"In The Last Days” – Where On Earth Is This Going? Series

“IN THE LAST DAYS” – WHERE ON EARTH IS THIS GOING?

This is a biblical term found four times in the New Testament in the NASB. Only two of these will concern us in this message. They are –

{{2Timothy 3:1 “Realise this, that IN THE LAST DAYS difficult times will come,”}}

and {{2Peter 3:3 “Know this first of all, that IN THE LAST DAYS mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,”}}

Both those references concern the last days. It is no good talking about a term and not explaining it. The question then is, “What does this term mean, and when are the last days?”

I am getting on a bit now but we used to use that expression in the 1960s, and in churches then that were not as liberal as they are today, this term was more widely considered. We used to think then that we were in the last days so the Rapture must have been close. People would talk about the Common Market that was formed by the Treaty of Rome in 25 March 1957. Prophetic students knew that the European nations under the control of the Antichrist would number 10, so this new formation was very closely watched. (The Revived Roman Empire)

As the years went on, we would take note of the growing number of nations as it rose towards 10 and then it exceeded 10 which some thought was a bit strange and confusing. All that now has passed into the EU – European Union closely allied with NATO.

The fact that it was called The Treaty of Rome was most significant at the time, because of the Revived Roman Empire that would come and be Antichrist’s home base. Add to that the fact that Israel as a State was in its infancy becoming a nation around 1948. Some used to say a generation was 40 years and they tried to apply this verse – {{Matthew 24:34 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”}} But the problem was it was applied wrongly. Of course those times were in the Cold War so the threat of war was ever present.

When all the above things were considered, many thought they were then in the last days and that the Lord could return at any time (the Rapture). However the years rolled on and the Lord did not come. Some Christians foolishly tried setting dates and publishing books, and ended up making fools of themselves.

Now we have passed on 50 years from the time I was seriously studying prophecy and so we are here today. The great question is, “What did the Lord mean by ‘in the last days’?” 1988 was a popular date (1948 plus 40 years).

IN THE LAST DAYS - AND - THE END OF THE AGE

There are two aspects to this in scripture. We talk about the last days before the Rapture and the last days before the Second Coming. In the Old Testament all the references to “IN THE LAST DAYS” (and there are many of them) are all set in the Tribulation, particularly at the end of that 7 year period.

In the New Testament that expression means in the last days before the Rapture. This also coordinates with what is called “the end of the age”. The disciples were asking the Lord on Olivet about the signs of His coming and the end of the age. Here it is here – {{Matthew 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”}} They were asking Him about the end of the age leading into the Second Coming. The Old Testament prophets deal with this very fully. I have covered that in the postings on “The Day of the LORD”. When they asked that question, the Church had not yet been formed and the Rapture was unknown until Paul revealed it to the Corinthians as “a mystery” in 1Corinthians 15. The Old Testament references to “in the last days” are all connected with the Second Coming.

However there is also what we can call “the end of the Church age.” The Church age ends when the Lord takes the Church home to glory at the Rapture. We are now in “the last days of the Church age.” Were we in the last days of the Church age in the 1960s? Well the answer is, “Yes, but not as much as now. Time is not a problem with an omnipresent God where tomorrow is as yesterday.

A DEEPER CONSIDERATION OF OUR TIMES – THE YARDSTICK FOR MEASURING THE LAST DAYS