Let me quickly try to summarize this subject by clarifying a few more things and scriptures and then to touch on Heb. 9:27-28.
This essence of this study is to enable you align yourself fully with the work the Father has given to you to accomplish while you have your breathe and to stop you from having a wrong hope of you departing very soon with the sound of a trumpet.
There are no such provisions in God’s agenda for His people.
In Isa. 45:18, we read “For thus says the Lord — Who created the heavens, God Himself, 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙩, 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚; 𝙃𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙— I am the Lord, and there is no one else.” Amp.
“ 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗻❞ He formed it to be inhabited. Therefore, Judah, lying waste during the Babylonian captivity, shall be peopled again by the exiles. The Jews, from this passage, infer that after the resurrection the earth shall be inhabited. For there can be no reason why the earth should then exist in vain any more than now.
That is, God’s purpose in creating the earth shall be fulfilled. So shall all his counsels respecting his chosen people Israel
World without End?
Eph. 3:21, “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝. Amen.”
NKJV. Eph. 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙣”
But in Matt. 28:20, we read;
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻.❞
Now looking at the above quoted scriptures, it looks like they are contradicting themselves. Ephesians says “world without end”. Mathew says till the “END OF THE WORLD”.
So what exactly is the difference?
Look at it. In Ephesians what you have is;
“ 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨❞ = eiv pasav tav geneav. “Through all succeeding generations” – while the race of human beings continues to exist on the face of the earth.
This is what explains Ecl. 1: 4, “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.”
But when you come to Matthew 28:20, this is what you see;
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 = 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙞𝙖,(soon-tel’-i-ah) – entire completion; i.e.,𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻–end.
𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱= 𝗮𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗲-𝗼𝗵𝗻❜ = properly, an age;, the world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future) –age, course,…
So you see, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚
And that was what took place after Christ’ death on the Cross but was fully completed when the Roman soldiers invaded Jerusalem and uprooted even the foundation stones with which the Temple was built.
They dug up everything with the mind that they would see more gold because they found gold in the Most Holy Place being used to plate the Ark, fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 24:1-3;
“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when His disciples came up to him to call His attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” NIV
The truth therefore is that, the Old Testament never ended after Christ’ death on the cross, not even at Pentecost because the Jews were still worshipping in the Temple and the sacrifices were ongoing with the High Priest.
This explains why Peter could heal the man by the Beautiful Gate, and this continued for about 40 years down the line until the Romans through General Titus came to wipe out Jerusalem and the Temple.
That was when the Old Testament ended. This is why you read in Heb.8: 13
“In that he saith, 𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙡𝙙. 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙭𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮❞.
Notice the phrase. ‘READY TO VANISH AWAY’. That shows a time frame. Meaning the Old Testament was not yet completely abolished when Paul wrote this letter.
And like I always try to point out, the Letter to the Hebrews was written in AD 63-67 and Jerusalem fell in AD 70, so that’s some between three to seven years before the fall.
Therefore “ the world that ended” here was the world of the Jews not the globe-earth. It was an era that ended, not humanity or planet earth.
And as stated before, this is clearly seen with the work of Christ as the High Priest with the sacrifice of Himself;
NKJV Heb. 9:26, “He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ( world) ages,,
He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
To be continued…