The scriptures refer to 'other ages' or 'ages past', 'this age' or 'this present age' and 'the age to come'...and 'THAT age'.
The first test to see if you are correct in your understanding of 'the ages' of the bible is found for most in the following passages..
Heb 9:26 ... but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. NKJV
1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the ages have come. NKJV
Paul is very clear in this verse ...the ends of the AGES had come upon THEM in AD33-60.
What do 'the ages' refer to? ... Clearly JESUS appeared as our sacrifice at the END of one of 'the ages'.... and another 'age' must have preceded the age that was then about to come to an END. In addition there must have been another 'age (which was about) to come' into force at that time...one in which we today now still live i.e. 'the age of grace'... or 'the age of the church universal'. Scripture clarifies that Jesus ministry was in the age which was the time when Israelites were 'under the Law' (John 1:16-17)
Gal 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen NKJV
Gal 4: 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. NKJV
The 'fullness of time' refers to the time determined for Israel (Dan 9:24) and is another way of saying 'the end of the age' of the law was upon them. Israel at Jesus time were living under the Law. It was the Law which brought SIN and because of that DEATH which required redemption for those under it.
(The previous age would have been 'the age of the patriarchs' i.e. before Moses gave the Law ... and the age which came to an end shortly after Jesus DEATH was 'the age of the Law of Moses'...or 'the Mosaic age'... the age in which God required blood sacrifices for sin. The 'present evil age' certainly does not refer to the 'church age' which was always described as 'the age to come' at the time when Jesus and the apostles ministered. Please note that the New Covenant only came into force after Christ's death) (Mat 26:28, Heb 9:16-17) ... and we as the church today being combined Jewish and Gentile believers now ALL live in what was then spoken of as 'the age to come'.
Biblical Ages
'Ages past or other Ages' refers to the time before the Law...that of the Patriarchs such as Noah and Abraham. (Ps 25:6, Ps 102.25, Is 44:8, Eph 3:5&9, Col 1:26). Christ was promised first as a 'seed of the woman' to bruise the serpents head, and also as 'the Lamb God would provide' to Abraham.
'This Age' or 'this Present Age' refers to the age of the Law...the covenant which Israel alone had with God from the time of Moses to the time of Christs second coming as Messiah in judgment on Israel. (Heb 9:10, 1 Tim 6:17, 2 Tim 4:10) Jesus and the apostles used this phrase to describe the time in which they lived.
The 'end of the Ages' refers to the end of the ages past (patriarchs) AND the end of this present age (in which the Jews of that time lived...the Mosaic age).
The 'Age to Come' refers to the time after which Messiah had come and established HIS kingdom and rule on earth as prophesied by most of the prophets such as Isaiah and Daniel (refer also Mat 12:32, Heb 6:5, Eph 1:21, Acts 3:19-24). In 'the age to come' ALL believers are part of the 'church universal' (i.e. including Jews and Gentiles) in which all receive eternal life when they are born again (ie no waiting in sheol or the grave). The age to come was NOT talking about 'heaven'.... but the new worldwide kingdom of God/Heaven (Dan 2:44 - contrasted against the local kingdom of Israel). It referred to the glorious NEW Covenant of grace and the realm in which all believers have a personal and direct relationship with God Himself... rather than through an 'anointed' priesthood.
The 'Ages to Come' includes both the time after which Messiah had come and established HIS kingdom and rule on earth AND the time after we as believers pass away ...leaving this world to be fully in God's presence with spiritual bodies (1 Cor 15:44)
'THAT Age' refers in context to the age of 'the resurrection', 'the regeneration' or eternity which for many of the Old Testament (OT) saints was entered into in AD33 after Jesus death and resurrection. (Mat 27:52-53)... and for the rest of OT saints this happened in AD70.
(For us as New Testament gentile believers after AD 33 'that age' commences when we as born again children of God pass beyond the restraints of this mortal life.
Please note that in the TRANSITION period between the cross and the destruction of the temple, 'this present age' for the Jews overlapped with 'the age to come' by a single generation. This is a type of the whole of the rebellious generation which Moses lead out of Egypt then perishing in the wilderness because of unbelief (Heb 3:16-19). They would not enter the promised land (Heb 4:9-10). The believing Jews who were not already raised as part of the 'first resurrection' (Rev 20:5) of Mat 27:52-53 with Jesus, were resurrected in AD70 at Christ's return or The Day of the LORD which ended the time then known to them as 'this age' or 'this present age'. (Mat 13:40). This included all the martyrs killed in the great tribulation (Rev 20:4).
Let us examine a few more scriptures to confirm the way these phrases were used...
Matt 12:32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. NKJV
Those who assume that the 'age to come' is heaven have a problem. Are we to believe that people in heaven would be blaspheming or speaking against the Holy Spirit?.... Surely there is to be NO SIN in 'heaven'? This refers to those who in the time after Jesus resurrection still reject the Holy Spirit and who then could not be saved (John 3:3&5) ...even in the New Covenant.
(Jesus in referring to the age that was THEN about to come, was speaking of the New Covenant realm that would come into force after His death, resurrection and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit which ushered in the 'church age' (Acts 2)
Matt 19:28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. NKJV
(Please note that the apostles will be judging ISRAEL after their resurrection in AD70 ... and not the church (John 5:24). Our sin was judged in Christ on the cross.
Luke 18:29 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life." NKJV
Please note that believers under the Law did not receive eternal life UNTIL Christ was sacrificed and rose from the dead (Mat 27:52-53). The Hebrews who were under the Law of Moses were also blessed materially for their obedience to the Law (Deut 28:1-14). Jews under the Law did not receve eternal life (salvation) until after the judgment coming of Christ in AD70 (Luke 21:20-28, Heb 10:25-28, 1 Pet 1:5-13, James 5:3-9). We as Gentile believers in Christ under the New Covenant post AD33, receive eternal life AT conversion as we are now (post AD70) in the 'age (that was then still) to come' (Mat 21:33-43, 22:2-7, John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47). The proof that the kingdom was taken from Israel was the fulfillment of the prophecied destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Dan 9:26 and Is 64:10-11).
God had not spoken to Israel though a prophet for 400 years since Malachi... Israel knew from most of their prophets that 'the end of the age' was at hand. They knew that the end of the age would be ushered in by a time of persecution or purging...also known as 'the time of Jacob's trouble' or 'the time of great tribulation' under the wrath of God from heaven. In their biblical history His wrath was usually meted out by foreign armies (eg Is 19:1/Is 20:4). This period of wrath would be followed immediately by the resurrection and the judgment when the Lord returned on the clouds. The righteous would then be rewarded with eternal life and the wicked punished. This was the teaching of the prophecies of Daniel and many other prophets.
The Jews referred to the time of Messiah's coming as 'the LATTER times or the LAST DAYS'... (Gen 49:1, Acts 2:17, 2 Tim 3:1, Heb 1:2, James 5:3 and 2 Pet 3:3). Clearly 2000 years later we should know that this was not referring to the last days of the world, but to their nation's last days under the Old Covenant or end of THEIR present age as manifested by the AD70 destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and the Jewish nation.
Matt 13:36 And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! NKJV
Jesus here is quoting almost directly from Daniel 12:1-3...about the judgment and resurrection promised to ISRAEL (ie YOUR people). Please note that this passage also tells us that the great tribulation ON ISRAEL was to PRECEDE immediately before the resurrection ... Jesus confirms this in Mat 24:29 'immediately after the tribulation of those days'. Take time to absorb the timing which Jesus is giving concerning the resurrection... and now tie this to thetiming of Revelations chapter 20.
When Jesus spoke of THE END OF THE AGE his disciples knew he was not talking about an event which was to happen in 2000 years time. He was speaking of something they as a nation would SOON experience... within their life times... something relevant to THE HEARERS.
The fact that the NEW Kingdom of Heaven was AT HAND was part of His message from the start. (Mat 4:17) ... this also explains the question from the apostles in Mat 24:3 (tying the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple to 'THE END' .. Dan 9 vs 26b).
Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy......
25 ... there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks ....
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate."
NKJV
They also knew from the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24 onwards that END of the Age was imminent. The 70 weeks of years were detemined for Israel....NOT 70 weeks plus an interval of approx a 2000 years. The seventy weeks of years were also specifically for ISRAEL...and not for the Gentiles. They knew that sometime shortly after Messiah came and was 'cut off' that the determined time was to be CONCLUDED (Acts 3:22-24). Daniel's vision also had a sign which would confirm its fulfillment being the time when 'the power of the holy people has been completely shattered' (Dan 12:7) which was clearly fulfilled at the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Dan 9:26b)... as the time when 'all these things' would be finished. (Dan 12:6 and Dan 8:24b). This time is also referred to as 'the time of the end' (Dan 12:4, 9 & 13) ...and 'the time when the daily sacrifice is taken away' (Dan 12:11). Brethren since the destruction of the temple in AD70 there has been no sacrifice for sins offered in Jerusalem. The Old Covenant is now dead and buried for all the world to see.
John the Baptist preached it...as the Elijah who would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord (Mal 4:5, Mat 17:11-12). John was a messenger to ISRAEL...and not to the Gentile church. (Mal 4:4)
Matt 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,"Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath (melloi = 'soon') to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves,'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." NKJV
John warned the people living at that time about the coming Messiah. Jesus was manifested a very short time after John had started preaching his message ...not thousands of years later.
Matt 24:1-3 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying,"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" NKJV
The apostles knew that the Second Coming of Jesus...on the clouds (Dan 7:13-14) ...would usher in the end of the Age. They also KNEW from Daniel's prophecies that the tribulation and the destruction of the Temple was to be just prior to the 'end of the age' (of the Law). Isaiah had also prophecied that the Day of the Lord would come with all these same events. They were therefore expecting these events ALL to occur IN THEIR generation...their own lifetimes because this is what Jesus promised (Mat 16:27-28)...and because of the timeline that Daniel and Isaiah had prophecied.
Please note that in reply to the question ... "when will these things (plural) be? ... and what will be the signs be of your coming and of the end of the Age'. ... that Jesus answers referring to 'THE end' only (vs 6, 13 and 14). This tells us that Jesus was speaking of the SAME event as 'the end of the age'. This is confirmed when we look at the parallel question from the apostles in Mark and Luke which is about the "THE end' only. According to Jesus and the scriptures these phrases are interchangeable.
Please also note that in Mark 13:4 the apostles ask 'when will all these things be?' The apostles KNEW that single time period known as 'the end' was to incorporate a whole series of events. (the falling away, the tribulation, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the coming of the Christ on the clouds and the day of the Lord along with the resurrection and judgement .... all based on the Old covenant prophecies)
Heb 9:26 but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. NKJV
The 'end of the ages' was the time announced by John the Baptist which signalled that Messiah would come as the sacrificial Lamb...and His rejection and death was to trigger the series of events known as the end (being the end of the FIRST covenant...and the introduction of the NEW covenant). It was NOT speaking of the time we now live in some 2000 years later. This is explained in detail in Hebrews chapter 9 vs 8 revealing that while the temple was still standing that the 'the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest ... while the First tabernacle was still standing'. The destruction of the temple signified irrefutably the END of the First covenant (Heb 10:1) which was only a shadow. Since AD70 there have been no more sacrifices offered for sin as both the temple and the old Levitical priesthood were obliterated at that time. In the New covenant we now all have direct access to God though Jesus once for all time sacrificial death (Heb 10:9-14).
1 Cor 2:6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. NKJV
Paul is distinguishing between the Jewish age...the age of the Law of Moses.... and the mystery being the hidden wisdom of the age to come. The things which God has now revealed to us by His Spirit in the New Covenant (vs 9-10).
1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for OUR admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. NKJV
The principle of 'audience relevance' means the timing was THEN ...and not today some 2000 years later. It was happening right there and applicable to THAT generation in AD55 or so when this epistle was written.
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come ... NKJV
The Holy Spirit was only given at Pentacost...40 days after Jesus was raised and after He ascended to heaven. The powers of 'the age to come' was something they HAD tasted...not something they would only experience after they died.
This speaks of Jews who were in the transition period... the New covenant had come for the Gentiles ...but the Old Covenant was also still in force with the Jews still obeying Torah (Acts 15, Acts 21:20-25, Gal 2:7-10, Heb 12:18-24). This overlap only came to an end when the temple was destroyed, sacrifices terminated and the priesthood's genealogical records anihilated in AD70. The Jews who were saved had experienced the 'powers of the age to come'...ie they had seen those who were filled with the Holy Spirit exercising authority over demons and sickness. Sadly some of these still fell away and were caught up in the judgment of God on apostate Israel (ie those who did not flee Jerusalem before its destruction).
Mark 10:29 So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first." NKJV
Brethren the majority of Israelite saints AT THAT TIME had NOT YET received eternal life....they were still waiting in the grave for resurrection, judgment and the reward of eternal LIFE which Jesus died for them to have. For many of the OT saints this came in AD33 (Mat 27:52-53) but for the others this only came in AD70 when Israel was judged and the Old covenant terminated and those who believed were saved. (Enoch and Moses and Elijah could be exceptions... Mat 17:1-4)
Brethren today we as gentile believers receive ETERNAL LIFE here on earth...not when we die (Jn 3:36, Jn 5:24, Jn 6:47, 1 Jn 5:11). We get eternal life as soon as we believe. We do not have to wait for a future age because we are NOW 'in the age (that was then) to come'. When we die we enter straight into the age Jesus referred to as 'THAT age' or 'the resurrection' with new spiritual bodies.The scriptures also tell us that we as believers are already IN Christ, UNITED with Him, ONE with Him, BORN AGAIN of His Spirit. These are not described as 'future events' in the New Covenant, they are our present reality. They are certainly not described as things that were still to occur about 2000 or more years later.
Heb 12:18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire (ie the Old Covenant of Moses). 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. NKJV
(Brethren, if you look again now at Revelations 21 and 22, can you see that this is NOT speaking about the traditional image of a place called 'heaven' as the place where dead believers go? It speaks of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven that is now already open to us. It tells us of the 'realm of God' in which we encounter Him in 'the age that was then about to come' ... i.e. the age in which we today live in under the NEW Covenant. It also tells us that at the same time there will still be those who sin and by their actions demonstrate that they have no access to the Kingdom of Heaven. What other explanation is there for the presence of sinners in 'heaven' as per Rev 21:6-8 ...if as many believe that the New Jerusalem is 'heaven'?)
The apostles were even told to PRAY for the time when....
Matt 6:9 Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. NKJV
It was RIGHT THERE when Jesus died...not 2000 years away (Heb 10:9)
Matt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." NKJV
Perhaps the major symptom of failing to acknowledge that we are now in the Age to Come is that many in the church are still sitting and waiting for God to come and do something about matters that He has already given us the responsibility and authority to take care of?
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" NKJV
Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. NKJV
Today Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father in glory. He at the same time dwells IN US and weare IN HIM. The Holy Spirit is now our Comforter.
Acts 1: 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV
Of the 'age to come' Jesus gives a clear indication that it will no longer revolve around physical Jerusalem and the temple and sacrifices.
John 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." NKJV
This was spoken to a Samaritan woman (gentile) concerning the Age which was then still to come. From the time of Jesus (coming as Messiah ... the time which 'now is') He rules directly through His indwelling Spirit in the hearts of His children all over the earth! We do not have to make pilgramages to the 'holy land' for festivals or bring our sacrifices and offerings to a no longer relevant or existing 'altar'.
So what about Luke 20 and not being married in THAT age?...some will ask
Luke 20:33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife."
To understand the answer we need to consider first the question and the context. This question is a Jewish question relating to the Law of the Leverite marriage (Deut 25:5-10). This is about 'a matter of the Law'...and has no relevance to new testament Gentile believers. In the Old Testament people were born into the kingdom (of Israel) and became God's chosen people (or part of the kingdom of God) by physical/human reproduction and physical circumcision.
The resurrection spoken of is the one Daniel 12:2-3 speaks of....YES the same one that would happen TO ISRAEL... at the end of the 70th week as determined for ISRAEL in Dan 9:24 ...AND the same one that was to to be FINISHED immediately before the destruction of the temple (Dan 12:7)... the very same events Jesus spoke of in Mat 24:1-44. Jesus clarified for the Jews one of the key signs which Daniel 12:7 referred to....i.e. that the power of the holy people being shattered referred to the impending destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem...and with these Mosaic Judaism.
34 Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
The time for Israel to multiply and raise up seed for their families and to inherit their share of land in the physical 'promised land' was the age that is described as 'THIS age'
35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead,
Brethren this is NOT addressing the age of Gentile believers who are members of the CHURCH....the body of Christ. We are saved by GRACE...not because we have been 'counted worthy'. Jesus is our righteousness and our worthiness.
'That age' adresses the future of the righteous JEWS who were waiting in SHEOL and were to be raised and judged and found WORTHY to be with Jesus for ETERNITY (Rev 20:11-15) because of their FAITH. Yes, this will be similar for us as believers EXCEPT that our judgment happens when we are born again (John 5:24). We as christians enter THAT age fully immediately when we die... when we are no longer limited by having 'mortal bodies'. There is NO WAITING for believers in the New Covenant after AD70.
35b ... neither marry nor are given in marriage;
The time for marriage is over for them ....just as it was for believers of that period who had fallen asleep in Christ (ie members of the Body of Christ who had died physically prior to AD70) (1 Cor 15:18, 1 Thes 5:14). For us as gentile believers after the cross and the end of the Old Covenant, we are now not born into the kingdom by the will of MAN... but by the will of God alone (John 1:12-13). In our new life we are all be directly united with Christ ... marriage on earth is a type of this (Gen 2:24, 1 Cor 6:17, John 17:21-23)
36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Those whose names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life cannot die anymore....but the rest were faced with the second death in AD70 (Rev 20:14)
Believers today are 'equal to the angels'. The angels were also previously described as 'the sons of God' just as we now in life ARE the sons of God (1 John 3:2).
This also ties up well with what Jesus said to Mary before he raised Lazarus...
John 11:24 Martha said to Him,"I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" NKJV
This powerful scripture challenges most people's theology. Under the Old covenant and before Jesus came the Israelites were waiting for Messiah to bring the end of sin (Dan 9:24), resurrection (Dan 12:2-3) ...and eternal life (Mat 13:40-43 Mat 16:27-28).
BUT for us in the New covenant Jesus reveals that if we have HIM then we have ALL ... ie HE IS FIRST OUR RESURRECTION and then ALSO OUR (ETERNAL) LIFE. IN HIM we have both RESURRECTION and LIFE.
37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' NKJV
Jesus is clearly referring to what the LAW of Moses says ...
.... and the Law said a resurrection was coming....and Daniel gave the timing for this event as being before the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple which history records happened in AD70.... and this was the same timing as Jesus himself clearly confirmed the timing would be at least three times.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. NKJV
This is how the dead are raised in the New Covenant. We start off as being dead (separated from God) and are made alive when we come to faith in Jesus. When we then pass from this physical world and receive our spiritual bodies we will know the fullness of the riches of His grace which is manifested to the world in the New Covenant. (See also Col 1:11-14)
John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. NKJV
The above scripture is not a promise which God dangles before us conditional on our behaviour as believers...It is an IMMEDIATE unconditional grace gift to ALL who hear and believe.
Paul described it in this way...
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. NKJV
We need to bear in mind that we are looking at definitions which are to be understood in the context of the TRANSITION from the Old Covenant age to the New Covenant age which was then 'about to come'!
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. NKJV