Aren't We Living In The Last Days?

Thanks to TV preachers and fiction writers, this question is often the first one we encounter when spreading the gospel of the kingdom. There is so much talk of "the last days" yet few seem to have any comprehension of what the scripture actually says on the matter.

Our immediate response to the question is, "The last days of what?" Scripture doesn't leave us to wonder about the "last days" it has in view but, sadly, most people never study God's word enough to see the picture which is clearly before them. The last days were not the last days of the Roman Empire, the last days of the so called Christian or church age, and certainly not the last days of the planet earth!

If you've arrived here thinking the globe is about to be incinerated, we've got good news! The scripture simply does not teach such a view (learn more). In numerous places, the Bible teaches that the world will continue indefinitely. How are we to understand this much abused phrase?

Even a cursory reading of the scripture with one's mind engaged quickly reveals that the end in view is the last days of Old Covenant Judaism. As early as Genesis 49, Jacob/Israel told his children what would happen in the last days, "And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days." (v.1) He continues with the blessing of each of his sons and when he gets to Judah we get some useful information, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (v. 10)

How have so many missed this critical information for so long? Here is clear instruction that Shiloh (which most scholars agree is a Messianic reference meaning peaceful or tranquil) would gather the people as one when He came. When did He come? He came in the fullness of time or as the writer of Hebrews says, "in these last days." (Heb. 1:1)

If they were living in the last days almost 2,000 years ago, does it seem reasonable that we are living in them now? How could the last days encompass as much or more time than all the history of Israel itself? It just doesn't compute!

The last days were then, in the first century. That was the terminal generation of Old Covenant Israel. Shiloh (Christ) was going to gather the people to Him at that time and He did. Throughout His ministry He issued scathing rebukes of the Jewish leaders and warned them to save themselves from the wrath to come. It is farfetched to think that wrath is yet to come. If it is, they didn't have anything to worry about!

Christ's warning was right on cue and just a few years after He ascended to the Father's right hand, He came in judgment against those who shed the blood of the prophets. Jerusalem was not just torn down. It was burned to ashes and plowed under. And it wasn't just plowed, it was plowed with salt so nothing would grow there for years to come.

The last days were a time of terrible distress to avenge the greatest crime in the history of the world, the crucifixion of God's Son. That low point in redemptive history is actually its climax, but the redemptive process would not be complete until Christ returned as He promised. If He has not come, then salvation is still in question. The journey has been uphill but the view is glorious for those who will take the time to enjoy it.

So relax a bit and enjoy the view! Leave the ranks of those who see night falling on God's creation and who seek to escape through some secret rapture. Instead, celebrate with those who are basking in the light of the Daystar of Zion. To be sure, there is work to be done, but understanding the time in which we live makes that work pure joy.

"to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:21)