JBTM_10-2_Fall_2013

JBTM
R. Larry Overstreet
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his grand doxology, Jude observed the distinction between the past age-time, the present time,
and the coming many ages; he wrote, “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time (pro pantos tou aiōnos, “before
all the age”) and now (nyn) 90 and forever” (eis panta tous aiōnas, “unto all the ages”) (Jude 25);
(e) The resurrected Christ is seated at the right hand of God, Paul stated, “far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age (tō
aiōni toutō) but also in the one to come (tō mellonti)” (Eph 1:21). Concerning this statement
Hoehner astutely observes that “in Ephesians there is not the cessation of time . . . but there is a
time division between the present and future ages. The word aiōn, ‘age,’ consistently refers to ‘age’
or a period of time in Ephesians.” 91 As was the case elsewhere, so it is here that time is an integral
part of each age, as one age follows another. (f) In similar ways Paul spoke of “the mystery which
has been hidden from the past ages and generations (apo tōn aiōnōn kai apo tōn geneōn)” (Col
1:26), and the author of Hebrews considers those who “have tasted the good word of God and
the powers of the age to come (mellontos aiōnos)” (Heb 6:5), again showing a sequence of ages,
and thus also of time.
Ages upon ages continue indefinitely
Scripture specifies that the ages do not cease; rather they continue on indefinitely. Paul
recorded concerning God “that in the ages to come (en tois aiōsin tois eperchomenois) He might
show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7). “The
setting for this manifestation of God’s grace is spelled out by means of the temporal phrase ‘in the
ages to come’ . . . . The plural ‘ages’ is not simply a stylistic variation of the singular, but a more
general conception, implying ‘one age supervening upon another like successive waves of the sea,
as far into the future as thought can reach.” 92
Scripture also uses the phrase “forever and ever,” referring to age following age for the unlimited
future of time. The Greek phrases include the following: (a) eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn (“unto
the ages [plural] of the ages [plural]”) (Gal 1:5; see also Phil 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Heb
13:21; 1 Pet 4:11; Rev 1:6; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5); (b) eis ...
tou aiōnos tōn aiōnōn (“unto the age [singular] of the ages [plural]”) (Eph 3:21); (c) eis ton aiōna
tou aiōnos (“unto the age [singular] of the age [singular]”) (Heb 1:8); (d) eis aiōnas aiōnōn (“unto
ages [plural] of ages [plural]”) (Rev 14:11).
90 The Greek adverb nyn is a “temporal marker with focus on the moment as such, now” or a “temporal
marker with focus not so much on the present time as the situation pert. at a given moment, now, as it is”
(A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 681).
91 Hoehner, Ephesians, 282.
92 Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1999), 173.