What is 'The Rapture' Eschatology — Tim Conway

The question is this, what is the rapture? Now, I don't know where you all are at on that. I mean, I don't know where the church is, but I don't even know England. Is the rapture a big deal over here or not so much?

It's probably the same as over there. There's some people that are really bothered about it and some people don't know. Well, it gets brought up a lot.

Obviously, some preachers and teachers that you all might like and love and even listen to at times, they hold to the rapture. They believe this. And it often gets brought up. Obviously, there's TV shows and movies.

And so the question does come up. And I thought it may be a good one for us to deal with. I really think that there's some real problems with the whole eschatology, that theology that's behind the rapture.

I really believe that there's some big problems with it. I think there's some damaging error that is associated with it. But be that as it may, I thought maybe we would just give a little bit of consideration to the end times.

I know that's a very popular thing, maybe too popular in some circles. But then I think there are other circles where they hardly deal with it at all. And namely the reformed circles. Maybe eschatology isn't dealt with very much at all.

The Bible's Teaching About the End Times

And the Bible has a lot to say about it. So I don't think it's something that we wanna ignore. Before we dive in, let's just pray. Father, as we once again are gonna take the time ahead of us to look at your word, I ask you to make this real, make this alive.

Lord, we recognize that even when we're talking about end times, your word has much to say. You have light to shed. And it's not as though this is an insignificant part of our doctrine. You have chosen to say much in your word about the future.

Of God's people, how this all comes to an end, what expectations we should have. So Lord, I pray that you'd use this study in a good way for your people. And I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. Let me ask you all this question. Where is the rapture taught in the Bible? Give me a chapter and a verse for the teaching of the rapture. Thessalonians. Oh, is it? Second Thessalonians. Yeah. Okay, the primary passage, the passage of all passages that people who hold to the rapture are gonna take you to is found in First Thessalonians chapter four.

So let's all turn there. First Thessalonians chapter four. So let's see if we can actually find a rapture here. First Thessalonians chapter four. And you can see in verse 13, most of our Bibles give us some indication that there's a change of subject matter here.

You typically have some sort of heading that is a giveaway. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers. This is First Thessalonians chapter four, verse 13. So that's good, right? That's good. The apostle Paul doesn't want us to be uninformed.

He wants to tell us about those who are asleep. Now, let's just stop right there for a second. The rapture. Typically when people talk about the rapture, their big concern is this. Are Christians gonna go through the tribulation or not?

You notice that's not what Paul's concerned about. Paul has no concern right here about whether Christians go through the tribulation or not. Whether the rapture is before the tribulation or after the tribulation.

That's not even what he's concerned about here. He's concerned about Christians who are asleep. Not literally. He's talking about Christians who have died. That's, you don't grieve over napping Christians.

But that's what he's talking about, grief. He says he doesn't want us to be uninformed about those who have died. That you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. So we as Christians, when we lose brothers and sisters, we're not like the rest of the world.

We're not hopeless. Verse 14, since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. Now that's what you want to see. Okay, picture this.

What he's concerned about is Jesus coming again and bringing those who have fallen asleep. Now, if you know anything about the teaching of the rapture, it's got nothing to do with the people who have already died.

That's not even, it's got everything to do with those who are still alive being taken up. It's got nothing to do with those who have already died. And yet, his big concern right here is that this coming of Jesus that he's speaking about here is, Jesus isn't coming alone.

Jesus is coming with those who have fallen asleep. Now look what he says. Verse 15, for this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord.

Now notice this. This is the coming of the Lord. This is not simply people disappearing and vanishing, leaving a pile of clothing for the rest of the world simply to go on. This is the coming of the Lord.

And what he's saying is those who are left will not precede those who have fallen asleep. In other words, when Jesus comes, if you've already died or if you're still alive, it's okay. He says the Lord himself is going to descend from heaven with a cry of command.

Okay, that's pretty public. When the rapture supposedly, whatever this rapture is, Jesus is supposed to come another time to zap his people away. And it's supposed to be a secret. I mean, you don't see him.

The rapture, you don't see Jesus. Jesus comes secretly. Did people just disappear? But that's not what you have here. You have the Lord descending from heaven with the cry of command and with the voice of the archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.

What's that? That nobody who believes in the rapture believes that the graves are gonna open up and the dead are gonna come out at that point. If you've seen any of the movies, the rapture movies, the left behind movies, that's not even in the picture.

And listen, this is their primary passage. And what I'm saying, this doesn't have anything to do with any secret rapture. This has to do with the second coming of Jesus Christ. That's not, it's not a secret coming.

It's a very public coming. There's a sound of a trumpet. The dead are gonna rise. And then we who are alive, who are left, we're gonna be caught up. See, that's where they see the rapture, the caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will always be with the Lord. And so, you know, if you just isolate verse 17, they get a rapture. But if you start connecting it with all the other verses here, it just doesn't work. Brethren, let me tell you something.

The rapture doesn't even appear in history until the 1800s. And many of you may know there was an Irishman by the name of John Nelson Darby. He was over here. He came up with this. Now, if you study it, it seems like it came from a woman who had a vision or a dream.

Darby ran with it. You know, Darby was one of these Plymouth Brethren guys. And he ran with this teaching about the rapture. It had never been introduced into church history before that. And then you know who picked it up?

C .I. Schofield, Schofield Study Bible. Schofield ran with Darby's teaching. And he ran with this rapture thing. And the thing is, Schofield put the teaching of the rapture in his footnotes in his study Bible.

And now everybody that touted the Schofield Bible, they ran with it. That's one of the dangers of a study Bible. I personally don't recommend study Bibles. You know why? You've got God's Word mixed with man's Word.

And there can be a tendency to take both at equal value. And that is not good. I don't recommend study Bibles because I think that we become too dependent on the notes. And the notes are often wrong. Why?

Because man is often wrong. And man is the one that wrote the notes. And so even the best teachers can be wrong. That's why we have to be Berean. And so, and I think what happens is that when you have a study Bible, you stop being Berean.

You let your guard down. And every time you read from God's Word, you're constantly looking at the notes because you want the notes to interpret for you what you just read. That is a very bad way to study God's Word.

I mean, I'm okay with going to commentators, but I think it's key that we read God's Word prayerfully for ourselves first before we begin to consult with men. So here's the thing. Basically, you've got a teaching today that the next major event on the Christian timeline is the rapture.

That's what so many today are teaching. That we're going through life right now and the next major event in biblical timeline, in biblical history is the rapture followed by seven years of tribulation and then Armageddon, and then a thousand year literal earthly kingdom of Christ where the temple's rebuilt and Old Testament sacrifices take place again.

And then at the end of that thousand years, finally the remaining enemies of God are defeated and were ushered into the eternal kingdom. That's basically a timeline. And so the next major event is the rapture.

And it's really a second chance theology. Have any of you ever watched any of the left behind stuff? It's best if you haven't, I'm not encouraging you to do it. But you know what you typically find in those genre of TV shows and movies is that the rapture takes place, all the Christians disappear, and then a bunch of people get saved.

Because now they see that all the Christians are gone. Now they know it's real. Now they know it's true. And now a bunch of people start believing. That's false. That's dangerous teaching. You don't want to get sucked into that.

Christ's Return as the Next Major Event

Brethren, let's just ask this question. What is the next major event on God's timeline? I want you to see what it is. The return of Christ. Somebody said the return of Christ. Brethren, you know what one of the problems is with the people that hold to the rapture?

If you start talking to them about eschatology, they very dogmatically want to say things like, you know, confidently, well, you know what Daniel says. You know what Revelation says. Brethren, have you ever read Daniel or Revelation?

Have you ever studied Revelation and really tried to understand what it's saying? People who so confidently say, you know, these apocalyptic, these prophetic apocalyptic books. And they so, you know, dogmatically say, well, you know, this says this, and Ezekiel says that.

And it's like, seriously, that's where you're going to start? You're going to start by going to these incredibly difficult books. And you're going to just so confidently tell me that the rapture is found there.

And that this whole dispensational eschatology is found there. Brethren, what we want to do, one of the basic ways of studying our Bible that's safe is you want to go to the plain teaching first. You want to look at what Jesus taught and what the disciples taught in the epistles.

That's very plain. You want to do that before you graduate and move up to Matthew 24 and to Revelation. And so what I want to do is I want to show you from God's Word very plainly what's next on God's timeline.

I want to show you from passages that oftentimes these people who tout this idea of rapture, just verses that they don't often go to. And so if you've got your Bibles, let's kind of just do a systematic study of something.

First, I want you to turn to Ephesians. I'm going to show you a concept that I think when we come to study eschatology is absolutely essential that we lay hold of. Sam Waldron is a Reformed Baptist scholar who has written a book called The End Times Made Simple.

He's done part one and part two. Sam Waldron, End Times Made Simple. And in his first volume, this is one of the things he really stresses, just this really basic outline to redemptive history, where we find ourselves right now as we move towards the end.

And I want you to see it. Are you all in Ephesians? You got your Bibles there? Because you have to see this with your own eyes. Now look, look at Ephesians chapter one, and I want you to look at verse 20.

Now I know we're picking up right in the middle of a verse, and it's speaking about God and the immeasurable greatness of His power, the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead.

That's where we're at in Ephesians one, verse 20. God has demonstrated this great might in us, and it's the same power that He worked in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at God's own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named.

Now here it is, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. Now I know if you're using the King James Bible, anybody got a King James Bible? Anybody use a King James Bible? Okay, we didn't even have to deal with it.

So you all see what we have here. This age, but also in the one to come. Now you want to grasp that. We've got two ages, this one and one to come. Now that's very simple. If you listen to the dispensationalists, they've got all manner of dispensations.

If you listen to Schofield, he's got like at least seven different dispensations. And even right now, working towards the end, well, you've got right now, you've got the rapture, you've got the seven year tribulation, you've got Armageddon, you've got a thousand year kingdom, you've got a battle at the end of that, you've got eternity that we launch into.

There's a lot of these divisions, but you know what, when you listen to Paul, Paul has a very simple two age concept. This one, so we're in one. Right where we're at now, we're in an age. And you know what?

He only sees one other one. There's an age we're in now, and then there's an age to come. That's, you see it. It's not really sophisticated or complicated. I mean, brethren, one plus one equals two. That's what you have here.

This age and the age to come. Now age, age is the word that we get eon from. It's like the Greek word ion. But what we have here is we have the one that we're presently in, and then we have an age that is yet future.

And so, oh, brethren, people get into eschatology, and they want to start talking about 666 and a thousand years, and they want to talk about the 10 horns and 10 European countries and a European union.

And no, they want to get into all this stuff. But let's just, let's look at what these two ages are. That's primarily what I want us to do. What are these ages? So now I want you to, I want you to think.

What is Ephesians 1, right where we're at? What does it say about these two ages? Let's ask ourselves that question. We're in one, and one's coming. What's true of both these ages according to Ephesians?

Christ is reigning. Christ is reigning. Right, that's what it says. It says, he's seated at God's right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, and power, and dominion, and above every name that is named.

So Christ has dominion. Christ is on the throne. Christ is over. Is that true right now? Is that true in this age? According to Scripture, absolutely. Absolutely, that's what it says right there. Absolutely in control.

He rose, he ascended, he is at the right hand of his Father, and he is seated there. It seems like the age we're in started right there, where he took the throne. That's what it seems like. So he's there.

And you know what? It's going to be true in the age to come. Christ reigns. Christ is in control. This age and the age to come, so we all need to be clear about that. Christ is preeminent in both ages.

And so let's look at something else now. Let's turn to Matthew 12. Matthew chapter 12, because we're going to see this concept again. See, this is the thing. When we get done, I really want you to all put the rapture away and be done with all of that.

But I want to have something imprinted on your minds. I really want you to go forward thinking about the simplicity of just what the timeline looks like. This age, the age to come. Both ages, Christ is ruling and reigning.

I recognize that in this one, in this age, all of his enemies are being made a footstool for his feet. They're all being subdued. When we get to the next one, they will have been subdued and there won't be any uprisings anymore.

But you know what? Just because the world is the way the world is right now, doesn't mean he's not on the throne. He very much is on the throne. You better believe it. He is very much in control. He's very much far above all the rule and authority and power and dominion.

He is king. He is king of kings and Lord of lords now. And it seems like this age started with his rising and his ascending to be seated with his father. But now we're gonna see something else about the age and the age to come.

Matthew 12, look at verse 30. You know this, this is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in Matthew 12, verse 30, whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Now, brethren, we are not here to discuss what that sin is. So put that right out of your thoughts at this moment. But notice what's said. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.

But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Here it is. When won't they be forgiven? When won't they be forgiven? What's it say? In this age or in the age to come. Right, in this age or in the age to come.

And there it is. You gotta love the unity of Scripture. Same thing said by Paul over in Ephesians is said by our Lord right here in Matthew's Gospel. This age, the age to come. Okay. Now, it's a sin that will be forgiven when?

When will this sin be forgiven? Is there ever a time? Never. Why not ever? It won't be forgiven in this age. It won't be forgiven in the age to come. But what if it was able to be forgiven in the age after that?

No. Turn over to Mark chapter three really quick. Mark chapter three. If you look at Mark chapter three, it says concerning the same thing, verse 28, Mark 3 .28. Notice what it says. Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man and whatever blasphemies they utter.

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. Now, isn't that interesting? Matthew says this age or the age to come. Mark says never. It's an eternal sin.

Okay, let's use our heads. These are both talking about the same event. Matthew describes it one way. Mark describes it another way. Let me ask you this. If Mark is saying you can never be forgiven and Matthew says not in this age or the age to come, you know what that means?

It means that this age and the age to come equals what? It equals forever. What does that tell you about the age to come? Does it tell you anything? That it's the only age that will come. Well, yes, it's forever.

Once that age comes, it never ends. So basically we're in an age right now that's gonna come to an end. It's gotta come to an end if it's gonna be replaced by the next age. But when you add this age plus that age, it's forever.

Because that's what Jesus says. He says it'll never be forgiven in this age or the age to come. And Mark says, wow, that's just the same as saying it'll never be forgiven. That's exactly what's happening here.

The Present Age and the Age to Come

Okay, let's do something else. Let's look at another verse about 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy 6. We're gonna see this again. 1 Timothy 6 and verse 17. As for the rich in this present age, well, there it is again.

This present age. Charge them not to be haughty. No, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy, there to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure.

Okay, storing up treasure for when? For themselves as a good foundation. Now notice this, for the future. Do you know the word future there? Literally means for the coming one. Basically what he's saying is, as for the rich in this present age, they are to be generous and store up treasure for the coming one.

In other words, the coming age, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. You see what's being said here? This age is the age where you get an opportunity to use your wealth. How you use it in this age impacts then.

That which you get then is what is truly life. What you have now is that which is the shadow land. It's not the substance. That's what's being taught here. You have this age. This is the age where we get to do our work.

This is the age where we have to work for the night is coming when no one can work. You see this age is like a day and the day is gonna come to an end and the night's gonna come and then we can't work anymore.

This age is the age to work. This is the age to give. This is the age to be wise with your money. Why? Because the coming one. You see what we do here, we lay up for there. Two ages, this age and the coming one.

I want you to see it again. Turn back to Mark's gospel. Mark chapter 10. Go to Mark chapter 10 and notice with me in verse 28. You see, brethren, this teaching is all over the New Testament if we have eyes to see it.

But so often the people that are touting all this rapture talk, they miss some of the plain teaching of Scripture. They get mesmerized by 69 weeks in Daniel and they get mesmerized by the beast in Revelation.

But all the while you have this very clear teaching of Scripture. Notice Mark 10, verse 28. Peter began to say to him, now this is after the rich young ruler walked away from the Lord Jesus Christ. And Peter says to Christ, see, we've left everything and followed you.

Of course, he's comparing himself to the rich young ruler who refused to sell everything and walked away. And Peter says, see, we've left everything. Jesus said, truly I say to you, there's no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time.

Now notice this, the new American standard says this present age, it's the word kairos. It means that this time or this present age, notice, if you leave these things for Christ's sake and the gospel sake, you will receive a hundredfold now in this age, in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands with persecutions.

And notice this, and in the age to come, eternal life. Now, I mean, do I have to prove to you beyond that, that the age to come is an eternal age? It's the age of eternal life. That's what we have here.

In the age to come, the life in that age goes forever. It's eternal. Now, make sure you don't miss what our Lord says about this age that we're now in. Do you know what this age is? This is the age to sacrifice for Christ in the gospel.

That's what this age is about. Now, the age to come we've seen is the age of treasure. It's the age of eternal treasure. It's the age when the sacrifices that you've made now come to fruition. They follow you.

Brethren, the time we have in this age, the time we have to live in this age is very short. That age is forever. Do you see the foolishness of not making sacrifices and not living for Christ and living for the gospel and leaving behind whatever needs to be left behind and using your riches and your treasures and your wealth for the sake of good works and for the sake of the kingdom?

Seek first the kingdom of God. Brethren, this is the age of the gospel. This is the gospel age. This is that time. This is the age when there's resistance against the gospel. This is the age when there's persecution.

I mean, you see it, persecutions. Did you see it there in verse 30? You'll receive, here's the thing. In this age, if you make all these sacrifices, this age, you'll receive a hundredfold. Houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands.

Did you catch? Persecutions. And in the age to come, eternal life. No persecution in the age to come, but this is the age of persecution right now. And we should expect that. You see, one of the problems with these dispensational folks is they look for the seven-year tribulation.

Brethren, can I tell you this? You'll have a hard time finding any place in Scripture that teaches a seven-year tribulation. Do you know what the apostles taught Christians in their day? You know what they taught?

You know what Jesus taught? What they teach about persecution.

Whoever desires to live a godly life will face persecution. For seven years? No, for the entirety of the time in this life.

Paul and Barnabas told the disciples there in Acts 14, through much tribulation, we enter the kingdom. Not seven years. And so, this is the age of persecution. Let's look at another verse. Go to Luke chapter 20 now.

Luke chapter 20. If you look at verse 34, this is the same truth again. But this verse is so rich. You don't want to miss this. Luke chapter 20. And we're going to look specifically at verses 34, 35, and 36.

Notice, we're talking about this age and the age to come. And I trust you'll all see it as it unfolds here. Let's begin reading in verse 34. And Jesus said to them, the sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection of the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore.

You see, there's the age to come. The age to come, there's eternal life. We've seen that already. And the age to come, that sin against the Holy Spirit is never forgiven because the age is eternal, thus eternal life.

The age is eternal, thus they're never forgiven. The age is eternal, therefore you can't die anymore because they're the people worthy to attain that age, the age to come. They cannot die anymore because they're equal to angels and are sons of God being sons of the resurrection.

Now, see, I'll say this again. We want to look at the clear teaching of Scripture. We don't want to start with Revelation. First, we want to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus. We want to hear His plain teaching on what is going to happen in the future.

And here again, we have this very simplistic structure. You see it here. This age, that age, that's how He speaks. It's the same way that we've been seeing all through here. Now, notice how the Lord makes a sharp distinction between the two ages.

Notice the difference between the two ages In this age, there's marriage. In that age, no marriage. In this age, there's death. How do we know there's death? Well, we know there is. But the contrast here is in that age, they cannot die anymore.

Don't you like that? What is that implying? Can't die anymore. Well, anymore means they were prone to dying before that, but they can't die anymore. They did die, but no more. So there's death in the first age, but no more in the second.

That's the idea. Very sharp distinction. Marriage, no marriage. Death, no death. Death, they can't die anymore. But notice very carefully the other very pronounced difference between the two ages. This age has everybody.

Notice the sons of this age marry. You know what, if you're a Christian, many of us on the screen here, we're married. Why? Why are you married? Well, because you wanted to not be single, right? But you know why you're married?

Because you're a son of this age. Sons of this age are not just lost people. The sons of this age are people who live now. They're all men, saved and lost. But notice this, the age to come does not consist of everybody.

Notice verse 35, those who are considered worthy to attain to that age. Wow. Wow. Everybody's in this age, but there's only certain people who are worthy to attain to that age. All men are together in this age, but the wicked will not see that age.

That age is only for those that are worthy to have it. And our Lord's parables really capture this reality. Let's look now at Matthew 13. We're going to see this again. Matthew 13. We're going to look at the parable of the wheat and the tares, where Jesus explains the meaning of it.

It's found in Matthew 13, verse 37. Jesus' teaching, if we have ears to hear, listen to what He has to say. Matthew 13, 37. Jesus answered. Now He's explaining to them about the parable of the wheat and the tares.

And He said, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

Now notice, the harvest is the end of the age. Now that's key. So think with me here. We right now are in this age. Do you know what's happening in the biblical timeline? We're moving towards the end of this age.

And then we usher in the new age. But what divides the two? Right here you see it. At the end of this age, before we enter into the next one, there's a harvest. The harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are angels.

And just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. Remember what we saw in Luke? Those who are considered worthy to attain that age. Not everybody attains it.

How are we worthy? I mean, we can talk about that in a second. But here's what it says. It says that at the end of the age, there's a harvest. Matthew 13, verse 40. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

The son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers. And throw them into the fiery furnace. You see what's happening at the end of this age?

It's judgment day. That's what happens. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Notice this. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. You see, that's the age to come.

And these are the people who are worthy to attain that age. They're the righteous. And they're gonna shine like the sun. And that's the eternal kingdom. He who has ears, let him hear. Or go a little further.

Matthew 13, verse 47. Another parable. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers, but threw away the bad.

So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous. You see that? There's a separation. In this age, we're all together. In that age, there's separation.

That's key. And the angels are gonna separate out the evil from the righteous and throw the evil into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Another verse. Go over to Galatians 1.

Some of you may know Galatians 1, verse 4, what Paul says there. Galatians 1, 4. Paul says that Christ gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. Now, I know he doesn't talk there about the age to come, but that's key.

This present age is evil. This present age, in fact, go back a book. Go to 2 Corinthians 4. Very well-known verse. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4. 2 Corinthians 4, 4. In their case, this is speaking about unbelievers who are perishing.

In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ. World there is our same word, I am. It's the God of this age.

Satan is the God of this age, and this age is a present evil age. That's the issue. I mean, even if it is this present evil age, in which Jesus said, I'm with you, I'm with you always. I'm with you to the end of the age.

That's what it says, to the end of the world, or to the end of the age. Think about that. Think about that. That is Matthew 28. That is the Great Commission. Here you have Paul talking about this present evil age.