Welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. This will be study #20 of Revelation, chapter 1, and we are presently reading in verse 6 of Revelation 1:

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

We have been looking at the Greek words translated as 'ever and ever,' and the Greek word is 'aion,' or in the case of our verse here in Revelation 1, verse 6, 'aionos' and 'aionol,' because they are plural, and it could be translated "for ages and ages, amen," and God is looking at eternity future. The translators translated this correctly; it does carry the idea of 'for ever and ever,' or into eternity to come, and so there is nothing incorrect about their translation. It is an accurate meaning, conveying the idea of 'aionos' and 'aionon,' into 'ages and ages' or 'for ever and ever.'

But we want to look at this word 'aion,' which is Strong's number 165. I would invite everyone to check it out, to get out your Strong's concordance and to look at all the places that it is used. It is a very interesting word, and we looked at a few verses, a few places in the Bible where it was used, in our last study.

But, tonight, we want to look at a few additional ones. Let us start with Ephesians 2, and verse 7. We looked at this last time. In verse 2, 'aion' was translated as 'course,' "according to the course of this world." And, then in verse 7 of Ephesians, chapter 2, we read, "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." And there is the Greek word 'aion' in a plural usage, and it is translated that way, "in the ages to come," so 'ages of ages' certainly is God's way of describing something indescribable, that is, an eternity without end. There is no limit to life in eternity future. We have everlasting life, life that continues on, and so this word 'ages' is found here, and we also find the Greek word 'aion' in a couple of other places.

In 1Corinthians, chapter 2, and it is actually found a few times in 1Corinthians, but we are going to look at just a couple of places. In 1Corinthians 2, in verse 7, it says:

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Now, we are looking at the word 'aion,' and in this verse it is translated as 'world,' (singular) but it actually is a plural Greek word that should be translated in a plural way, but that would not make any sense, so the translators translated it this way. Yet, we know that we have to be as accurate as possible when translating the Bible, and so the more accurate translation would read like this: "which God ordained before the ages unto our glory."

Now this is interesting because it is referring to 'ages' that God had ordained for the saints' glory. And, of itself, we might think, well, it is referring to the ages to come, when this world is gone. But, actually, we are going to find that the Bible speaks of a period of 'ages' that identify, somehow, with this world, and we will see that 'aion,' when used in a plural way, is a word that can describe an era, or a period of time, an epoch of some type.

For instance, let us stay in 1Corinthians, and turn to chapter 10, and we will read verse 11, where it says:

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Alright, well, we thought we had understood this verse before and, yet, what makes this verse more interesting to us at the moment is that the English word 'world' is a translation of 'aion,' and it should be translated in a plural way, and that would mean the translation would read: "they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come." Now both 'ends' and 'ages' are plural, and this is getting us to wonder, and it is a little curious, that the 'ends' of the 'ages' are come. How can that be? We understand an 'end of the age' to this world, to this evil generation; it is singular; God created the world, so He created an 'age.' But why plural? Why is it the 'ends' of the 'ages?'

And I do not think we will be able to pinpoint, specifically, these different 'ages,' although we do know that the Bible speaks of the first world, concerning the days leading up to the flood, and that world was destroyed by the flood, and now there is this present world, it says in 2Peter 3, that the LORD has restored, to be destroyed by fire. We could understand that as different 'ages.' There was the 'age' that ended when God destroyed the world with the deluge of water, and there is this present age, since, that God will end with fire.

But, we have the suspicion there is more to this word than that, because we know there was an era, or a period of time, in which God dealt with national Israel, and then He ceased to deal with them; they no longer were His people. Then there was a period of time known as the 'church age,' which covered 1,955 years, or we could look at the period of time known as the 'day of salvation,' and now we are in a 'day of judgment,' so there has been a change made of eras and, perhaps, this is what God means when He speaks of the 'ends' of the 'ages' coming upon us.

Well, let us also look at Colossians, chapter 1, and we will read a couple of verses here, in verses 25 and 26. It says:

Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

Now, again, this is an interesting statement. It is the same Greek word, translated properly. It is plural, so it is translated as 'ages,' and it is referring to the Gospel of the Bible. The 'mystery' is that information that God has sealed up and, notice, the "mystery which hath been hid," and that is past tense, and this is written in the first century A.D., "from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints."

And this 'mystery,' in this case, is again referring to the Gentiles, as the Lord opened up the Apostle Paul's eyes to see that they were fellowheirs with the Jews, that God's plan was to save people from every nation and tribe and tongue, all over the Earth, in the New Testament era. This information was hidden in the Bible and, therefore, called a 'mystery,' and it was hidden "from ages and generations."

Now, that means that the time past that led up to this first century, there were found 'ages' within that time period of history, and we know that the world was eleven thousand years old about the time of the birth of Christ, and so during that eleven thousand year period, God established certain 'ages' within that timeline.

And now we are in the New Testament era, a different 'age,' another period of time known as an 'age.' Well, why is this important? It is important because the disciples asked the question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the age?" (It says 'world,' but it is the same Greek word.) It is important because in Matthew, chapter 13, it says (and I am going to read a few verses here), beginning in verse 38 and 39:

The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world...

Again, 'aion,' the Greek word that could be translated 'age,' and should be, "the harvest is the end of the age..."

"... and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world." No, I think "end of this age" is the better translation: "so shall it be at the end of this age."

Matthew chapter 13, verses 41 and 42:

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Now, these verses are speaking of judgment day, which we have learned occured on May 21, 2011, and continues ever since, into our present time and for the foreseeable future. We are living in the day of judgment. But, you see, when people, historically or traditionally, have read these verses and they saw that the wheat and the tares were separated, and the tares bundled for burning and cast into a furnace of fire on the day of judgment, they concluded, "Well, it says the end of the world - it comes on the very last day. Christ returns and all these things happen instantaneously, all transpire at once."

And, yet, a more careful looking into what God has done, and into how He uses this word 'aion,' indicates an 'end' of the 'age,' not necessarily the end of the world, in the sense the world is destroyed, as we saw in Colossians 1 and other places, 'ages' have already come and gone. And those 'ages' have ended, "the end of the age," as it says here, but in a plural sense, so there is more than one, and the world continued.

And, likewise, as we read Matthew 13:39, this is telling us about the end of the day of salvation, the end of the latter rain, the end of the great tribulation, the end of God's judgment which began at the house of God, the end of the judgment on the churches, and the transition into the judgment on the whole world, but not the end of the world itself. So that is important for us to realize, that at least this word gives us that possibility, and should be looked at in light of all the places that it is used in the Scriptures.

Well, the word 'aion' is very interesting, and I am sure there is more to it. We will also, Lord willing, have many more opportunities to look at this word, as it will come up, again and again, as we study the Book of Revelation, and so we will have further opportunity to discuss it in the future.

But for now, let us continue and move on into the next verse in Revelation 1, verse 7:

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Now, this verse is telling us of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the one in view, by the personal pronoun 'He.' "Behold, he cometh with clouds;" and we know, without any question, it is Jesus. Remember what it said when He left this world, in the Book of Acts, in Acts, chapter 1, and I am going to read a verse before we get to the ascension of Christ. In Acts 1, verse 3, it says:

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Forty days; that is curious, because after Christ's resurrection, He showed Himself for forty days, and then he ascended up into the clouds, as it says in verses 9 through 11:

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

And that is how Christ left this Earth, after the forty day period, and what is interesting about it is that Jesus drank of the cup of the Father's wrath in the Garden of Gethsemene, and as He submitted Himself to the will of the Father in going to the cross, and the Bible speaks of this period of time as "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," and so that entire period of time (even though Christ was not making payment) pictures, at least, the wrath of God being poured out upon Him, for the sake of the elect, as Christ was demonstrating what He had done before the world began.

And, then He rose from the dead early Sunday morning, and Sunday became the Sabbath, and He showed Himself for forty days. Forty days, again, the number forty, and then He ascended up into Heaven, and then the cloud received Him.

Now there is a similarity, as Judgment Day came on May 21 of 2011, and the cup of the Father's wrath has been given to all the unsaved people of the Earth, and the believers are also, 2Corinthians 5:10 tells us, 'appearing' before the judgment seat of Christ, or 'making manifest' that we have received the judgment in the Person of Jesus, also before the world began, and so, in that sense, we are living in the day of judgment. We are here to 'make manifest' what God has done for our benefit and on our behalf.

And following this period of the drinking of the cup, what do we find? Well, judgment day (there is a strong possibility) will last for sixteen hundred days, or for forty days times forty days: 40 x 40 = 1,600. So, we are here forty days, followed by another forty day period, and another, and another, until forty periods of forty days have passed, and then comes the last day of the sixteen hundred (days), which is also the ten thousandth day of overall judgment, since God began judgment on the house of God on May 21, 1988, and the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and a day we have an expectation (a possible expectation) to be lifted up out of this world "to meet the Lord in the air," in the 'clouds.'

And, so, there is that similarity: Christ drank of the cup, and then following His resurrection, forty days, then He went up into a 'cloud.' Now the world drinks of the cup, and we (the believers) are making manifest that we have drunk from that cup before the world began, in the Person of the Christ, and following forty times forty, the body of believers then, it appears, could be taken up.

So that is an interesting relationship and similarity to what Christ went through, but we are looking at the idea of the 'clouds,' as Revelation 1:7 states:

Behold, he cometh with clouds...

We want to take our time and carefully examine what the Bible has to say about 'clouds,' because they are very much in view for this time period. It says in Matthew 24, beginning in verse 29 and 30:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

We know that verse 29 of Matthew 24 is speaking of our present time. Spiritually, the Gospel 'sun' has been darkened, and the 'moon' is not giving its light, and the 'stars' have fallen from heaven, and the 'powers' of the heaven, spiritually speaking, the celestial bodies that God's word has established in the spiritual heavens, have been shaken, and then (this is the sign that we find in the Bible), "shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven." Now, do we see Christ coming in the clouds, if we look up? If we lift up our heads and cast our eyes, do we see Jesus anywhere in the clouds? And the answer is, "No."

But, why would be expect to see Him, literally, in the clouds, when the language of the Bible in the previous verse was all spiritual, and so why would we think that it would switch to literal? We will take a look at what God means by 'seeing' a little later on, but, for now, let us also go to Mark 13, and it says in verses 24-26:

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

And, finally, in the parallel passage of Luke 21:25-28:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Now, certainly, if we 'saw' the Son of man, literally, come in a cloud with power and great glory, that would be our redemption - our redemption would not be 'nigh;' it would be here; the end of the world would be upon us. There is no way that the language of verses 25 through 27 of Luke 21 can be literal. It must be spiritual as God says, "when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh," or near; it is not there, as yet, because what God is referring to that is coming to pass is when you, and I, and the people of God 'see' with our spiritual eyes that God has given us (when He saved us He gave us 'eyes' to see and 'ears' to hear); when we 'see' these things in the Bible, when we understand them well, because we are living at that time, and the Lord is confirming these things by His word, as we continue to maintain and follow the same methodology as God's people have always followed.

You know, we are not doing anything differently in these days after the tribulation; we are still comparing spiritual with spiritual, carefully checking the Bible, making sure our conclusions harmonize, and these things are what the Bible is saying. Just as the Bible teaches of judgment on the churches that cannot be 'seen,' the Bible teaches a judgment upon the world that cannot be 'seen.'

Yet, when we 'see' the Son of Man coming in a 'cloud,' or in the 'clouds' of heaven, then look up. Well, what do those 'clouds' refer to? What are the 'clouds' pointing to? When we get together in our next Bible study, we will go to a passage in the Bible that will identify the 'clouds of heaven,' and will reveal to us, in so doing, exactly where we will 'see' the Son of Man when He comes.