What is the “age to come” (see, e.g., Mk. 10:30), and what does it mean to live for it? How is our understanding of the coming age meant to inform and shape our conduct (inward and outward) as followers of Jesus in this “present evil age” (Gal. 1:4)? What impact should the things that God has revealed about the future—the coming kingdom of the Messiah, the wrath to come, the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, the promised restoration of Israel and salvation of the nations, the tree of life, the second death/lake of fire, eternal punishment and eternal rewards, the restoration of all things, etc.—have on our decisions, motives, priorities, values, attitudes, actions, and overall way of life as Jesus’ disciples? Why do we need to “go deep” in our walk with the Lord, why do we need to “reach wide” with the gospel, and how do these vital aspects of the church’s calling relate to what the Bible teaches about the age to come? We invite you to join us as we explore these questions in this teaching.

Tim Miller

Full Gospel

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<li class="li1">Love Bethany’s vision statement: “Going deep, reaching wide, living for the age to come.” I.e., “doing Christianity,” or “following Jesus”!</li>
<li class="li1">Breaking it down
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<li class="li1">“Living”=way of life, conduct (inward and outward), behavior, motives, attitudes, choices, priorities, values, etc.</li>
<li class="li1">“for”=purpose, goal, standard, etc.</li>
<li class="li1">The “age to come”=God’s division and arrangement of time; in contrast to other ways of arranging time; God says: “let’s keep this simple: pre-and-post visitation of Yahweh”</li>
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<li class="li1">Questions: How is our understanding of the age to come meant to impact our conduct and way of life? How should our understanding of the tree of life impact our attitudes? How should our understanding of the resurrection of the righteous affect the way we relate to others? Etc. Why do we need to go deep? Why do we need to reach wide? And how do these relate to what the Bible teaches about the age to come?</li>
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INTRODUCTION

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<li class="li1">Diagram/Chart 1</li>
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<img src="https://api.danieltrainingnetwork.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-22-at-4.01.54-PM.png" alt="" />

THE ORIGINAL GLORY OF CREATION

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<li class="li1">Darkness/evil enters the creation</li>
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12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12, ESV)
<img src="https://api.danieltrainingnetwork.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-22-at-4.02.16-PM.png" alt="" />

THE FALL

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<li class="li1">God promises to make all things new; God’s promise creates a timeline</li>
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17 “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. (Is. 65:17, NIV)
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THE PROMISE

THIS AGE IN CONTRAST TO THE AGE TO COME

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<li class="li1">The Day of the Lord</li>
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13 “You have said harsh things against me,” says the Lord. 
“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’ 
14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’ ” 
16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance (Heb. sēfer zekkārôn; cf. Ex. 32:32, Is. 4:3, Dn. 12:1, Re. 12:12) was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. 
17 “They will be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in the day (the Day of the Lord) when I make up my treasured possession (“my special possession on the day when I act” [RSV, NRSV]; “on the day when I act in judgment” [NLT]). I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked (“between what happens to the righteous and to the wicked” [TEV]), between those who serve God and those who do not. 
 1“Surely the day (the Day of the Lord) is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them (cf. Mt. 3:10—“Even now the axe is ready to strike the root of the trees!” [HCSB]). 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness (Heb. shemesh ṣeḏāqāh—“sun of vindication” [NET]; “my saving power” [TEV]; could also be translated “sun of victory,” or “sun of salvation”) will rise with healing in its wings (driving back the darkness, in which evildoers like to do their work [cf. Jb. 24:13]; sun here being compared to a bird in flight; the sun will “bring healing like the sun’s rays” [TEV]). And you will go out and leap like calves (“free and happy” [TEV]; “leaping with joy” [NLT]) released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day (the Day of the Lord) when I do these things,” says the Lord Almighty. 
4 “Remember the law (Heb. torah—“instruction” [HCSB]) of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 
5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers (cf. Mal. 2:10—“why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?” [NLT]); or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Mal. 3:13-4:6, NIV) 
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<li class="li1">Diagram/Chart 5 (in Bible, days reckoned from evening to evening)</li>
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…And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Gen. 1:5b, NIV)
32 It [the Day of Atonement] is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.” (Lev. 23:32, NIV)
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<li class="li1">Day of the Lord/Second Coming/Age to Come/Restoration, etc. There is no gospel without the Day of the Lord.</li>
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8 There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing. (2 Tim. 4:8, CJB)

THE GREAT DIVIDING LINE/TRANSITION

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<li class="li1">Living according to the day; going deep and reaching wide</li>
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5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Th. 5:5-8, ESV)
11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature (“make no provision for the flesh” [NASB]). (Rom. 13:11-14, NIV)
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared (“be urgent” [RSV]) in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Tim. 4:1-2, NIV) 
<img src="https://api.danieltrainingnetwork.org/app/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-22-at-4.03.04-PM.png" alt="" />
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<li class="li1">Living a cross-shaped life in an age that hates the light of the cross and all that it represents=suffering.</li>
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18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (Jn. 15:18-19, NIV)

LIVING FOR THE AGE TO COME

What is the “age to come”, and what does it mean to live for it?

Living for the Age to Come