<p>1:4 <em>Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father</em>- The Lord's death is presented as the supreme sin offering, which had an outcome in practice- separation from this present evil world. Judaism tacitly allowed the Gentile converts to remain effectively in that world, but with a conscience cosmetically salved by a few acts of ritual obedience. The purpose of the cross was so that we might be separated out from this present evil world. To remain in the world, to stay in the crowd that faced the cross rather than walk through the no man's land between, this is a denial of the Lord's death for us. See on Gal. 6:14. Paul had his inspired mind on the phrase in the Lord&rsquo;s prayer which requests deliverance from evil. Clearly enough, Paul didn&rsquo;t understand &ldquo;the evil&rdquo; to be a personal cosmic Satan, but rather the moral &ldquo;evil&rdquo; of this world and those who seek to persecute believers.</p><p>Much of Paul&rsquo;s writing is understandable on various levels. In some places he makes allusions to contemporary Jewish writings and ideas &ndash; with which he was obviously very familiar given his background &ndash; in order to correct or deconstruct them. This is especially true with reference to Jewish ideas about Satan and supposedly sinful Angels ruling over this present world. The idea of deliverance from this present evil world or age is an example. As more and more Jewish writings of the time become more widely available, it becomes increasingly apparent that this is a major feature of Paul&rsquo;s writing. The Jewish writings all held to the teaching of the two ages, whereby this current age was supposed to be under the control of Satan and his angels, who would be destroyed in the future age, when Messiah would reign and Paradise would be restored on earth (see 1 Enoch 16.1; 18.16; 21.6; Jubilees 1.29; T. Moses 1.18; 12.4). Paul frequently uses terms used in the Jewish writings concerning the Kingdom age, the eschatological age, and applies them to the experience of Christian believers <em>right now</em>. When Heb. 2:14 states that Christ killed the Devil in His death on the cross, this is effectively saying that the future age has come. For the Jews expected the Devil to be destroyed only at the changeover to the future Kingdom age. In 4 Ezra, &ldquo;This age&rdquo; (4.27; 6.9; 7.12), also known as the &ldquo;corrupt age&rdquo; (4.11) stands in contrast to the &ldquo;future age&rdquo; (6.9; 8.1), the &ldquo;greater age&rdquo;, the &ldquo;immortal time&rdquo; (7.119), the future time (8.52). 4 Enoch even claims that the changeover from this age to the future age occurs at the time of the final judgment, following the death of the Messiah and seven days of silence (7.29&ndash;44, 113). So we can see why Paul would plug in to these ideas. He taught that Christ died &ldquo;in order to rescue us from this present evil age&rdquo; (Gal. 1:4; Rom 8:38; 1 Cor. 3:22). Therefore if the old age has finished, that means Satan is no longer controlling things as the Jews believed. For they believed that Satan&rsquo;s spirits &ldquo;will corrupt until the day of the great conclusion, until the great age is consummated, until everything is concluded (upon) the Watchers and the wicked ones&rdquo; (1 Enoch 16:1, cf. 72:1). And Paul was pronouncing that the great age had been consummated in Christ, that the first century believers were those upon whom the end of the <em>aion</em> had come (1 Cor. 10:11).</p>