And surely I am with you always; to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)
The very end of the age . . . When might that be? The Jews espoused what we might call a two-staged eschatology consisting of a present age and culminating in the age of the Messiah. Then Jesus came and went, and his final promise is to be with his disciples to the very end of the age. But if he was the Messiah, his coming was supposed to mark the end of the age. The new age has begun, hasn’t it?
The disciples were obviously very confused about what in the world was going on, and that’s why in Acts 1, as Jesus is preparing to ascend into heaven, the disciples are asking him questions about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Is this the time? Will you do it now? Will you now, finally do what we have all been waiting for you to do since you showed up? Jesus’ response? “It’s not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father has set in his own power.”
Jesus begins his ministry on earth with these words: “The time has come.” He ends them with these words: “It is not for you to know the times . . . ” Which one is correct? The answer is yes!
The New Testament moves us from a two-staged eschatology to a three-staged eschatology. The chart below should help clarify this:
As this chart makes clear, we are living between the times . . . between the first and 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. And thus we are living in the present age, and in the age of the Messiah all at the same time. Jesus is with us because he came, but he will be with us, because he is coming. The kingdom of God is both present and coming. We live between present and future knowledge: we know that the time has come, because Jesus made it known to us. But it is not for us to know the times and seasons that are to come.
So then, what is the power that emboldens our knowledge and embraces of our weakness as we traverse this present age? The power of the Spirit. “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has set in his own power, but you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” It is the power of the Spirit that is to be our focus, not the times or the seasons. If we learn to depend upon him, the Spirit, we will learn to revel in the knowledge we have and wait in hope for the full knowing that is to come.
Share your thoughts:
Does any of this make sense to you? What are your thoughts on these things?
