PAUL STOPPED ALL TEACHING ON ESCHATOLOGY:
AND POINTED TO OUR HEAVENLY HOPE!
JAN LILLEBY
I THINK WE ALL NEED TO FOLLOW Paul’s line-up here, and not drown ourselves in the prophetic word. Let’s go for the Heavenly Mystery rather than Kingdom Prophecy!
Which I really did for years…and used much time on Kingdom Prophecy, even after I got into Acts-28 beliefs. But as the years have just rolled on, I got more aware of the fact that Paul, in his two church epistles Ephesians and Colossians, do not mention anything pertaining to eschatology. This is to me a certain signal, a slight warning to not getting too busy with the Bible prophesies. Such prophesies are actually of no concern to the Church. I am sure of it. Paul was sure of it as we can see from his writings Post-Acts. Paul’s “Mystery Revelation” can be found only in Ephesians and Colossians…alongside with the fact that Christ had abolished the Law of Moses. No other epistles of Paul contain such revelation, I can guarantee you. And only in them can we find Paul having dropped his ‘apostle’ title, and began calling himself for “Prisoner of Jesus Christ for the sake of you Gentiles”.
We cannot find the Second Advent of Christ, neither the Anti-Christ, nor The Great Tribulation, and absolutely nothing on Israel – not the present Israel in 63-67 CE when Paul wrote these epistles, or the past disobedient Israel, or the future eventual restored Israel to come. Nothing! Just a side remark from Paul on how it was with Gentiles compared to Israel in past times, Eph. 2:12-13, that we Gentiles were shut out from all things concerning Israel’s relation to the Lord, - - -
12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Along with the silence of eschatological topics, we find that the sign-gifts of the Holy Spirit is missing, with its tongues, healings, casting out of demons; and ordinances like baptisms, Holy Communion, confession of sins. Neither did he mention the five ministry gifts apostle-prophet-teacher-evangelist-elder (or pastor), other than in PAST TENSE (Eph. 4). It was all gone with the shifting of household, Greek oikonomia. Paul even stopped calling himself for apostolos (sent-out-one) as I mentioned above – and said: “Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles”. Everything had changed by the fact that God revealed His Mystery to him, the free Grace-Gospel of Christ, Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 1:25-26; 2:13-17.
Colossians 3:1-4, NASB,
“1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Verse 1…on seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, is a mighty important issue to notice and to follow.
This is clearly pointing away from earthly concerns, for instance things found in prophecy – of what is going to happen ON EARTH. This means eschatology indeed. And Paul is pointing us away from that kind of interest. We are really not supposed to get busy with prophesy at all, except the one prophecy given us for the hope of our calling, the coming “Day of Redemption” – when we are taken into the heavens super-naturally, Eph. 4:30.
Strong’s Greek on verse 1 goes as quoted below:
συνηγέρθητε (sunēgerthēte) – Strong's [G4891]: To raise together with. From sun (together) and egeirō (to waken/raise). It means you were co-resurrected with Christ.
ζητεῖτε (zēteite) – Strong's [G2212]: To seek, aim at, or strive for. This is a present imperative verb: keep on seeking.
ἄνω (anō) – Strong's [G507]: Up, upwards, or things above.
καθήμενος (kathēmenos) – Strong's [G2521]: Sitting or being seated.
Verse 2 gives us a “not to do” point: not the things that are on earth.
He points us AWAY FROM THE EARTH. Can you fathom this? Paul’s teaching is God’s voice talking to the Church-dispensation. Keep NOT your minds on things here on earth…skip all speculative prophesies and things like that, which so easily lead to side-tracking our lives into mindless errors and faulty speculations. Who is Anti-Christ, when will this and that happen? Will Israel have her new temple? When? Why? How? And many other things in the same category. I was very busy with such things earlier in ministry. But more and more I see how Paul wanted the Church, the ‘One new man’ to be busy with the heaven up above.
Strong’s Greek on verse 2,
φρονεῖτε (phroneite) – Strong's [G5426]: To set the mind on, dispose the mind, or entertain a certain worldview/attitude. Keep on setting your mind on higher things, not earthly things.
Verse 3 makes us remember what and who we are in the faith, in Christ: we are actually dead…to this world.
Strong’s Greek on verse 3, points us AWAY FROM OUR OLD LIFE, and we are now hidden with Christ in God,
ἀπεθάνετε (apethanete) – Strong's [G599]: To die or pass away. You died with Christ to your old life.
κέκρυπται (kekruptai) – Strong's [G2928]: To hide or conceal. Used in the perfect tense, indicating a past action with an ongoing, permanent result: your life has been hidden and remains secure.
Verse 4 – the final day on earth, and first day being physically present in heaven together with Christ in glory,
φανερωθῇ (phanerōthē) – Strong's [G5319]: To make manifest, visible, or clear to sight.
δόξῃ (doxē) – Strong's [G1391]: Glory, splendor, or brightness. The sphere in which believers will be revealed alongside Him, in the heaven up above.
Jesus is not coming down to get the Church up into heaven! The Church will be transported/transferred up to Him, to be revealed with Christ in the heaven up above. We have a heavenly calling and not an earthly one. That is why Paul urges us to keep heaven in mind, and not this earth.
Strong’s Greek show that phaneröthé was written by Paul, to let us know that we shall be seeing Jesus. And He is in heaven at His Father’s right hand. If it was Jesus coming down to us on earth, Paul would use the Greek Parousia (παρουσία), which means presence, arrival or coming. It comes very clear to us that the Church, the ‘One new man’ according to Paul’s revelation of the Mystery – is by no way expecting the Second Advent of Christ. Only Israel will get that as Jesus arrives to stop the Great Tribulation in Israel, Matt. 24:21-22; Rev. 19:20-21.
But the Acts-Body of Messianic believing Jews and proselytes looked forward to the Second Advent of Christ. Peter regarded the prophetic word as their light in this expectation, and thus he wrote, 2 Pet. 1:19-21 as he compares Prophetic Scripture to a lamp that shines in a murky, dark place, providing vital spiritual direction and safety,
“19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,
21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Peter held the prophetic word of God (here it is prophecy of the day of Christ’s coming as hope of salvation) as a light shining in a dark place. Their hope was earthly, the Kingdom of God on earth with Jesus as the King. But with the Mystery-Body, the ‘One new man’ according to Paul’s revelation, the hope is of heavenly character and not earthly.
Thus Paul did not hold the prophetic word in so much regard as we see with Peter. The prophetic word has no real concern to the Church, the Post-Acts Body, since prophecy has an earthly view of things to come. Our salvation however, was a secret, a Mystery not revealed to anyone else but Paul. The Church cannot be found in the prophetic word at all.
THE CORRECT HISTORIC SCENARIO WITH PAUL
POST-ACTS IN ASIA MINOR 63-67 CE
There are several implications worthy of mentioning regarding Paul’s ministry when in prison for the second time 63-67 CE.
Reading the two church-epistles Ephesians and Colossians, these have more elements missing than those I mentioned above. Paul skipped entirely all things of personal local experience in Rome.
We know that Paul spoke with the Number One World Leader, Caesar Nero, (Acts 27:24) and still neither Paul nor Luke goes in details with this ultra-important political and religious encounter. But there are no words on this in any of Paul’s Post-Acts writings.
Paul knew he was addressing Gentiles in particular, as quoted above from Eph. 3, and that these believers may not have been too well informed and drilled in knowledge of the movements of Rome and of Israel. But still: he did not go into commenting on political issues, he did not write to them of details on how he experienced the day-to-day life in prison; or how he was addressed by the Emperor Nero at Court.
He simply cut it short, saying “I am a prisoner of Jesus Christ for your sake, you Gentiles”.
If you were a prisoner in a Roman jail, you were automatically a suffering prisoner. You were not a guest at Ritz or Hilton!
For the record, check out my list below how real life was like if you were a prisoner of Rome. If you have shaky nerves, please skip the list!!
In ancient Rome, prisons completely lacked comfort because they were designed purely as temporary holding spaces for trial or execution, rather than as a form of long-term rehabilitation or punishment. Because Roman law favored execution, exile, or forced labor over long sentences, the state spent zero effort on prisoner welfare. Image: Mamertine Prison, Rome.
According to accounts from historians like Sallust, a stay in Rome's primary state prison, the Carcere Tullianum (Mamertine Prison), was defined by extreme sensory deprivation, physical confinement, and total physiological neglect.
Total Darkness and Poor Ventilation
Lightless pits: Most cells were completely subterranean. The lower level of the Tullianum was a stone chamber 12 feet (3, 66 meters) underground with no windows, accessible only by a hole in the ceiling.
Stagnant air: Air circulation was non-existent. Crowded conditions created a suffocation hazard packed with "dangerously stale air" and intense humidity.
Extreme Physical Discomfort
No bedding: Pallets or mattresses were generally not provided. Inmates slept directly on hard, damp, uneven stone floors.
Freezing temperatures: Underground stone vaults remained intensely cold. Inmates were stripped of their clothing upon arrest and forced to endure winters in mutilated, blood-stained rags.
Forced immobility: Prisoners were heavily bound with iron chains on their wrists and ankles or locked into wooden stocks (xyla), which forced them to stay in painful, contorted postures for days.
Severe Lack of Hygiene and Sustenance
Overwhelming stench: Sanitation was non-existent. Cells featured only a basic open hole in the floor for human waste, which frequently overflowed, filling the unventilated cells with a "hideous and sickening stench".
Untreated wounds: Roman citizens and foreigners were frequently flogged or tortured before entering the cell. Their open, bleeding wounds went entirely untreated, quickly developing infections in the filthy environment.
Starvation rations: The Roman state did not regularly feed or water prisoners. Inmates entirely relied on outside family members, friends, or charities to bring them food, water, and warm cloaks. Isolated or foreign prisoners frequently faced starvation.
Oh yes, Paul was suffering, alright. The words of Christ to Ananias in Acts 9:15-16 really were fulfilled,
15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."
Knowing these harsh facts about the horror-movie prisons in Rome, we may consider Paul’s execution in 67-69 CE as a relief from this hard suffering. Paul did not comment on his up-coming execution, but I suspect that he may have looked forward to it. Who knows? The same can be said of his cell-mate, Aristarchus. He may have shared the same fate as Paul, being executed.
Compared to our modern times and the prison standards now, they are actually “Ritz and Hilton.” They have a real bed, with clean sheets, they are clothed in clean (mostly) uniformed prison wear, and they are cared for by doctors and dentists, and what not. They get to have relatives and friends visiting in prison, and they have access to watch TV-programs…and more. Yes, they are suffering the lack of freedom, because they committed hard crimes. They are being punished for this. Thus the state has to keep these criminals off the streets. We know all that.
Paul did not even explain to the Ephesians and Colossians on why he was in jail the second time, and he did not tell of how it was that he was released after meeting in the Court of Law before Nero after he first arrived in Rome. We have missed a ton of details on Paul and how it all went down in the Post-Acts times. Only Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon deliver any information regarding eventual details.
This all leads us to conclude that what Paul wrote, was teaching and information of the utmost importance to us readers. So important, that Paul kept all of his personal ‘every-day-experiences’ off the roster. It was of no concern to the believers he addressed!
But he mentioned his sufferings to them in a general term, Eph. 3:13,
"Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory"
His readers of the epistles knew what it was like to be in a Roman jail.
And now we do as well!
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