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with three exceptions, viz., Heb. 1: 8, which is in the singular, "unto the age of the
age"; Eph. 3: 21 is singular and plural, "unto the age of the ages"; and
Rev. 14: 11 which omits the article the, "unto ages of ages".
Collect the references. Arrange them to show with what they deal, e.g., Israel,
God, torment, etc.
5. Discover all you can concerning "this age", "the age", and "the ages to come".
6. What are said to be aiġniġn ("eternal", "everlasting", A.V.)?
Make a list, e.g., Redemption (Heb. 9: 12).
How do you understand the words in Matt. 25: 46?
7. Collect references to "eternal life". What is the difference in the way it is
obtained in Matthew, John, Paul's epistles? Are all the same?
The Purpose of the Ages.
Course 100: Paper #3.
pp. 92 - 94
We have seen that God has a purpose, and that the purpose is begun and completed
during the course of the ages, hence "the purpose of the ages".
We now pass under review some of the instruments or agents used.
CREATION is one of the parts of the great plan. With creation Scripture opens. The
creation mentioned in Gen. 1: 1 must not be confounded with the work of the six days.
During the six days some things already created were made to fit the present period,
others were created during that time. The present creation is not the goal; it is the
platform upon which the great purpose of the ages is worked out. God has a new creation
in view, which brings the purpose of the ages to completion.
Gen. 1: 1 is severed from the rest of Genesis. How far that goes back none know. In
verse 2 we read, "the earth was without form and void". The word "was" should be
rendered became (see Gen. 2: 7, 9: 15, etc.). "Without form and void" is in Hebrew
Tohu va Bohu. Isa. 45: 18 declares that the earth was not created tohu; Gen. 1: 2 tells
us it became so. The six days' work and seventh day's rest have a foreshadowing of the
great purpose begun then, and stretching out over the ages until "the rest that remaineth"
is attained.
This creative work is sometimes referred to under the title, "THE HEAVENS AND
THE EARTH". Gen. 1: 1 tells us of the first, Gen. 2: 1 of the second, and II Pet. 3: 13
of the third, the new heavens and earth.
THE WORLD must be distinguished from heaven and earth. The Greek word kosmos
meaning order, arrangement, and ornament.