. Hence Stephen told them “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, YE DO ALWAYS
RESIST THE HOLY GHOST: AS YOUR FATHERS DID, SO DO YE”. Acts 7:51, Matt 21:33-41.
And this their inability to acknowledge the power of the Holy Ghost made it impossible for them, to enter into the rest of God.
“For good news came to us just as to them; but the message which they heard did not benefit them, because it did
not meet with faith in the hearers–, as He has said, –as I swore in my wrath. They shall never enter my rest….
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and THEY TO WHOM IT WAS FIRST PREACHED
ENTERED NOT IN BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF.” (Heb.4: 3-6).

And it was this world of unbelief, which extended to the time of Jesus; and so He spoke to the Pharisees who will not believe on Him for healing a blind man. “ ….If ye were blind, ye should have no sin, but now ye say, we see, therefore your sin (unbelief) remaineth.” See John 9:39-41. In other words, as long as your sin (unbelief) remaineth, you cannot acknowledge the Holy Ghost, which is the outworking, and saving power of God. The work of the Holy Ghost is to” … Convince the world of the meaning of sin, of true goodness and of judgment. He will expose their sin because they do not believe in me;” Jon 16:8-9, Philips.

SO WHAT IS THE ETERNAL SIN (DAMNATION) ACCORDING TO MARK 3:29?
“If any of you should see his brother committing a sin (I don’t mean deliberately turning his back on God and embracing evil), he should pray to God for him and secure fresh life for the sinner. IT IS POSSIBLE TO COMMIT SIN THAT IS A DELIBERATE EMBRACING OF EVIL and THAT LEADS TO SPIRITUAL DEATH – that is not the sort of sin I have in mind when I recommend prayer for the sinner…. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, if they shall fall away (apostatize), to renew them again unto repentance; SEEING THEY CRUCIFY TO THEMSELVES THE SON OF GOD AFRESH, and put Him to an open shame”. I Jn. 5:16, Heb. 6:4-6. Philips, KJV.
But why is it impossible? It is because “if any one sin deliberately by rejecting the saviour after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ’s death; there is no way to get rid of it… Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated His cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed, and insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to His people.” Heb. 10:26-29. Tlb.
Meaning the only way to get forgiveness is to acknowledge the Holy Ghost as the saving power of the Father. And if this can be done, then that sin is forgiven. So the constant rejection of the Holy Ghost is the unpardonable sin otherwise there is no sin that is not forgivable through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus.

To be continued…

(c) 2015 – Dr. David O. Ogaga

“..Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly me….. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleths
righteousness..”
Gal.1: 3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father

So what are we saying? The word WORLD (Kosmos) should be seen appropriately as “the system of THINGS” For
we are still Living in the present age, but not affected by the “system of things” that characterized the period of the
time. Therefore note that “The course of a world which is evil is itself evil and to live in accordance with it is to live in
trespasses and sins”

A FURTHER LOOK AT THE WORDS AGE (AION) AND WORLD (KOSMOS)
With the true meaning of the words Age (Aion) and world (Kosmos) as specifying periods, ages, time and the state of affairs (system of things) that characterized that period of existence.

Let us now look at some Scriptural implication of these words as used in the Bible.

In Heb. 1:2 we are told of the worlds that Jesus created ..“God…
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. KJV. Notice that, the worlds here is plural, so it is not one world as if referring to our
globe as people commonly believe. He has ordained that ALL CREATION shall ultimately belong. “(Philips)” ….
through whom He created ALL ORDERS OF EXISTENCE.” NEB “. … through whom He made THE SYSTEM OF
THINGS”. (Int. Lin. Trans).

A critical comparison of the above translations, of the word “WORLDS” as used here, means that all prevailing
states of affairs or the various “systems of things” that existed, are existing and that will ever exist are the direct creation (ordination) of God in Christ. Hence we read

“He created everything there is – nothing exists that He didn’t make; Christ Himself is the creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t, the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities, all were made by Christ for His use and Glory”. Jn. 1:3, Col. 1:16. Tlb,. See also I Cor. 8:6, Rom. 11:36, Rev. 4:11, Eph. 2;7.

So it is talking of existing ages, times, seasons past, present and future of his creations, and it is called worlds.
Therefore we can see that, everything in existence, the state of affairs, even in the AGES-AION to come are the direct
creation and in control of God’s power – His Christ.

WHAT WORLD (AGE) ENDED WITH THE COMING OF CHRIST? (HEB. 9:26).
“For them 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”.

Let it be noted that this chapter of Hebrew 9 is dealing with the priesthood ministry of Jesus, with the shedding of
His blood, foreshadowed by the blood of bulls and the tabernacle arrangements. The fact is, through the law covenant by God with the children of Israel, God initiated a Jewish Epoch, (age) with all that the law stood for, that mapped out that period of history, as regards God’s relationship with mankind; the characteristic features of which includes, a priesthood, a system of sacrifices, dietary regulations as found in the book of Leviticus and of
Tabernacle and Temple worships, with festivals and Sabbaths that were all “a shadow of the things to come; but
the body (fullness, reality) is in Christ”. Col. 2:17.

Therefore, with the coming of Christ, and the nailing of these laws and ceremonies to His cross, by the offering up
of His blood, as the ultimate sacrifice, thereby introducing a New Covenant according to Col. 2; 13-17, Heb. 8:13, Mk 14:22-24, He made the Old Covenant with its ritualistic systems of worship to terminate-end, and this is called “the WORLD” (Heb.9: 26), and so making all sacrifices to come to an end through Christ singular sacrifices.
In other words, that was the climax of the history, of the Jewish age of ceremonies and mode of worship. Compare Gal.
4:21-31, 2 Cor. 3:6-16. And that is what is meant by the END OF THE WORLD here in Heb. 9:26.

But again, it should be noted that, this Jewish system of worship and doing things, did not actually end until AD 70, when the temple worship was destroyed by the Romans and so completely terminating the priesthood, the sacrifices and the laws that pertains to it, with the Jews completely scattered.

This is the true meaning of the answer Jesus gave to His disciples, when they said, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and THE END OF THE WORLD?” Matt. 24:3 “close of the age?” RSV. “End of the age?” NEB. “Conclusion of the system of things?” Int. Linear Trans.

And this is the way it should read, the close of an age, instead of “the world” as used only in the King James version.

“The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel…. Stand in the holy place” Math.24:15. Dan. 9:27, was the
Roman soldiers who moved into the Holy place in the Temple, destroying and dislodging all the Jews that took
refuge there during the siege. Quite an abominable thing for the Jews, that a Gentile should enter the most Holy
place, which only the Jewish high priest is qualified to enter therein once a year, to offer sacrifices for the sins of the
people. The Jews accused Paul of haven “POLLUTED THE TEMPLE” because he went in there with some Greeks-Gentile believers. Acts 21:28. In the true sense of it, all the areas surrounding the Temple was referred to as the Holy Ground .That then was the abomination, it’s not yet future.

Thank God, that in inaugurating the New Order, He is creating a New People for Himself through the Spirit. Heb
8:7-13, 1 Peter.2:5.

But may we heed the word of the Spirit, admonishing us that “ALL these happened to them (the Jews) are
examples…. as objects of lessons to us… to warn us against doing the same things, they were written down so that
we could read about them, and learn from them IN THESE LAST DAYS AS THE WORLD (system of things, the age) NEARS IT END” I Cor. 10:11 Tlb. Compare I Tim. 6:17, 2 Tim. 4:10, Matt. 13:22.
And in I Cor. 7:31.Paul said “the fashion of this world (age) passeth away”. That is the system of the Jewish order was passing away . This was written in DA 57-58, and Jerusalem with the Temple worship fell in AD 70.

DIRECT INFLUENCES OF THE PAST AGE ON THE PRESENT ONE
The lesson drawn from the above analysis is that, the present world order can affect a person’s spiritual life, which
the Bible refers to as “the cares of this world” (Matt. 13:22); an example of whom was Demas

“please come as
soon as you can, for Demas has left me. He loved THE GOOD OF THIS LIFE. (Present system of things)… :2 Tim.
4:10, Tlb, Int. Linear Trans.

But who is the controller of this present world-age? The word says, “And if indeed our gospel be found veiled, the only people who find it so, are those on the way to perdition. Their unbelieving minds are so blinded by the god of this passing age” 2 Cor. 4:3-4.
This same god of this world is identified in John 12; 31 as “the prince of this world’ seen also as the unseen ruler in the heart of men,

“ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” .. “To you, who were spiritually dead all the time that you drifted along on the stream of this world’s ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler (who is still operating in those who do not respond to the truth of God) “Eph2: 1-2,kjv, .. Philips.

Now, it is this unseen controlling power, in the heart of men that makes them enemies of God, for “you yourselves
who were strangers to God, and in fact, through the evil things you have done (are) HIS SPIRITUAL ENEMIES…” Col. 1:21. Philips.

But how did man become the spiritual enemy of God? It is as man in Adam became one with Satan – evil, by
partaking of “the tree of knowledge of good and evil (for) “to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death…” (For) “to be carnally minded is death…” (Gen. 3:1-6,
Rom. 6:16; 8:6).

It therefore follows that, the present corruptions, evils, foolishness, pride, wars among family members, nations and even in religious circles, unbelief in the hearts of the so called Christians of what God Himself is doing and wants to do, goes far back beyond the age of the Jewish order of the Old Covenant.

This is made plain by the parable of the WHEAT and TARES. Matt.13: 24-30; 37-43. In the interpretation given, the
FIELD IS THE WORLD (KOSMOS) – ‘the system of things’. The GOOD SEED – WHEAT are the TRUE DISCIPLES – Children of the kingdom. The TARES are the EVIL ONES – Children of the devil – the enemy that planted them. The HARVEST is the END OF THE WORLD.

Now notice something, the parable states clearly that “the wheat” and “the tares” shall be here till the end of the world, so it is very erroneous to teach that some people would be “raptured” before the end of the world. It is also clear that what the reapers gathered to be burnt are the tares – weeds “system of things” (aion) verse 30 and not the world (Kosmos).

It is always the wicked that are removed not the righteous, just like Noah in his days. He was left behind, and the wicked were taken out, i.e. destroyed. That is what it means to be taken. Therefore to teach that the righteous will be raptured out is not Biblical.

To be continued…

(c) 2015 – Dr. David O. Ogaga

“..Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly me….. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleths
righteousness..”

The need to understand the use of the word AGE (AION) AND WORLD (KOSMOS).
What do we really mean by the term “The end of the world” “The elements shall melt
with fervent heart” “the world to come” etc. Are all these referring to the physical globe? What exactly are the
“Heavens and earth that shall pass away”? What is the nature of the fire that will do this melting? What influence will
it have on us to know that, there is a different between the use of the words AGE and the word WORLD? etc.

AGE in the Greek is“AION” and may refer to a period of time in man’s history, whether having or not having specific dates of demarcation. “space of time” “clearly defined and marked out epoch” “age” and also “life time”, “life” and generation”.

For instance, when we read that Christ” will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever” Luke 1:33,it literally means “to (for) ages”. And the “fig tree” that was also cursed “forever” Math. 21:19 is also for the ages “or “age abiding” which is actually the house of Jacob (Jer. 8:13) referring to the Old Covenant that shall pass away forever. Heb.8: 13.

Another good example, of the meaning of the word, is found in Luke. 20:34-35 which says, “The sons of this AGE marry-but those worthy of that AGE and the resurrection – neither marry nor are given in marriage”. Compare Mk. 10:30. It denotes a long period of time, as in Acts 2:21, 15:18, Luke 1:33. Referring to the time of the prophecies about Christ, before the final fulfillment.

So we can see that, the basic sense of “AION is “AGE” or “PERIOD of EXISTENCE” and it often denotes a long space of time. (Jn.1:45). Liddell and Scots “A Greek-English Lexicon” (P 45) List as a definition of AION: “Space of time” clearly defined and marked out epoch, age, and era. It signifies a period of indefinite duration, or time viewed in relation to what takes place in the period”.

And in this sense, the word AION is very close in meaning to the word WORLD (KOSMOS) which means “an order, SYSTEM OR ARRANGEMENT OF THINGS” In Gal. 1:4 we read of our being “delivered from the present evil world” KJV. “Present evil age” RSV. “Rescued us from the present evil world order” JP Philips. “Present age of wickedness” N.E.B. “Present wicked world” (Jerusalem Bible) “Present wicked system of things” (Int. Linear Trans.)

So you see, what is meant by the WORLD is not the globe, the stars in the galaxy or planets known and unknown.
Neither is it referring to the universes, but rather to the way of life, social structures, cultures, philosophies, political
ideologies, religion and the economic lifestyle of humanity, devised by man himself outside of God. It speaks of the
products of the carnal mind of man, which is enmity and death, Rom. 8:7-8 “for the whole world system, based as it
is on MEN’S PRIMITIVE DESIRES, THEIR GREEDY AMBITIONS and THE GLAMOUR OF ALL THAT THEY THINK SPLENDID” but “not derived from the father” “and we also know that the world around us is under the power
of the evil one? 1 Jn. 2:16; 5:19 (Philips).

Therefore when Paul wrote “quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your
mind over” (Rom. 12:2 (Int. Linear Trans)

it was not the time, period of itself that set the fashion, pattern or models for the people of that time, that he was saying they should change from. But the standards, practices, manners,
customs, ways, outlooks, styles and other features that formed the life style of that age. Walking in the way of the
world, is what the bible says in Eph. 2:2 as “following the course of this world “RSV. “Following the way of this world” Jb “when you followed the evil ways of this present age” N.E.B. “that you drifted along on the stream of this world’s ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler (who is still operating in those who do not respond to the truth of God” .. (Philips).

Therefore “… the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of ALL MEN, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, for he gave Himself for us, that He might rescue us from all our EVIL WAYS and make for Himself a people of His own, clean and pure, with our hearts set upon Living a life that is good” Titus 2:11, 12, 14 (RSV, Philips).

To be continued …

(c) 2015 – Dr. Daivd O. Ogaga