3. ARE WE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS?

3. ARE WE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS?

We twenty-first century Christians live in exciting times. While we don’t know exactly when Christ will return, we do know that His coming is drawing closer and closer. The evidence around us indicates more and more that we live in the very kind of society the Bible warned would arise in the days before the second coming. It’s fascinating to watch as history continues to unfold, and as we see the Scripture’s description of the last days become reality before our very eyes.

1. In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells us that He is going to prepare a place (literally room or dwelling) for us in His Father’s house. This is one of the passages that refer to the rapture of the saints at the end of the age when Christ returns. The features in this description do not describe Christ coming to earth with His saints to establish His kingdom (Revelation 19:11–15), but taking believers from earth to live in heaven. In verse three, He states most assuredly that He will come again and receive us unto Himself. After being raptured, the church will celebrate the marriage supper (Revelation 19:7–10), be rewarded (1 Corinthians 3:10–15; 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10), and later return to earth with Christ when He comes again to set up His kingdom (Revelation 19:11–20:6).

2. In Matthew 24:1-2, when Jesus talked about the destruction of the Temple, the two questions the disciples asked in response were:

(a) When will these things be?

(b) What will be the sign of Your coming (Greek, Parousia; literally “presence”), and of the end of the age?”

3. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus ultimate answer to His disciples is “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” There are no prophesied events that have yet to take place before our Lord’s rapture of the church. It is imminent; it can happen at any time. We ought not to be looking for signs of a sign-less event. There are no signs of the time because we are not in the time of the prophesied signs (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13–18; 1 Corinthians. 15:51, 52).

4. It is impossible for us to predict when Jesus will return, but some Christians decide it is not important for us to “study the times.” In Ephesians 5:15-16, we are given the exhortation to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”Believers are to avoid behaving like fools (see Luke 24:25; Galatians 3:1–3). The Greek word for “time” denotes a fixed, measured, allocated season. We are to make the most of our time on this evil earth in fulfilling God’s purposes, lining up every opportunity for useful worship and service.

5. According to 2 Timothy 3:1-5, in the last days, people will be “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.” The phrase, “the last days” refers to this age, the time since the first coming of the Lord Jesus (1 Timothy 4:1). As the return of Christ approaches the frequency and severity characterizing the attributes of unbelievers in Christ will increase in a most dangerous way. False teachers and their followers are concerned with mere external appearances. Their outward form of Christianity and virtue makes them all the more dangerous.

6. According to 2 Timothy 4:2-4, people will “will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” Paul here warns Timothy that, in the dangerous seasons of this age, many people would become intolerant of the confrontive, demanding preaching of God’s Word (2 Timothy 1:13, 14; 1Timothy 1:910; 6:3–5). They want to be entertained by teachings that will produce pleasant sensations and leave them with good feelings about themselves. Their goal is that men preach “in accordance to their own desires.” Under those conditions, people will dictate what men preach, rather than God dictating it by His Word.

7. 2 Timothy 4:2, 5 tells us, as Christian believers, how we are to respond to these problems. “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” and also to “Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” Here the form of the verb “be ready” suggests the complementary ideas of urgency, preparedness, and readiness. The faithful preacher must proclaim the Word when it is popular and/or convenient, and when it is not; when it seems suitable to do so, and when it seems not. The dictates of popular culture, tradition, reputation, acceptance, or esteem in the community (or in the church) must never alter the true preacher’s commitment to proclaim God’s Word. The Greek word for “convince” refers to correcting behavior or false doctrine by using careful biblical argument to help a person understand the error of his actions. The Greek word for “rebuke” deals more with correcting the person’s motives by convicting him of his sin and leading him to repentance. The related verb “to preach the gospel” and the related noun “gospel” are used throughout the New Testament not only in relation to evangelists, but also to the call for every Christian, especially preachers and teachers, to proclaim the gospel.

8. According to 2 Timothy 2:15 we are to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The improvements we should make, as Christians, would be to study the Word of God in depth on a daily basis, letting the Holy Spirit teach us the truth of His Word. We also should be more diligent in sharing the Gospel of Christ with others. The word “diligent” denotes zealous persistence in accomplishing a goal; to give maximum effort to impart God’s Word completely, accurately, and clearly to the hearers. Precision and accuracy are required in biblical interpretation, beyond all other enterprises, because the interpreter is handling God’s Word.

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

©2013 Kenute P. Curry. All rights reserved.