1 Corinthians 4:8-13
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we stand on the border between the second and third millennia after Christ. At such a pivotal moment it is fitting to ask ourselves about the time in which we live and about what the future holds for us.
From a biblical point of view, we are living in a very special interval of time — an interval that is at once very clearly bounded and at the same time extraordinarily elastic. This is the time between the first and second comings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is very important that we know what we do not know about this period.
The Bible tells us the sequence of events — the “last days” will be followed by the “day of the Lord.” But the Scriptures are silent about the duration of world events. To the question “When?” Jesus Christ answers:
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
And the apostle Peter reminds us:
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8)
God’s reckoning of time does not coincide with our calendars.
Therefore, from the Bible we can learn the general sequence of events, but not their duration.
THE ESCHATOLOGICAL HOPE OF THOSE OF OLD
The “last days” and the “day of the Lord” are part of a larger event — the coming of the kingdom of God. And that, in turn, is inseparably bound up with the coming of the Messiah.
Those of old — the people before Christ — had the prophetic promises concerning Him, and they believed that with His coming “the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4) of evil, wars, demonic bondage, sickness, suffering, darkness, and injustice would pass away once and for all, and in its place the bright era of the kingdom of God would begin, filled with righteousness, peace, freedom, health, light, and eternal well-being.
This belief of theirs was deeply grounded in the God-breathed writings of the Old Testament. The hope for the age to come is expressed most poetically by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11:6-8). According to him, with the coming of the Messiah:
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.” (Isaiah 11:6-8)
THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
The problem for the people before Christ — and for us today — is that we do not know how and precisely when this blessed state will become an actual reality. The prophets before Christ did not see and did not know of the existence of today’s era of the Church (Ephesians 3:1-12), nor did they suppose that there would be two comings of Christ. They saw the coming of the Messiah as one event.
The most striking example of this is the last Old Testament prophet — John the Baptist (Luke 16:16). His mission was to prepare humanity for the longed-for and long-awaited coming of the Anointed One (John 1:6-9; 19-28).
John the Baptist was the man who preached the nearness of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1-12). He was the prophet who pointed out to everyone who the Messiah was (John 1:29-34). He was the one who baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River — the event with which the Messiah’s ministry began.
Is it not astonishing that this same servant of God, about a year later, put to Jesus the question:
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3)
John the Baptist was confused. The events that were taking place did not match his picture of the Messiah’s coming. Should not justice have arrived together with the coming of the Anointed One? And yet here he was, thrown into prison by God’s enemies (Matthew 11:2; 14:1-5).
John the Baptist did not know the secret of God’s redemptive plan. He did not know that the Anointed One Himself would be handed over to His enemies, unjustly condemned, humiliated, and crucified on a cross. He did not know that He would rise again, ascend into heaven, build His church, and come a second time to judge the world. He thought the Anointed One would finish all His work at once. For had not the kingdom of heaven come with His coming?!
John the Baptist’s picture of the Anointed One and the kingdom of heaven was the picture held by all of Jesus’ contemporaries, including His disciples at that time —
“the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” (Luke 19:11)
That is why Jesus had to explain to them that He is like a nobleman who goes off to a distant country to receive for Himself royal authority and then to return again (Luke 19:12).
Jesus did not deny that He was the Anointed One — on the contrary, He proved it. In answer to John’s question of whether He was the long-awaited Messiah, Christ performed several signs:
“At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” (Luke 7:21)
This was no accident, for these were precisely the signs that proved the kingdom of God had already come. The prophet Isaiah had foretold of it:
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Isaiah 35:5-6)
These were part of the “powers of the coming age” (Hebrews 6:5).
Jesus Himself said:
“But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28)
When the Pharisees asked Him, “When will the kingdom of God come?” Christ answered them that it had already come:
“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)
WHAT TIME IS IT BY GOD’S CLOCK?
If the kingdom of God is already here, then why are there still demons, sicknesses, sin, and evil among us? — Because it has not yet come in its fullness, because the power of darkness has not yet fully passed away.
The exchange of Satan’s reign for the reign of Christ does not happen in a single instant, moment, hour, month, or year. It takes place over a prolonged period of time, in a dispensation that has its beginning and its end.
In this present period the closing of the passing age of sin, the devil, and evil overlaps with the introduction of the dawning age of Christ, righteousness, joy, and peace.
The Bible calls this period:
- “the last times” (1 Peter 1:20):
“He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” (1 Peter 1:20)
- “the culmination of the ages” (Hebrews 9:26):
“Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:26)
- “the last days” (Acts 2:17; 2 Peter 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:1), “the last hour” (1 John 2:18):
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18)
- “the time of the new order” (Hebrews 9:10).
“The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.” (Hebrews 9:8-10)
It begins with the birth of the Savior and ends with His second coming.
This period has already lasted more than 2,000 years. We know when it began, but no one knows exactly when its end will come.
Jesus told us the signs of this time, but not the year in which it will end:
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matthew 24:6-8)
The only way we can hasten the end of this transitional period is through missionary work:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)
After the “last days,” according to God’s chronological table, the “day of the Lord” will come, but it too is a period of time and includes a whole series of events…
Until it comes (and we do not know in which year of human reckoning that will happen), we will live in “the culmination of the ages” (1 Corinthians 10:11) — the time when “already” and “not yet” overlap.
THE TIME OF “ALREADY” AND “NOT YET”
Right now:
- we are already justified (Romans 8:1), but we have not yet passed through the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
- we are already children of God (John 1:12), but we have not yet been revealed as such (Romans 8:19).
- the devil has already been rendered powerless (Hebrews 2:14), but still a little time remains to him (Revelation 12:12).
- death has already been destroyed (2 Timothy 1:10), but the resurrection has not yet taken place (1 Corinthians 15:54).
- the rulers and authorities have already been defeated (Colossians 2:15), but their final overthrow is still in the future (1 Corinthians 15:24).
- In this last time God speaks to us through His Son (Hebrews 1:2), pours out His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17), works miracles (for He is the God of miracles), and gives us of His peace. And at the same time people grow ever more selfish (2 Timothy 3:1-5), more godless (Jude 18-19; 2 Peter 3:3-4), and ever more susceptible to the spirit of the Antichrist (1 John 2:18).
Truly, a time of division, a time of tension.
- The time between Daniel’s sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks (between Daniel 9:26 and Daniel 9:27).
- The time at the close of “the year of the Lord’s favor” and before the beginning of “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2).
THE DANGERS
As Christians we must understand the time in which we live (Luke 12:54-56), so that we do not fall into extremes. The Thessalonians thought that the day of the Lord had already come (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2), and Hymenaeus and Philetus said that the resurrection had already taken place (2 Timothy 2:17-18).
The errors we can fall into regarding our faith in the second coming are, broadly speaking, two, the second being a consequence of the first.
1. It is dangerous to set dates for the second coming, because this leads to something even worse.
2. When the Lord Jesus does not come on the predicted date, this misleads us into the other extreme — joining the ranks of the scoffers who think that Christ’s coming is merely a religious bluff and that it therefore will simply never happen. In 2 Peter 3:3-4 the apostle Peter foretells that such people will appear:
“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’” (2 Peter 3:3-4)
Over the last 2,000 years people have been endlessly bombarded with dates and years labeled “the end of the world.”
We, however, must not imagine that God reckons time according to our calendar, nor must we forget that He alone knows when the “last days” will end and the “day of the Lord” will begin. It could happen this very day, and it could happen a thousand years from now.
Until then:
- We must carry out our task of proclaiming the gospel and live with faith, love, and purity.
- We must continue to be spiritually watchful and always ready to meet our heavenly bridegroom.
Let us humble ourselves and not ask questions to which the Lord Himself has told us we will receive no answer.
Let us trust our heavenly Father. He is in control and knows what He is doing.
Let us not forget the ancient and ever-timely words of God:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
THE MISTAKE OF THE CORINTHIANS
When we speak of the dangers of misunderstanding the time of “already” and “not yet,” we must also guard against another danger — that of falling into extremes by overemphasizing either “already” or “not yet” at the expense of the other.
This was precisely the mistake of the Corinthians. They behaved as though the kingdom of God had already come in its fullness and they had entered into its glory. They spoke in tongues, thinking these were the tongues of the kingdom; they thought that the measure of true spirituality was to be powerful and rich. Their life was full of euphoria, religious enthusiasm, and ecstasy. They claimed to possess “all knowledge.” To them the apostle Paul evidently did not seem spiritual enough.
The apostle Paul, however, uses sharp sarcasm to sober them up and to bring them back from the “theology of glory” to the “theology of the cross,” from delusion to reality. See what he writes in 1 Corinthians 4:8-13:
“Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” (1 Corinthians 4:8-13)
Verses 8 through 10 are full of irony. Everything the apostle Paul says in them is true from the Corinthians’ point of view, but in reality it is not truly so.
The key words for understanding this passage are “already” in verse 8 and “to this very hour” (verse 11) and “right up to this moment” (verse 13). From the way the Corinthians behave, it seems as though they have already entered into glory — they already reign, they already have all knowledge, they are already glorified! But if that is really so, then evidently the apostles have been left outside. They, “to this very hour” and “right up to this moment,” are weak, persecuted, and dishonored — they continue to carry their crosses.
Clearly someone is mistaken, but who — the apostles or the Corinthians? It is still the time when Christians must carry their crosses, yet the Corinthians have thrown theirs away and put crowns on their heads instead. The mistake is theirs, not the apostles’.
The apostle Paul would love for the kingdom to have already come. He says:
“How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!” (1 Corinthians 4:8)
It would be good if the kingdom of God were already here in its fullness. But alas, this is not yet the case. Or if it is, has God failed to inform His own apostles of it?! Is it possible that the Corinthians have entered into glory while the apostles have been left outside? Of course not!
The apostle Paul would like the end to have already come, but for better or worse, “to this very hour” and “right up to this moment” this is still not at all the case. To sit on a royal throne is still foreign and unknown to the apostle Paul. He still goes on living in this world as a man who has received a death sentence (verse 9):
“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.” (1 Corinthians 4:9)
Why does he say these words? Why this irony from Paul’s pen? The main reason is theological. Behind every wrong behavior stands a wrong theology. The Corinthians have stepped off the path of the cross and have strayed into a false theology that may be called “over-realized eschatology.” This understanding places an excessive emphasis on “already” and omits “not yet.” It is a typical error that can be seen in many churches today as well.
To live with the awareness of both “already” and “not yet” means to live under a peculiar tension. And this is quite difficult. It is hard to keep the exact balance. That is why believers sometimes fall into one of the two extremes — they live either only in “not yet” — as though the kingdom of God had not come at all, leaving everything for the future or for the time when we will go to heaven; for them the time for healing, for prosperity, or for victory over demonic forces has not yet come (unrealized eschatology); or else they begin to behave like the Corinthians — they throw away their crosses and put on crowns — they think that if we only have enough faith, then in this world we should have no problems, no lack of money, no sicknesses — as though Satan and sin were already gone from this earth (over-realized eschatology).
The correct theology, however, is neither the unrealized nor the over-realized, but the realizing eschatology.
This means to live in this world but not to be of this world. To know that Satan is still “the prince of this world,” that sin is still here, but at the same time that the kingdom of God is already on this earth and the Holy Spirit is here. We must continue to carry our cross. And at the same time we are to expect God’s miracles — which usher in the age to come and are signs of the kingdom — to happen in our lives and to accompany the preaching of the gospel.
To be a disciple of Christ means to be a follower of Jesus — to walk after Him, to step in His footsteps, to carry your cross along the road to Golgotha. This means, on the one hand, to be ready to endure suffering for the sake of the gospel, and on the other, not to be selfish but to sacrifice ourselves for the good of the people around us. The road is hard. But if the Master has passed that way, should His servant go around it? Even if it is agonizing, the way of Christ is glorious, because beyond the grave it leads to the resurrection.
The future must shape our life in the present. And this does not mean that we must become religious fanatics. This is precisely what the skill of living on the border between “already” and “not yet” consists of.