Many of us are fascinated by and apprehensive about ‘the last days.’ We read these words in the Bible, but what do they mean? We hear ministers use this phrase, but what are they saying?
Are we living in the last days? Are today and tomorrow the last days?
Second Timothy 3:1 says, “Know in the last days that perilous times will come.”
Apocalyptic movies like 2012, War of the World, The Day After Tomorrow, and many others portray horrible renderings of the end of the world.
Forget about the movies. People around the world who lived or are living in war zones and pandemics think about the last days. Today, some believe the next world war, World War III, will be the end of the world.
The Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that when we hear about wars and rumors of wars, the end is not yet but is ‘still to come.’
The world is still here after two world wars and the end days of too many people to number. The world is still ticking and turning.
In Matthew 24:3b, the disciples asked Jesus about the end times. They asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?” This verse reveals that the end times or end of the world have much to do with Jesus’ return or second coming.
The ‘last times,’ ‘last hour,’ and ‘end of the ages’ are other phrases the Bible uses to denote the end times or days.
What marked the beginning of the last days? When did these last days begin?
Just as Jesus’ return will mark the end of time, the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry marked the beginning of the last days. The Bible tells us that in the days before the last days, God spoke to mankind through His prophets, but in the last days, His Son speaks to us.
Who knows whether these last days will be shorter or longer than the time from creation to Jesus’ earthly ministry? Who can make the comparison? No one knows how long or what the time span will be in these last days.
Let the astrologers and doom-day sayers make their best predictions: 20, 50, 100, 1050 more years, or longer?
Second, Peter 3:8 states,” But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”
Who can number the days that marks Christ’s second coming?
Since Jesus’ ministry, we have been in the last days for a considerably long time.
All predictions citing specific dates of the last days or the end of the world have come to naught; the world is still here. Our world, the earth, countries, and all of its inhabitants, including mountains, forests, animals, and other living things, are still here.
Jesus told us who would and would not know the time of His coming. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
There are many things we don’t know, but we know we are living in the last days.
In these last days, we don’t know how many famines, wars, earthquakes, and other disasters will precede the end of time.
What time is it?
May God continue to bless us during these last days.
Be well.