The Transition Period began on Pentecost in A.D.
30, with the birth of the Church, and it ended at the destruction of the Jewish
Temple in A.D. 70, which ended the Old Covenant Age. During the Transition
Period the Church was growing from infancy to maturity. God worked in the
growing Church through miraculous gifts and spoke to His prophets to bring His
Church to maturity. A spiritual house was being built in which God would dwell.
This was a time of change and growth, it was a time of transformation from the
Old to the New. The old things of Judaism, the Old Covenant, faded out very
slowly, and the New Covenant gradually phased in. It was a changing of the ages.
All through the New Testament we see these two ages in contrast: "this age" and
the "age to come":
"Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in
this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:32 NASB
Jewish
theology maintains that time was divided into two great periods, the Mosaic Age
(olam hazeh) and the Messianic Age (olam haba). The Messiah was viewed as one
who would bring in a new world. The period of the Messiah was, therefore,
correctly characterized by the Synagogue as "olam haba," which means: "the world
to come."
The word "come" at the end of the verse is the Greek word mello, which means:
"about to be." We could translate this: "the age about to come" (in the first
century)So the writers of the New Testament saw the "olam haba" as very near:
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:21 NASB
So, the New Testament speaks of two ages, "this age" and "the age to come." The
understanding of these two ages and when they changed is fundamental to
interpreting the Bible. The ages didn't change over night, there was a
Transition Period of forty years. During this forty years the "this age" was
fading away and "the age to come" was developing.
The New Testament writers lived in the age that they called "this age." To the
New Testament writers the "age to come" was future, but it was very near,
because "this age" was about to end:
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our
instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11 NASB
Paul said very plainly that the end of the ages was coming upon "them" (the
first century saints). "This age" was about to end.
We now live in what was to the first century saints the "age to come." When most
Christians read in the New Testament and see the words "the age to come," they
think of a yet future (to us) age. But the New Testament writers were referring
to the Christian Age. We live in what was to them the "age to come" (the New
Covenant Age).
Since the "this age" of the Bible ended in A.D. 70 with the destruction of the
Temple and the parousia, we now live in the "age to come." And since
the "this age" ended in A.D. 70, there are things in the Bible that applied to
the saints who lived in the Transition Period, but do not apply to us.
Paul is writing to saints during the Transition Period, during this time the
gifts were still operating, they ended at the end of the age. We do not have,
and therefore do not need, spiritual gifts today.
There is a lot of confusion today about spiritual gifts; do you know why that
is? It's because they were for the last days, and when the last days ended, so
did the gifts. This is why so many believers have no clue as to what their gifts
are; they don't have any.
The talents and abilities that we have come from God and are to be used for His
glory. God leads, guides, and uses us for His glory. Spiritual
Gifts were for the age of immaturity; they are no longer needed or given.
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