This essay examines the popular claim that the apostle Paul deploys an apocalyptic ‘two-age’ scheme in his eschatology, adapted from Jewish apocalyptic thought but reworked in an ‘inaugurated’ configuration in his theology as ‘now and not yet’. This reading is challenged as representing an oversimplified and anachronistic reading of the Jewish apocalyptic literature, and in respect of its claim to be a Pauline innovation. Furthermore, it is a reading not adequately sensitive to the fact that Paul rarely (if ever) uses the phrase ‘age to come’. The second section of the essay examines this Pauline evidence, and some of the language Paul uses instead of this phrase. Finally, the essay closes with a theological proposal for why Paul might do this, and makes some suggestions regarding Paul's view of time, the relationship between time and eternity, and possible ways this might be articulated once dogmatically located within his christology.

这篇文章考察了一种流行的说法，即使徒保罗在他的末世论中部署了一个世界末日的“两时代”计划，改编自犹太世界末日思想，但在他的神学中以“开始”的形式重新设计为“现在和尚未”。这种解读受到质疑，因为它代表了对犹太世界末日文学的过度简化和不合时宜的解读，并声称其是波琳的创新。此外，这是一种对保罗很少（如果有的话）使用“来世”一词的解读不够敏感。文章的第二部分检查了这个 Pauline 的证据，以及 Paul 用来代替这个短语的一些语言。最后，这篇文章以一个关于保罗为什么会这样做的神学建议结束，并就保罗的时间观、时间与永恒之间的关系提出了一些建议，