Are we in the “Last Days?”
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesThere is a national preoccupation among the religious today with “end times” and the things that are going to happen within the “last days.” This national hype has been fueled by the “Left Behind” book series which is a fictional account of how those who believe the doctrine of premillennialism think the “end of the world” is going to occur. Many read these books, assuming that the doctrine within them is biblical and end up believing something which has no biblical support at all. One of the big questions that the proponents of the doctrine of premillennialism want us to believe is that we are in the “last days” before Jesus will return. In fact, someone recently asked me the question, “Don’t you think we are in the “last days?” Let’s look at the biblical answer to this question.
First, let me state that there is most definitely a sense in which we are in the last days. The Bible was written over a period of two thousand years and deals with several different ages in which God communicated with man. The first age was the patriarchal age. This is the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when God dealt directly with the fathers of the families. Through them God communicated His will to the rest of the family and it was their responsibility to ensure that the family learned God’s word. God said concerning Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Genesis 18:19). The second age of which we read in the Bible was the Mosaic age. During this time, God communicated to the nations both through written law and through inspired prophets (Jeremiah 7:25; Daniel 9:6). This was a period of national leadership as opposed to family leadership. Moses, Joshua, the judges, the kings, and the prophets were all leaders that God used to communicate with nations. The third age within the Bible is the age of Christ. In this age, God communicates to the whole world through his Son, Jesus. Hebrews 1:1,2 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,.” In Matthew 17:5, God says, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Today, in the Christian age, God communicates to man solely through the written word of His Son, Jesus. There is no other way in which God reveals His word today. This is the third and final age of God’s communication with man. There is no future age (on the earth) in which God is going to speak to man in some other way. In this sense, we are in the “last days.”
There is second understanding of the phrase “last days.” In this sense, we do not know whether we are in the last days or not. And it is this sense of the phrase, “last days” to which most people refer today. These “last days” are the days imminently prior to the second coming of Jesus. Those who teach and preach this believe that within their lifetime, Jesus is going to return to the earth and this is what they mean by “last days.” Let me clearly state that I do not know if we are in the “last days” or not because the Bible teaches that no man can know this. Jesus himself said that no man knows the day or the hour when he will return. In Matthew 24:36 we read, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” If Jesus himself did not know the time of his second coming, then far be it from me to say that I know the time of his coming. It could be tomorrow, but it could be 2000 years from now. We just do not know. So for us to say definitely that we are in the “last days” is to claim to know something that we cannot possibly know. We may be in the last days, but then again, we may not.
What is the important lesson that we need to draw from Jesus teaching regarding his second coming? It is that we must be ready at all times whether we are in the last days or not. It may be true that Jesus comes again before we die in which case we need to be prepared to accept His judgment of our life. However, it may be that we die before Jesus comes again. If that happens, we will still need to be ready to accept His judgment of our life. Either way, we will all be brought before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of our deeds done in our bodies (2 Corinthians 5:10). While we should let the second coming of Christ motivate us to faithful living, focusing upon determining when the “last days” will be is a distraction from our daily responsibilities to God (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Let us not focus upon whether we are in the “last days” or not, but rather, let us focus upon living the daily Christian life as our Lord, Jesus would want us to live it. One way or the other He will judge us. Prepare for THAT day.