Air

“to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Two Foundational Scriptures and the Meaning of “the Air”

Two scriptures, in particular, have stirred my interest in the deeper meaning of the term “air” as it appears in the apostolic writings: Ephesians 2:2 "in which you at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 "Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord". At first glance, these passages seem to use the same word in very different ways. Yet when examined together, they begin to illuminate one another. Their combined testimony is further confirmed by the imagery of Revelation, especially the plague poured out upon the air, which brings the narrative to its judicial climax.

Paul speaks in Ephesians of “the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” Here, the air is not merely physical atmosphere, but an operating realm of influence—an environment permeated by a spirit that shapes thinking, values, and conduct. It is something breathed in continually, often unconsciously, forming the moral and spiritual climate of the present system of things.

In contrast, Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians describe a radically different encounter with the air. He writes that the Lord will descend with a commanding call, and that those in union with Christ will be “caught away… to meet the Lord in the air.” This meeting is not a return to the polluted atmosphere ruled by the spirit of disobedience, but a transition out of it. Paul clarifies this further elsewhere: “We will not all fall asleep in death, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52). The transformation is instantaneous, making it possible to share fully in heavenly life.

This contrast suggests that “the air” functions in Scripture as more than a location. It represents a domain of operation, a realm of influence. To understand what it means to be “caught away” into the air, one must first understand what it means to be living under the authority of the air in its present form. Only then does the nature of the transformation become clear.

From the Tabernacle to the City

The tabernacle—and later the temple—served as a pattern for approaching Jehovah while still on earth. It taught order, separation, mediation, and holiness within a limited, provisional arrangement. But Scripture consistently points beyond this pattern toward something fuller. The city, not the tent, represents the completed reality.

When the time comes not merely to approach the Kingdom but to enter into its full operation, those who enter must be changed. Flesh cannot inherit what is spiritual. Thus, being “caught away” is not escape, but qualification—a necessary transformation that allows participation in a realm no longer governed by corruption, death, or the spirit of the world.

The Spirit of the World as the “Air”

This understanding aligns closely with how faithful anointed Christians have historically understood the term within Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Watchtower of August 15, 1983, explains that Satanic influence is widespread, “like the air that surrounds our planet.” Paul’s expression, “the ruler of the authority of the air,” is understood to describe a pervasive spirit that shapes the world’s thinking. Those who breathe in this spirit become increasingly susceptible to permissiveness, deception, and the hardening power of sin. The air, in this sense, is not neutral—it is an environment saturated with influence.

An earlier Watchtower (December 15, 1963) develops this thought further by connecting the air to the seventh plague of Revelation. There, the air represents “the spirit of the world”—an atmosphere cultivated over thousands of years under Satan’s rulership. Unlike the literal atmospheric expanse created by Jehovah for life, this symbolic air does not carry His blessing. It sustains a world alienated from God.

The seventh plague, poured out upon the air, is therefore described as the most vital and climactic judgment. Humanity cannot live long without air. A blow against it strikes at the very environment that sustains the present system. This plague does not merely disrupt external structures; it exposes and collapses the spirit that animates them.

Why This Matters for “Caught Away”

Seen in this light, being “caught away to meet the Lord in the air” cannot mean continued existence within the same spiritual atmosphere now ruled by disobedience. Rather, it implies removal from that influence and transition into a purified realm—one no longer governed by the ruler of the authority of the air, but by Christ.

The anointed are not merely lifted in location; they are changed in nature. They no longer breathe the spirit of the world. They are transformed so as to operate in a different domain altogether. What was once an atmosphere of corruption becomes, under divine authority, a realm of meeting, judgment, and liberation.

Thus, the same term—air—marks both the problem and its resolution. It identifies the present environment of influence and the future moment when that environment is decisively judged, replaced, and transcended.

A Unified Narrative

Taken together, Ephesians 2:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and Revelation’s plague upon the air form a single narrative arc:

The air is now dominated by a spirit of disobedience.
That spirit shapes the world and hardens hearts.
Jehovah brings judgment upon that environment itself.
Those chosen to share in the Kingdom are transformed and removed from it.

This is not escape theology, but liberation theology. The judgment of the air clears the way for a new environment, a new dwelling, and a new mode of life under Christ’s headship.

In this sense, the movement from tabernacle to city, from stone to heart, and from corrupted air to divine presence all belong to the same purpose:

Jehovah causing a new dwelling to become—one free from every spirit that opposes life.

w83 8/15 pp. 25-29 "Our Fight to Counteract Permissiveness"

"The Scriptures make it plain that Satanic influence is widespread, like the air that surrounds our planet. The apostle Paul spoke of the Devil as “the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2) Individuals who allow themselves to become blinded by the world’s thinking are more susceptible to his influence. The aim of the Devil and his demon host is, by every means at their disposal, to mislead mankind so as to do away with what is good and right. Hence, they generate a spirit of total permissiveness. Why? Because people who adopt that attitude more easily yield to and become hardened by the deceptive power of sin. (Hebrews 3:13) By permissively sowing to the flesh, the “sons of disobedience” reap corruption.—Galatians 6:7, 8"

w63 12/15 pp. 750-759 "Avoiding the Plague upon the Spirit of the World"

"For the past four thousand years an atmosphere has been created for the world of mankind, and in it and by it the world has lived. This atmosphere or “air” does not have the blessing of Jehovah God, who, on the second day of creation, produced the atmospheric expanse for the life of breathing creatures on earth. The “air” that the nations and cities and Babylon the Great breathe and live by is the “spirit of the world.” It is a spirit emanating from the “god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil. It comes under Jehovah’s judicial attention and receives from him a blow, a plague with all the disastrous effects therefrom.—Rev. 16:17-21.

The first six plagues all affected things that are vital to man’s existence on earth, namely, the earth from which he draws sustenance, the rivers and fountains of waters, the sun with its light, warmth and energy. But the seventh and last plague affects humankind most vitally. It is a blow against the “air” that man breathes. He cannot live for long without it. A plague on it should be most serious and should bring a climax of events. It does!

Through those 454,977 who adopted the Resolution at the series of Everlasting Good News assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses this past summer, the great Judge of the Universe added greater force to the continued pouring out of all seven symbolic plagues. Hundreds of thousands of those adopting the 1963 Resolution had taken no part in the initial pouring out of the “seven last plagues” in the years 1922-1928 and had little appreciation of the contents of those plagues. Now, by this one comprehensive Resolution, they publicly declared themselves as favoring those plagues from the great Judge Jehovah God and as supporting the outpouring of the plagues that were prophetically pictured in Revelation, chapter sixteen.

Thus, by one action, in adopting the 1963 assembly Resolution, they knowingly, understandingly, deliberately put themselves behind the pouring out of those plagues. Thus, too, in the one year, they accomplished what it had required earlier assemblies in seven successive years to accomplish. Now, however, they must be true to their spoken word; they must live up to the serious resolves expressed in the 1963 assembly Resolution.

THE NEED OF THE RIGHT SPIRIT

The 1963 Resolution is very penetrating. It directly touches upon the very spirit that permeates its adopters as dedicated, baptized Christians and that moves them to action as Christian witnesses of Jehovah God. This is specially clear in the last two paragraphs of the Resolution, which bear our reviewing here:

THAT, although at present we are obliged to be in this world, we will not breathe in the spirit of this world, for it is not the spirit of God but is the spirit of the devilish “ruler of this world.” Led by the spirit of its unseen ruler, the world of mankind has for thousands of years cultivated the works of the fallen, degraded flesh. Now the world is reaping the results of breathing in the spirit of Satan the Devil and cultivating the works of their flesh, which is at enmity with God. Babylon’s modern religious counterpart has not cultivated in the people the spirit of God, that they might reap the fruitage of God’s spirit to the attainment of eternal life in His new order of things. The world therefore faces an earthquake of world trouble the like of which it has never known, and all its political institutions and its modern religious Babylon will be shaken to bits, even human institutions as imposing and stable as mountains or isolated like islands disappearing;

THAT, therefore, we have immediately ahead of us the most momentous period in the history of mankind; the hour of the execution of God’s righteous judgment is about to strike, and we are in the day of decision. Whereas we see all the nations of this doomed world marching under superhuman demon influence, it is our resolution to remain immovable on the side of the established Messianic kingdom of Jehovah God, ever praying that he will give us more and more of his spirit. And as we endeavor to cultivate the fruitage of the spirit of God and carry on His pure and undefiled worship, we will keep on the full suit of armor of God and continue fighting, not against blood and flesh, but against the “wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places” until the satanic “ruler of this world” and his demons are abyssed for the thousand years of Christ’s reign. We thank Jehovah God for the ministry of his holy angels under Jesus Christ in our behalf. With their help and with the help of his holy spirit and Word we will continue to declare to all peoples without partiality the “everlasting good news” concerning God’s Messianic kingdom and concerning his judgments, which are like plagues to his enemies but which will be executed for the liberation of all persons who desire to worship God the Creator acceptably with spirit and with truth."

“This understanding of ‘air’ as a governing environment did not originate in abstraction, but was articulated early by those who sought to trace Scripture’s own language of ‘worlds,’ ‘heavens,’ and changing authorities across time.”

This way of understanding Scripture did not come to me in isolation. It belongs to the early inheritance of Jehovah’s Witnesses and found one of its clearest expressions in Millennial Dawn, Volume I: The Plan of the Ages. Reading it was personally illuminating—not as a source of doctrine, but as a guide that helped me recognize how the Bible itself speaks of changing “worlds,” governing “heavens,” and transferred authority, including Paul’s language about the “air.”

Here I introduce the first book that still holds a fundamental framework for me personally.

Order in the Unfolding of Jehovah’s Purpose

Chapter IV turns from promise to structure.

If Jehovah’s purpose is definite and unalterable, then it must unfold in an orderly way across time, rather than appearing all at once. This chapter addresses that order. It introduces the idea that human history is not a single, undifferentiated age, but a sequence of distinct epochs—each governed by a particular administration, each permitted for a defined purpose, and each giving way when that purpose is fulfilled.

Here the Bible’s language of “worlds,” “heavens,” and “earth” is treated not as poetic excess, but as precise description. These terms are shown to refer, not to the physical planet or sky, but to ruling authorities, governing arrangements, and the social order shaped under them. What changes from age to age is not the earth itself, but the power that breathes life into its institutions.

By distinguishing these epochs, the chapter provides a framework for understanding why evil has been allowed to persist, why righteousness has not yet prevailed, and why Scripture speaks of a “world to come” that is fundamentally unlike the present one. It also prepares the reader to grasp how transitions between worlds occur—not by accident, but by judgment, replacement, and the transfer of authority.

This framework will later prove essential for understanding Paul’s references to the “third heaven,” the passing away of the present order, and the emergence of a new administration in which righteousness dwells.

Editorial Note on Text Preparation and Formatting

The text of Millennial Dawn, Volume I: The Plan of the Ages presented in this chapter was scanned from original sources and processed with the assistance of AI tools to improve legibility and consistency. The wording itself has not been altered; only formatting and minor normalization were applied where necessary.

For consistency across this book and its corresponding web pages, biblical quotations are presented in dark red font, allowing Scripture to remain visually distinct while preserving the flow of the surrounding commentary. Paragraph spacing has been intentionally expanded to support slow reading, reflection, and ease of navigation on digital screens.

Millennial Dawn. Volume I. The Plan of the Ages

CHAPTER IV.

THE EPOCHS AND DISPENSATIONS

MARKED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIVINE PLAN.

God’s Plan Definite and Systematic.—

Three Great Epochs of the World’s History.—

Their Distinctive Features.—

“The Earth Abideth Forever.”—

The World to Come, the New Heavens and Earth.—

Subdivisions of these Great Epochs.—

The Important Features of God’s Plan thus Brought to View.—

Order Recognized Discloses Harmony.—

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth.

As some ignorantly misjudge the skill and wisdom of a great architect and builder by his unfinished work, so also many in their ignorance now misjudge God by his unfinished work; but by and by, when the rough scaffolding of evil, which has been permitted for man’s discipline, and which shall finally be overruled for his good, has been removed, and the rubbish cleared away, God’s finished work will universally declare his infinite wisdom and power; and his plans will be seen to be in harmony with his glorious character.

Since God tells us that he has a definitely fixed purpose, and that all his purposes shall be accomplished, it behooves us, as his children, to inquire diligently what those plans are, that we may be found in harmony with them. Notice how emphatically Jehovah affirms the fixedness of his purpose: “Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it be.” “The Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?” “I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. … My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” (Isa. 14: 24–27; 46: 9–11.)

Therefore, however hap-hazard or mysterious God’s dealings with men may appear, those who believe this testimony of his Word must acknowledge that his original and unalterable plan has been, and still is, progressing systematically to completion.

While the mass of mankind, groping in the darkness of ignorance, must await the actual developments of God’s plan, before they can realize the glorious character of the Divine Architect, it is the privilege of the child of God to see by faith and the light of his lamp the foretold glories of the future, and thereby to appreciate the otherwise mysterious dealings of the past and the present. Therefore, as interested sons of God, and heirs of a promised inheritance, we apply to our Father’s Word, that we may understand his purposes from the plans and specifications therein given.

There we learn that the plan of God, with reference to man, spans three great periods of time, beginning with man’s creation and reaching into the illimitable future. Peter and Paul designate these periods “three worlds,” which we represent in the following diagram.

These three great epochs represent three distinct manifestations of divine providence. The first, from creation to the flood, was under the ministration of angels, and is called by Peter “THE WORLD THAT WAS.”—2 Pet. 3: 6.

The second great epoch, from the flood to the establishment of the kingdom of God, is under the limited control of Satan, “the prince of this world,” and is therefore called “THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD.”—Gal. 1: 4; 2 Pet. 3: 7.

The third is to be a “world without end,” (Isa. 45: 17) under divine administration, the kingdom of God, and is called “THE WORLD TO COME—wherein dwelleth righteousness.”—Heb. 2: 5; 2 Pet. 3: 13.

The first of these periods, or “worlds,” under the ministration of angels, was a failure; the second, under the rule of Satan, the usurper, has been indeed an “evil world;” but the third will be an era of righteousness and of blessing to all the families of the earth.

The last two of these “worlds” are most particularly mentioned, and the statements relative to them are in strong contrast. The present, or second period, is called “the present evil world,” not because there is nothing good in it, but because in it evil is permitted to predominate. “Now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” (Mal. 3: 15.) The third world or epoch is mentioned as “THE WORLD TO COME—wherein dwelleth righteousness,” not because there will be no evil in it, but because evil will not predominate. The blotting out of evil will be gradual, requiring all of the first thousand years. Evil will not rule then; it will not prosper; it will no longer be the wicked that will flourish; but “the righteous shall flourish” (Psa. 72: 7), the “obedient shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1: 19), and “the evil doer shall be cut off.”—Psa. 37: 9.

Thus seen, the next dispensation is to be so dissimilar as to be the very reverse of the present one in almost every particular. Our Lord’s words show why there is to be a difference between the present and the future dispensations. It is because he will be the prince or ruler of the world to come, that in it righteousness and truth will prosper; while, because Satan is the prince (ruler) of the present evil world, evil prospers and the wicked flourish. It is because, as Jesus said, the prince of this world “hath nothing in me” and consequently no interest in his followers except to oppose, tempt, annoy and buffet them (John 14: 30; 2 Cor. 12: 7)—that in this present evil world or epoch, whosoever will live godly shall suffer persecution, while the wicked flourish like a green bay tree.—2 Tim. 3: 12; Psa. 37: 35.

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and until the era or “world to come” does come, Christ’s kingdom will not control the earth. And for this we are taught to hope and pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth.” Satan is the “ruler of the darkness of this world,” and therefore “darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people.” He now rules and works in the hearts of the children of disobedience.—Eph. 2: 2; 6: 12.

There must be some very important part of the great Architect’s plan for man’s salvation not yet fully developed—else the new prince and the new dispensation would have been long ago introduced. Why it was postponed for an appointed time, and also the manner of the change from the present dominion of evil under Satan to that of righteousness under Christ, are points of interest which will be more fully shown hereafter. Suffice it now to say, that the kingdoms of this world, now subject to Satan, are at the proper time to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. (Rev. 11: 15.) The context shows that the transfer will be accomplished by a general time of trouble. In reference to it Jesus said, “No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house.” (Mark 3: 22–27.) Thus we are taught that Satan must first be bound, restrained and deposed, before Christ’s reign of righteousness and peace can be established. This binding of Satan is accordingly shown to be the first work of the new dispensation.—Rev. 20: 2.

It should be remembered that this earth is the basis of all these “worlds” and dispensations, and that though ages pass and dispensations change, still the earth continues—“The earth abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1: 4.) Carrying out the same figure, Peter calls each of these periods a separate heavens and earth. Here the word heavens symbolizes the higher or spiritual controlling powers, and earth symbolizes human government and social arrangements. Thus the first heavens and earth, or the order and arrangement of things then existing, having served their purpose, ended at the flood. But the physical heavens (sky and atmosphere), and the physical earth, did not pass away; they remained.

So likewise the present world (heavens and earth) will pass away with a great noise, fire and melting—confusion, trouble and dissolution. The strong man (Satan), being bound, will struggle to retain his power. The present order or arrangement of government and society, not that of the physical sky and earth, will pass away. The present heavens (powers of spiritual control) must give place to the “new heavens”—Christ’s spiritual control. The present earth (human society as now organized under Satan’s control) must (symbolically) melt and be dissolved, in the beginning of the “Day of the Lord,” which “shall burn as an oven.” (Mal. 4: 1.) It will be succeeded by “a new earth,” i. e., society reorganized in harmony with earth’s new Prince—Christ. Righteousness, peace and love will rule among men when present arrangements have given place to the new and better kingdom, the basis of which will be the strictest justice.

Paul was given a glimpse of the next dispensation, or, as he calls it, “the world to come.” He says he was “caught away” (physically or mentally, or both, he could not tell, things were so real to his view) down the stream of time to the new condition of things, the “new heaven,” hence the “third heaven.” He thus saw things as they will be under the spiritual control of Christ, things which he might not disclose. (2 Cor. 12: 2–4.) Doubtless these were the same things which John afterward saw, and was permitted to express to the Church in symbols, which may only be understood as they become due. John, in the revelation given to him by our Lord on the Isle of Patmos, was in vision carried down through this Christian Age and its changing scenes of church and state, to the end of the present evil world, or epoch, and there in prophetic visions he saw Satan bound, Christ reigning, and the new heaven and the new earth established; for the former heaven and earth were passed away.—Rev. 21: 1.

The first of these great epochs (“worlds”) was not subdivided; God’s method of dealing with men did not vary during all that time—from Adam’s fall to the flood. God had given man his law, written in his very nature; but after he had sinned he left him measurably to his own course, which was downward, “evil, and that continually,” thus man might realize his folly, and that the wisdom of God in commanding absolute obedience might be made manifest. That dispensation ended with a flood, which took away all but faithful Noah and his family. Thus the first dispensation not only manifested the disastrous effects of sin, but showed that the tendency of sin is downward to greater degradation and misery, and proves the necessity of Jehovah’s interposition, if the recovery of “that which was lost”—man’s first estate—is ever to be accomplished.

The second epoch, or “world that now is,” includes three ages, each a step in the plan of God for the overthrow of evil. Each step is higher than that preceding it, and carries the plan forward and nearer to completion.

The third great epoch—“the world to come”—future from the second advent of Christ, comprises the Millennial Age, or “times of restitution;” and following it are other “ages to come,” the particulars of which are not revealed. Present revelations treat of man’s recovery from sin, and not of the eternity of glory to follow.

The first age in the “world that now is” we call the PATRIARCHAL AGE, or dispensation, because during that period God’s dealings and favors were with a few individuals only, the remainder of mankind being almost ignored. Such favored ones were the patriarchs Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Each of these in turn seems to have been God’s favored one. At the death of Jacob, that age or order of dealing ended. At Jacob’s death, his descendants were first called “the twelve tribes of Israel,” and were together recognized of God as his “peculiar people;” and through typical sacrifices they were typically “a holy nation,” separated from other nations for a particular purpose, and therefore to enjoy certain special favors. The time allotted to this feature of the divine plan, beginning here and ending at the death of Christ, we designate the JEWISH AGE, or the Law dispensation.

During that age God specially blessed that nation. He gave them his law; he made a special covenant with them; he gave them the Tabernacle, whose shekinah glory in the Most Holy represented Jehovah’s presence with them as their Leader and King. To them he sent the prophets, and finally his Son. Jesus performed his miracles and taught in their midst, and would neither go to others himself, nor permit his disciples to go to the surrounding nations. He sent them out, saying, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 10: 5, 6.) And again he said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15: 24.) That this national favor ended with their rejection and crucifixion of Jesus is shown by Jesus’ words, when, five days before his crucifixion, he declared, “Your house is left unto you desolate.”—Matt. 23: 38.

There, at Jesus’ death, a new age began—the CHRISTIAN AGE or GOSPEL DISPENSATION, wherein should be heralded good tidings of justification, not to the Jew only, but to all nations; for Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man. During this Gospel age also there is a class called to special favor, to whom special promises are made; namely, those who by faith accept Christ Jesus as their Redeemer and Lord, following in his footsteps. The gospel proclamation has gone hither and thither through the earth for nearly nineteen hundred years, so that it can now be said that it has been preached more or less in every nation. It has not converted nations—it was not designed to do so in this age; but it has selected here and there some, in all a “little flock,” as Jesus had foretold (Luke 12: 32), to whom it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the Kingdom in an age to follow this.

With this age the “present evil world” ends; and mark well that while God has been thus permitting the predominance and reign of evil, to the seeming detriment of his cause, nevertheless his deep designs have been steadily progressing according to a fixed and definite plan, and in the exact order of the seasons which he has appointed. In the end of this age, and the dawn of its successor, the Millennial age, Satan is to be bound and his power overthrown, preparatory to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom and the beginning of “the world to come, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

Millennium, signifying a thousand years, is by common consent used as the name for the period mentioned in Rev. 20: 4—the thousand years of Christ’s reign, the first age in the “world to come.” During the Millennial age, there will be a restitution of all things lost by the fall of Adam (Acts 3: 19–21), and before its close all tears shall have been wiped away. Beyond its boundary, in the ages of blessedness to follow, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain. The former things will have passed away. (Rev. 21: 4.) God’s revelations particularize no further, and there we stop.

We have here only glanced at the mere outline of this plan of the ages. The more we examine it, the more we will find in it perfect harmony, beauty and order. Each age has its part to accomplish, necessary to the complete development of God’s plan as a whole. The plan is a progressive one, gradually unfolding from age to age, upward and onward to the grand consummation of the original design of the Divine Architect, “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Eph. 1: 11.) Not one of these great periods is an hour too long or too short for the accomplishment of its object. God is a wise economist of both time and means, though his resources are infinite; and no power, however malicious, for a moment retards or thwarts his purposes. All things, evil as well as good, under divine supervision and overruling, are working together for the accomplishment of his will.

To an uninstructed and undisciplined mind, which can see only a little of the intricate machinery of God’s plan, it appears like anarchy, confusion and failure, just as the whole, or even a part, of an intricate machine would appear to a child. To its immature and untutored mind it is incomprehensible, and the opposite motions of its wheels and belts are but confusion. But maturity and investigation will show that the seeming confusion is beautiful harmony, working good results. The machine, however, was as truly a success before the child understood its operation as after. So, while God’s plan is, and has been for ages, in successful operation, man has been receiving the necessary discipline, not only to enable him to understand its intricate workings, but also to experience its blessed results.

As we pursue our study of the divine plan, it is essential that we keep in memory these ages and their respective peculiarities and objects; for in no one of them can the plan be seen, but in all of them, even as a link is not a chain, but several links united form a chain. We obtain correct ideas of the whole plan by noting the distinctive features of each part, and thus we are enabled to divide rightly the Word of truth.

A statement of the Word which belongs to one epoch, or dispensation, should not be applied to another, as things stated of one age are not always true of another. For instance, it would be an untruth to say of the present time that the knowledge of the Lord fills the whole earth, or that there is no need to say to your neighbor, Know the Lord. (Isa. 11: 9; Jer. 31: 34.) This is not true in this age, and it cannot be true until the Lord, having come again, has established his kingdom; for throughout this age there have been many seducing deceptions, and we are told that even in the very end of the age—“In the last days … evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Tim. 3: 1, 13.) It will be as the result of Messiah’s reign during the Millennial age that knowledge and righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

A similar mistake, and a very common one, is to suppose that God’s kingdom is now established and ruling over the earth, and that his will is now done among the nations. This is manifestly far from the truth, for the kingdoms of this world are supported and enriched through oppression, injustice and deceit, to as great an extent as the increasing intelligence of the people will permit. Satan, the present “prince of this world,” must yet be displaced, and these kingdoms, now under his control, must become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Anointed, when he shall take unto himself his great power, and reign.

By the light now due to the household of faith, we discern that system and order which mark the stately steppings of our God through the ages past, and we are forcibly reminded of the beautiful lines of Cowper, inspired by a living faith, which trusted where it could not trace the Almighty Jehovah:—

“God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace.
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.”

What follows steps away from analysis and into image—not to change the argument, but to let it be felt.

The Air Between the Worlds

No one sees the air, yet everyone lives within it.

It carries voices, spreads scent, presses upon the lungs, and yields to no hand that tries to grasp it. Though unseen, it governs movement. Nothing breathes without submitting to its presence. Nothing speaks without trusting it to bear the word. So it has always been.

From the beginning, the air bore more than wind.

In the first world, authority moved lightly, almost imperceptibly, like a clear sky untroubled by storm. Obedience was expected, but not yet tested. When that order collapsed, it was not the earth that shattered—it was the governance that failed. The air changed. The world exhaled, and the Flood sealed the end of that age.

In the second world, the air thickened.

Influence gathered where it could not be seen, and power learned to rule without form. Ideas spread faster than truth. Fear traveled farther than wisdom. Men built systems, but something above them breathed life into those systems—an unseen authority shaping desire, ambition, and resistance. Scripture named it plainly: the ruler of the authority of the air.

This air did not crush; it permeated.

It taught humanity how to govern without righteousness, how to dominate without appearing cruel, how to misrule while calling it order. The air carried the spirit of the age, and the age inhaled deeply. Even those who resisted felt its pressure. Even those who believed learned to breathe differently, exhaling hope into an atmosphere that did not welcome it.

Some were allowed to feel another air.

Not by leaving their bodies, not by ascending into space, but by being momentarily lifted beyond the present breath of the world. Paul spoke of it only in fragments—caught away, uncertain whether in body or out. What he encountered was not altitude, but authority. Not distance, but difference. The air there did not press with deception. It carried clarity without force. It governed without corruption.

That was the third heaven—not a place above the clouds, but a rule yet to arrive.

The present air remains—for now.

It still carries the noise of nations, the breath of conflict, the subtle persuasion that power must corrupt and survival must harden the heart. Yet it is already marked for cleansing. When the strong man is bound, the air will change. Influence will lose its grip. Authority will pass. The pressure that once shaped the world will be replaced by another.

The air will become breathable again.

Then righteousness will travel freely. Knowledge will move without distortion. Truth will no longer need to shout to be heard. Society—still on the same earth—will reorganize under a different sky, not higher, but rightful.

Until that day, the faithful live between breaths.

They inhale a world that is passing, and exhale hope from a world to come. They learn to recognize the air for what it is—not nothing, not everything, but influence awaiting judgment.

For the earth abides.
The worlds pass.
And the air—unseen, governing, shaping—will at last be made clean.

Where Do You Want to Be Caught Away?

To be caught away is not first a question of distance.
It is a question of air.

Not where the body stands, but what authority fills the breath.
Not how high one ascends, but under which rule one is thinking, hoping, choosing.

Many imagine being caught away as escape—
away from pressure, away from pain, away from the weight of history.
But Scripture speaks more quietly.
Those who were caught away did not leave the earth behind;
they returned to it carrying a different awareness of what governs it.

So the question presses gently but firmly:

Caught away into which air?

The air of this age is familiar.
It rewards urgency, sharpness, survival.
It trains the mind to measure worth by success, security, influence.
It moves invisibly, persuading without speaking, shaping desires before choices are made.
One can live faithfully within it—but never without effort.
Every breath here requires discernment.

Yet another air already exists—
not above the clouds, but ahead in authority.
It does not rush.
It does not coerce.
It carries clarity without anxiety and power without fear.
Those who have tasted it speak carefully,
as if words are too small for the difference they felt.

To be caught away there is not to abandon responsibility,
but to see responsibility differently.
Not to flee the present world,
but to understand that it is not permanent.

Paul did not remain in that air.
John did not dwell there.
They returned to the second world, still breathing its atmosphere,
yet no longer governed by it in the same way.
Their loyalty had shifted.
Their center of gravity had moved.

So the question is not dramatic.
It is intimate.

When your thoughts rise—
what air do they enter?

When pressure comes—
which authority do you instinctively assume is ultimate?

When the world insists, This is how things must be,
do you inhale agreement,
or do you hold your breath and wait for another order to speak?

To be caught away is to be reoriented before it is to be relocated.
It is to learn to live now under the influence of what is coming,
even while standing firmly within what is passing.

The third heaven does not begin with disappearance.
It begins with alignment.

So again, quietly:

Where do you want to be caught away—
into the air that is fading,
or into the authority that is arriving?

Between breaths, the choice is already being practiced.

In the Twinkling of an Eye

The change is not slow.

It is not learned, practiced, or earned over time.
It does not unfold like character or maturity.
It happens in a moment—
in the twinkling of an eye.

An eye does not deliberate before it changes.
It does not prepare.
It simply responds.

So it will be then.

Not all will die.
That is the quiet surprise hidden in the words.
Some will not pass through sleep, decay, or waiting.
They will stand fully within the old air one instant—
and in the next, breathe another.

The body may still be standing on the same earth.
Time may still be ticking for the world around them.
But something fundamental will have shifted.

Not flesh improved.
Not mortality repaired.
But governance exchanged.

What was once bound to corruption will no longer answer to it.
What was once shaped by pressure will no longer feel its grip.
The change is not gradual because it is not developmental.
It is decisive.

As sight adjusts faster than thought,
so this transformation overtakes explanation.

One instant, life is sustained by borrowed breath.
The next, it is animated by another order entirely.
What was perishable gives way,
not by dying,
but by being clothed.

The old does not fight to remain.
It simply yields.

For death is not defeated only by passing through it,
but by being bypassed.

This is why not all sleep.
Sleep belongs to waiting.
But some will be awake when the authority changes hands.

They will not ascend through space.
They will not vanish from the earth.
Yet they will no longer belong to the age that surrounds them.
Their allegiance will already have been transferred.

The air will be different.

What once governed invisibly will no longer have access.
What once pressed will no longer constrain.
The breath that sustained mortal life will give way to another—
not louder, not heavier, but final.

The twinkling of an eye is enough.

Because the change is not negotiated.
It is proclaimed.

And in that instant,
what could not inherit the Kingdom
will no longer need to.

Not all will die.
But all who belong will be changed.