Epochs of Time In God's Plan

The Present Evil World-Three Ages

The Present Evil World (the “World that Now Is”) has three ages, each progressing forward to the overthrow of evil.

*The Patriarchal Age is the first of these three ages. During that period, God dealt only with the Fathers of Faith—such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Hebrews 11).

*The Jewish Age is the second period within the “World that Now Is.” That age started when Jacob died, leaving his descendants as the “twelve tribes of Israel,” which God separated from the other nations for a particular purpose. (Genesis 49:28) After their Exodus from Egypt, God made a covenant with Israel, giving them His law and His special blessings. He gave them the Tabernacle and later the Temple, in which sacrifices were offered that foreshadowed Christ’s sacrifice.

At the end of this Jewish Age, God sent His Son Jesus to Israel.

“I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). However, only a small remnant accepted Jesus. As a nation, Israel rejected him. Five days before his crucifixion, Israel’s national favor ended when Jesus said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38).

*The Gospel Age, or the Christian Age, is the third age. It began at Jesus’ death, which opened the way of salvation for all nations, by Christ’s “ransom” sacrifice (1 Timothy 2:6; 2 Timothy 1:10). The Gospel message has now gone out for nearly twenty centuries—published in just about every language on earth. The purpose in this Age, however, has not been to convert the world, but to gather from it a “little flock” to be joint-heirs with Christ in his Kingdom (Luke 12:32). From heaven, they will reign with Christ as “kings and priests” over earth, to bless all the remainder of the world during the next Age (Rev. 5:10; 20:6).