Because the day of the Lord and the age to come are markedly punitive in nature, this age is broadly defined by divine mercy. Everything that happens before the last day must be understood as a restraint of divine wrath and judgment upon sin. This age is this age because the day of judgment has not yet arrived. Indeed, God is patient, not wanting any to perish but all to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9). As such, the event of the cross exemplifies all divine activity during this age. God has ultimately shown humanity his mercy and love by offering his Son in order that we might be saved from the wrath to come (cf. John 3:16; Rom. 5:8–9; Titus 3:4–7). This age, therefore, can broadly be described as “cruciform” (i.e., shaped like the cross), while the age to come is generally “apocalyptic” (i.e., established by the day of the Lord). If we seek to describe biblical theology as a whole, it is best summarized as cruciform apocalypticism.  - John P. Harrigan, The Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.3