When The Last Days Came

This article is entitled “When the last days came”, and many may think that phrase is off track because most believe the last days aren’t here yet.

But what does the Bible actually say about the last days and are the “last days” always exclusively in the future.

 

Looking at human history from our current perspective, it’s clear that times have changed.

Human history itself revolves around the event of Christ’s cross. History is divided into times before Christ (BC) and after Christ, Anno Domini (AD), meaning “Year of Our Lord.”.

This is despite human efforts to wipe Jesus Christ and God from our history.

“Before Common Era” (BCE) is now replacing “Before Christ.” (BC)

“Common Era” (CE) is replacing “Anno Domini” (AD) (In the Year of Our Lord).

Same numbers. Different meaning entirely.

Although that point in time is unchanged, The Name of Jesus, the Christ, is removed.

For two thousand years, every document signed, every birth recorded, every monument built carried an invisible watermark that states “This exists in relation to Christ’s birth”.

Even those who rejected Jesus aligned their lives by His arrival. Even those who denied Him measured their days by his birth.

Until now.

The God rejecters aren’t burning Bibles in the street or tearing down churches with tanks or martyring believers in coliseums anymore.

They’ve learned that this approach only creates stronger faith so instead they’ve opted for a gradual step by step changing of history that erases Christ from it.

But their efforts can’t remove truth, important and powerful truth that firmly remains.

No matter what name they invent they can’t change that point in time where God took on flesh and dwelt among His creation and it can’t stop what’s coming.

 

The way God operated before Christ’s arrival and since then has changed.

So, where are we in biblical history?

Look at Matthew 24:3.

Now as He sat 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?”

 

At this point in Jesus’ ministry, He’d taught His disciples that although He was present, He’d soon leave, and they wanted to understand when He’ll return and when the end of the world’ll come.

We place the end of the world at the far side of the history timeline, as our chart below shows, because it seems to mark the final stage and nothing comes after it.

Jesus’ Response to the disciple’s question is seen in Matthew 24:4-6

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 

 

This passage clarifies that false messiahs, wars, and global turmoil will occur before the end, but they’re not signs of the final days and we’re obviously not living in an eternal state of glory right now.

We’re not living in the time when God said He’d bring peace to the earth and reign in righteousness.

Many Christians and bible teachers assume that worsening circumstances in the world indicate the soon to come end but, Jesus directly proves this to be wrong when He states that those events don’t signal the end.

 

So, what must happen before the end?

Matthew 24:7-8 states:

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 

All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

 

Some attempt to track earthquakes or worldwide political conflict as “signs of the times,” but Jesus clarifies that these events are not the end—just the beginning.

Persecution and affliction will come, but they don’t indicate the final days.

This isn’t a personal interpretation, this is Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself clearly stating this. To not listen to Him here is simply willful blindness.

 

In the first century, Christians were burned as torches in Roman stadiums and suffered more than we today can imagine. We complain about restrictions on quote “religious expression” but these challenges pale in comparison to the severe persecutions of early believers.

In explaining the final tribulation Jesus says in Matthew 24:29,

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 

 

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, there’ll be great distress like never before.”

Jesus Himself clearly confirms that an unprecedented tribulation must take place before the true end arrives.

In further explaining the Tribulation and the last days in Matthew 24:24-27, Jesus says:

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 

See, I have told you beforehand. 

Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 

For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 

When Jesus returns, it’ll be unmistakable, like lightning flashing across the sky. It’ll be clearly visible to everyone.

This event follows tribulation, but not just any tribulation, the great tribulation, a time of unprecedented distress. Some think that worsening events around them signal the end times, but the true sign will be what appears in the heavens when Christ returns.

 

So, are we now living in the last days?

Many Christians claim that we are.

Some argue that the last days began 2,000 years ago and that all prophecies concerning Jesus’ return were fulfilled when He first came. Even before Paul’s writings, Jesus was already speaking of the last days, leading some to believe that they happened in the past.

However, after more than 2,000 years, this world is as far away from the prophesied glorious kingdom as it could be.

 

Christianity’s long been divided on how to interpret the end times. A common view throughout history has been that we’re already living in the Kingdom of God, that everything necessary for prophecy was fulfilled long ago, and that nothing more needs to be accomplished.

This view is known as Amillennialism.

So, are the last days really behind us? Are they happening now? Or are they still to come?

 

Many people who focus on the last days either overlook when they began, or fail to explain why they’ve not yet come.

To get to the bottom of this, we need to ask, “What does the Bible actually mean by “last days”? And we need to properly understand the current era or the age we’re living in now.

 

Huge changes have happened since Christ such as:

1. Before Christ, there were Israel’s sacrifices, temples, and literal kingdoms.
2. Christ introduced new teachings to Israel.
3. Christ then revealed new doctrines to Paul, forming the basis of the dispensation of grace and the church, the Body of Christ, as it is today.

 

Whenever new revelations occur, people naturally assume that everything before them ended.

They see God’s covenants with Israel replaced by something new. While it’s true that Christ brought a new dispensation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everything before that was permanently abolished.

 

For example Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

 

Many interpret this verse as proof that all past promises are finished, and they reject the idea of a future earthly kingdom for Israel.

They argue that there’re new things now, and that’s what Paul’s teaching us here!

He was sent to the Gentiles and in Romans 11:13 he says,

For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 

 

Many very rightly say that through Paul’s conversion and his ministry as an apostle we’re now living in the dispensation of grace, with a rich message of salvation for the whole world and the church has operated under this teaching for 2,000 years up till today.

However many also claim that the church is “spiritual Israel,” that it’s replaced Israel, and that Judaism transformed into Christianity, but nowhere does Paul ever make this claim.

 

Things have changed from B.C. to A.D. We have a new gospel.

Although the Messiah’s death was prophesied, no one preached the cross as salvation in the Old Testament. Back then, people lived under the law, offering sacrifices.

Now, we preach Christ crucified and His resurrection and these changes have massively altered faith traditions.

Yet, despite these changes Paul, our apostle in this dispensation, still speaks of Israel’s future restoration.

Romans 11 strongly and plainly declares that Israel will return as a nation and that judgment, wrath, resurrection, and the coming kingdom remain ahead in the future.

Simply because new things have come doesn’t mean past promises made by God won’t be fulfilled.

If God promised blessings to individuals and nations, He absolutely must keep them, or His word is false.

 

Romans 11:11-12 argues this point:

I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 

Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 

 

See, just because what’s happening now is the latest development in history doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to come.

 

So, what are the last days in the bible?

The bible frequently uses the phrase “it shall come to pass in the last days,” and thank God for that! If today were how things would always be, eternity wouldn’t be pleasant at all.

For Israel, God specifically foretold certain events.

In Isaiah 2:2, which speaks about the last days we read this:

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

 

Now, mountains and hills in the Old Testament often symbolise kingdoms, nations, or government and can be either righteous or rebellious.

For example, in Daniel 2:35, after Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statue, the stone that was “cut out without hands” becomes a great mountain, filling the whole earth.

This mountain represents God’s everlasting kingdom that’ll surpass all human rule.

This has never happened since Isaiah’s time. Some might argue that Solomon’s reign reflected this, but that was before Isaiah.

Isaiah’s clearly describing a future kingdom, where God’s rule is established on a mountain, Zion, the heart of Israel, with the Lord reigning from there.

 

The passage continues in Isaiah 2:3:

Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

 

This is a global kingdom under Christ.

Today, world summits happen in New York and Europe, not in Jerusalem, but that’ll change.

We should note that this passage doesn’t say that grace will go forth, even though grace is certainly a part of God’s plan. Instead, it speaks of the law, meaning Christ will rule and govern nations.

Isaiah 2:4 continues,

He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. 

 

This is the true United Nations that centres around Christ. Without Him, true unity’s impossible.

Isaiah 2:5

O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD. 

 

After painting the picture of the glory of the Messiah’s reign, Isaiah then challenges Judah (the house of Jacob) to live in the Messiah’s reign right now.

 

Another key event in the last days is found in Isaiah 59:20:

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD. In Jacob! In Israel!

 

Since the Garden of Eden God promised a Redeemer. He reaffirmed this to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the nation of Israel, promising a Saviour, a great prophet, a Messiah, and a King.

For centuries, this remained a prophecy, a promise yet to be fulfilled.

At various times, God sent temporary deliverers, such as Samson, Joshua, Moses, and others and these leaders rescued Israel, but their salvation was limited to their generation.

However God promised a greater Saviour, one greater than Moses, Solomon, Samson, or Joshua, a Redeemer who’d bring eternal salvation.

 

Isaiah 59:20 that we’ve just read describes this Redeemer:

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD. 

And the next verse, Isaiah 59:21, goes on to say,

“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” 

 

This passage confirms that when the Redeemer comes, He’ll not only forgive Israel but establish His everlasting covenant.

 

So, the last days in Scripture refer to a future kingdom where:

 

• The Redeemer comes to Zion to rule, fulfilling God’s eternal promises.
• Nations seek the Lord’s guidance through Israel.
• Weapons of war are transformed into tools of peace and nations won’t learn war anymore.

 

These events are obviously not happening yet. They’re still to come.

In the last days, there’ll be a kingdom and a Redeemer who’ll come to teach the people so that they, in turn, can teach others.

Throughout history, all the prophets spoke of this coming kingdom and the arrival of this Redeemer, who’d reveal eternal truths.

 

Job, who suffered great loss, placed his hope in the last days and he states in Job 19:25:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 

 

This confirms what Isaiah prophesied that the Redeemer will come to earth in the last days.

Job continues in Job 19:26:

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

 

Wait, if his flesh is destroyed, how can he stand before God in the flesh?

The answer is resurrection.

Job anticipates that even after his body decays, he’ll be raised again.

 

Abraham also believed in resurrection. When he prepared to offer his son, Issac, he was trusting that God could restore his life because of the promises God had made to make him a great nation. That had to come through Issac.

The promise of resurrection has been a central hope since the earliest days of faith.

 

Jesus also spoke of the last days.

In John 6:54, He declares:

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 

 

Although He wasn’t referring to literally eating His flesh, He emphasised belief in Him as the way to eternal life.

John 11 tells the story of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend who died.

When Jesus arrived after Lazarus had passed, He assured Martha in John 11:23:

“Your brother will rise again.” 

 

Martha, understanding the promise of resurrection from the scriptures, responds in John 11:24:

“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 

Clearly, she knew and understood the resurrection in the last days.

Then Jesus makes a powerful statement in John 11:25:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 

 

Was Jesus correcting her understanding or revealing more truth?

That same day, Lazarus was raised showing a glimpse of the resurrection that will occur in the last days.

The book of Joel describes another aspect of the last days, judgment upon the wicked.

 

In Joel 2:10, he prophesies:

The earth quakes before them (the people), The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. 

 

Joel also describes the Lord’s army, which’ll bring devastation to the earth.

This moment is known as the Day of the Lord, a time of great judgment.

 

Joel 2:12 urges people to repent:

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 

 

This passage emphasises that in the last days; Christ will execute judgment upon the earth while offering mercy to those who turn to Him This is what we know as the second coming of Christ.

These last days will bring:

 

• The Redeemer to Zion
• Resurrection for believers
• A worldwide kingdom centred in Jerusalem
• The execution of judgment upon the wicked
• Salvation for those who repent

 

These events are still to come.

The Bible makes it clear that the last days are not just a general period of decline, or of tribulation, but a specific prophetic era with extraordinary events occurring that are frankly terrible beyond our imagination.

 

In the last days, there’ll be a kingdom and a Redeemer, who’ll come to teach His ways so that people may follow and share His truth.

All the prophets since the beginning have spoken of this coming kingdom, the Redeemer, and the resurrection. These truths were never lost.

Jesus taught extensively about the kingdom, the Redeemer, resurrection, and judgment. He spoke of hell more than any other New Testament figure, not as a punishment but as a consequence for rejecting mercy and grace.

 

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tares. He explains that the good seed represents the children of the kingdom, while the tares represent the children of the wicked one.

The harvest represents the end of the world, when the tares will be separated from the wheat.

 

Jesus declares in Matthew 13:41-43:

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! 

 

By the way, gnashing of teeth is associated with intense emotions like anger, sorrow, or despair.

This judgment at the end of the world will distinguish between the wicked and the righteous, ensuring that evil is removed so that the kingdom can flourish.

James echoes Jesus’ teachings on judgment.

In James 5:1-3, he warns the rich who’ve become corrupt:

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 

Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

 

James describes the corruption of wicked people in the last days, stating that they’re storing up judgment for themselves.

The last days are not the end of all things. They mark the completion of this world, but more days will follow.

People often ask, “When will the end of the world come?”

However, the last days will usher in a new era, not complete destruction of the world.

We can see this in Mark 1:15, where Jesus begins His ministry, preaching,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 

 

Why did He say, “the kingdom was at hand”?

Some argue that Jesus’ words contradict the idea of a future kingdom. They say that if the kingdom is yet to come, why did Jesus say it was near?”

But the truth’s clear. Christ came in the last days, preaching about the kingdom and its arrival.

 

One of the defining features of the last days is that the Redeemer would come.

Did He come? Yes.

Jesus arrived, preached about the kingdom, and declared it was near.

He also revealed mysteries about the kingdom, mostly in parables, that had not been fully understood by the prophets.

 

In Matthew 13:11, Jesus says to His disciples in answer to their question about why He spoke in parables:

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 

 

Jesus began teaching new truths about the kingdom, revealing aspects that hadn’t been known to the prophets and even to His own disciples.

Though Jesus declared the kingdom was near, certain prophecies remain unfulfilled, indicating that the last days will continue until all is completed.

 

One of the key teachings in Jesus’ earthly ministry was that His coming would not be His last appearance. He repeatedly taught that He would go away and return.

 

Matthew 13:36-43 records Jesus explaining to the disciples His teaching in the parable of the tares in the field which we’ve already looked at.

In Matthew 13:37,

He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

 

The parable describes a Sower who plants seed in a field. Tares (a type of weed) grows among the wheat.

How do you separate them? Jesus explains the parable.

The Son of Man (Jesus) sows the seed, and the field represents the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the tares are the children of the wicked one (Satan).

So, both children of the kingdom and children of the wicked one exist together.

 

Matthew 13:39 continues

The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 

When is the harvest? The end of the age. The King James bible says the end of the world.

Jesus explicitly states this.

 

Then, Matthew 13:40 explains what happens:

Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 

At the end of the age/the world, the tares (the wicked) will be burned in fire.

 

Matthew 13:41-42,

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

Then, Matthew 13:43 declares,

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

When does this happen? Jesus just told us. At the end of the world.

What’s happening? Judgment. Separating the wicked from the righteous.

Why?

So that the wheat (the righteous) can flourish. Where? In the kingdom.

What’s removed?  All things that offend.

That’s the last day’s judgment.

 

The book of James is a small book, but it repeats almost everything Jesus taught in His earthly ministry.  The first verse in James, James 1:1 reads,

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

 

If we want to understand Jesus’ teachings to Israel, we read James.

James 5:1 states:

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 

That’s Judgment.

James 5:2-3 continues,

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 

Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 

 

The last days.

What’s happening here?

Wicked people are heaping treasure to themselves against the last days when judgment will come.

The last days entail judgment.

People were looking forward to the last days because God had promised that they’d come.

 

During the last days, there’d be a kingdom of salvation, peace, and justice, and a Redeemer to teach God’s ways and resurrection of those who believed and judgment upon those who offend.

That’s when God cleans up the earth.

 

One important realisation about the last days is that they’re not the end of days.

The last days refer to when these events happen which means, after the last days, there’ll still be more days.

 

Have we seen the resurrection of all men to stand before God in judgment yet?

No.

Have we seen God separating the wicked from the righteous?

No. We’re still very much living among the wicked.

Have we seen His kingdom on earth, executing justice and issuing sentences?

Of course not.

So, how does that relate to Jesus’ teachings?

 

Mark 1:15 describes Jesus’ message at the beginning of His ministry, His first sermon was:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God is at hand.

What does “at hand” mean?

It means close. It was near.

Jesus taught this message 2,000 years ago, long before today.

So, what was He referring to?

Many argue that If the kingdom is yet to come, why did Jesus say it was at hand? Was He wrong? Was He lying?

Didn’t He know what was happening?

Of course, He knew what was happening.

 

The prophets did not teach that when Jesus came, it would be the last time He would come.

This was a core teaching during Jesus’ earthly ministry. He came, but He taught that He’d go away and then come back.

He taught in parables, and those parables as we see when Jesus explained them to the disciples were about the kingdom of heaven as we see in Matthew 13:11-17. Jesus always explains the parables by saying “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”

 

In this chapter, Matthew 13, Jesus told the parable of the Sower.

This is where He was asked by the disciples, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

In Matthew 13:11,

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 

 

He then explained the parable of the Sower:

Matthew 13:18-19

“Therefore hear the parable of the Sower: 

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 

 

Matthew 13:20-21

But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 

 

Matthew 13:22-23

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” 

 

Remember, this is a parable about the kingdom of Heaven. Finally, in the last days, there would be good ground where people would receive the truth. Even in speaking these parables Jesus is fulfilling prophecy from Isaiah 6:9-10.

 

Jesus emphasised:

“It’s given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom.”

He was preaching the kingdom.

Why didn’t He establish that kingdom back then?

Because other things were needed.  He had to die, and He had to rise from the dead or salvation was impossible either in the kingdom or in the dispensation of grace.

 

The disciples didn’t understand this.

That’s why they kept asking:  “When are You coming back? What’s the sign of Your coming?”

Jesus then started teaching that the kingdom’s fulfillment would be prolonged, postponed.

For ages and generations, God promised and prophesied the last days.

Then, the Messiah came, preaching the kingdom.

It’s easy to see why people expected the last days, it seemed like they were happening.

And in fact, scripture states that they were coming.

 

Luke 16:16 Jesus speaking,

“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 

 

Before Jesus preached, John the Baptist was preparing the way.

Jesus calls John the Baptist the greatest of the prophets.

Why?

Because he was proclaiming everything the prophets had spoken about since the beginning of the world.

Job, in the oldest book in the bible, talked about them.  Isaiah spoke about them.  Genesis 3 prophesied about them.

Then, John the Baptist came in Matthew 3:1-3:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS: ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’ ”

 

What came next?  Jesus, preaching he kingdom.

It’s so important to understand Jesus’ Message because it’s the key for us today.

Jesus was teaching the gospel of the kingdom.

The kingdom had not yet come, but Jesus was preaching it.

He was saying:  “The time is at hand! The last days have come!”

 

Most argue that the last days are still future.

But let’s look at Acts 2.

Is Acts 2 at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, a past event or future event?

It happened in the past. It’s history.

 

After the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter began speaking in other tongues.

Acts 2:8-11

And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? (these are Peter’s audience of diverse nationalities who heard in their own languages) 

Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

 

Peter explains what this is in Acts 2:16–17. He said,

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:  ‘AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS. 

 

Peter said, “This is it. This is that time, right here and now, which was spoken of by the prophet Joel.”

Joel, a prophet, way back in history, said the last days would include God pouring out His Spirit.

And Peter, standing right there, says, “This’s what Joel prophesied—it’s happening NOW.”

So, according to Acts, according to the bible, when were the last days?

Right there in Acts 2.

Acts 2:17 states:

“In the last days, God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.”

Peter says:

“This is that! This’s what Joel prophesied.”

So, in Acts 2:17, on that incredible day of Pentecost, the last days began!

 

What else happened in the last days?

Peter teaches:

Jesus, the Redeemer, has come. The kingdom is preached. Christ has risen. Resurrection is fulfilled.

And what did Jesus say in John 14:26, John 15:26 and John16:7?

He would send the Holy Spirit and in John 16:8 He said,

And when He (The Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

 

Peter says:

“This is that which was spoken by Joel, In the last days, I will pour out My Spirit.”

Then in Acts 2:17 he states:

“Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Acts 2:19  adds,

I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH: BLOOD AND FIRE AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. 

 

So, the last days began when Jesus, the Redeemer, came, when He preached the kingdom, when He died and rose from the dead, when The Holy Spirit was poured out and when prophecy was fulfilled.

 

The last days were not just future. They started in Acts 2, even though we still wait for their full completion and the manifestation of God’s full promises.  According to God’s Word there’s a great and terrible day of the Lord that’s yet to come, but before all of that, the Holy Spirit was poured out in the last days.

The last days that started here.

 

Well, that was a long time ago for sure, but not compared to the thousands of years people had been waiting for this to happen.

Pentecost was the beginning of the end.

 

Jesus came, saying that it was at hand. It’s going to happen soon.

And then it began.

The confusion and objections people have today is that they exist here, in the present, and it’s been 2,000 years since Pentecost.

So there’s a real question to be asked. What’s happening now? Are we in the last days?

If the last days started there at Pentecost as Peter preached, where are we now?

What does Peter call those days in his epistle written to the remnant of Israel scattered outside of Jerusalem?  The last times.

 

1 Peter 1:18-20,

He (Jesus) indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 

 

Now here we are, 2,000 years later, questioning whether Peter got it wrong.

But he got it right!

The Holy Spirit told him exactly what to write.

So, Peter calls those the “last times.”  But last compared to what?

Scripture speaks of the last days of what had been prophesied since the world began.

The last days were fulfilled because Christ came, He preached the kingdom, He preached judgement, He died and rose from the dead.

Peter and those at Pentecost received the Holy Spirit, which was to precede the last days and then Peter himself stated that These are the last days.

Christ was promised and prophesied but now, the last times had come.

 

Now, let’s look at 1 John 2:18. John’s even more straightforward than Peter.

He addresses little children, new believers, who may struggle to understand deeper teachings.

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 

 

But that was 2,000 years ago.

Yes, and John talks about the Antichrist coming, that future figure people always speculate about.

Antichrist has been expected throughout history.

People have for so long speculated as to who the Antichrist might be. In my early years as a Christian many people in the church were convinced Henry Kissinger was the Antichrist.

 

Here John says, “Even now are there many Antichrists.”

Most people look for one future Antichrist, but John writing 2,000 years ago, says there were already many Antichrists!

 

This’s another reason why many people get the idea that prophecy was fulfilled 2,000 years ago, from scripture itself.

See, the Redeemer had come, the Kingdom was being preached, the Last Days were identified and there were many antichrists.

 

What else is left?  Well there are still things left.

We’ve been referring to Hebrew writers who were apostles of Jesus, the Messiah, writing about the times in which they lived and the times they were looking for.

 

Hebrews 1:1-2 states,

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. 

 

Remember, this verse was also written 2000 years ago.  That single verse covers thousands of years of biblical history and many prophets and its content that many people skip over when reading the Bible.

Why?

Because it’s the Old Testament and those were the first days and the middle days and then came the last days.

Hebrews calls the time of Jesus’ ministry the last days.

 

 

Hebrews gives further insight in Hebrews 9:26,

He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 

 

Wait, so when did Jesus the Redeemer appear? The end of the ages. When did Jesus appear to put away sin?  On the cross.  But that was 2,000 years ago!

 

Hebrews is confirming that Jesus’ first coming was at the end of the world’s prophetic timeline when the fulfillment of long-awaited events would happen.

The last days began, but as is obvious, they’re not yet fully complete.

I hope we can all see the issue.

Here, Hebrews calls this the end of the world, when Jesus appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

 

If you and I were Abraham, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, looking at the last days in our prophetic visions, what would we see?

We’d see that the end of the world is future, yet to come.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, what were they expecting?

The end of days, The kingdom at hand.

 

But here we are, 2000 years on! So when is the end of the world?

This is the confusion that exists within the church and why Christians have different opinions about the end of the world because people see different pieces of the timeline.

So, where exactly are we now?

Well, when we see and understand the dispensation given to Paul, things begin to make sense.

 

Hebrews 9:27-28 states,

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.

 

So, there it is, the cross of Christ.

But what does the rest of verse 28 say?

To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

 

OK, so He appeared once here, which was necessary for the last days.  But Hebrews 9:28 says He’ll come again bringing salvation, in other words salvation will come when He returns the second time.

Jesus taught the same thing, “I am going away, and I’ll come back.”

Here’s where the Last Days needs to be rightly divided.

They don’t all happen at once.

From the beginning of the world, the last days all seemed like one big event.

But now, 2000 years on and with the entire, complete Word of God at our disposal, something nobody had 2000 years ago, we must rightly divide what has already happened from what will happen in the future.

 

Before the New Testament, long before Jesus came, Job stated in Job 19:25:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 

 

But Jesus stood on the earth and even though He rose from the dead, everyone else remained dead.

Job didn’t see all the events that would unfold.

 

But you and me, standing here in history, see much more than Job did but if we fail to rightly divide the Word of God, as 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs us to do, we’ll misunderstand what God’s doing today.  We can easily start believing that we’re living at the end of the world just like every other generation has claimed, “These are the last days! Look at the signs!” After all, that’s what the Bible says, and it seems like that’s the case.

 

Many people have predicted and calculated biblical numbers and come up with the conclusion that this must be the end. But those countless calculations have obviously failed every single time because we’re still here today.

So, how do we explain this big gap of time?

How can we call them last days if those days have lasted over 2,000 years?

Well first we should notice that the phrase “Last days.” is plural not singular.

The prophets never said that’ll it’ll all come to pass in ONE day.”

 

Instead, they say: “In that day,” or  “In the last days.” Even “The Day of the Lord” isn’t one single day. While it may sound like a single day, scripture presents it as a broader period encompassing judgment, restoration, and divine rule.

We might assume that the last days must mean just a few days.”

But many things happen within the period known as the last days. For example, after Jesus returns what happens?

A thousand-year millennium!

Then what happens after that?  Judgment, then eternity.

See?  There’re days after the last days.

 

Let’s look at 2 Peter 3 where Peter already said he was living in the last times. Christ had come, died on the cross, and the last times were declared.

But now, in 2 Peter 3:3 he says,

knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 

 

Were there scoffers 2,000 years ago, when Peter wrote this?

Yes.

That’s why Peter wrote it because people were mocking him.

Is that true today as well? Very much so, Yes.

There’s never been a time when this statement wasn’t true.

 

These scoffers argue today just as in Peter’s day when he writes in 2 Peter 3:4,

and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation., 

 

Which fathers is Peter talking about?  The fathers of Israel.

That’s the attitude of scoffers throughout history, same as today.

 

When Israel says, “Where is the promise of His coming?” When were they saying that?  Israel wasn’t even in their land for a long time.

They’re saying it when Jesus came and they began asking, “Where’s the kingdom you’re preaching?”

When Jesus died the scoffers attacked His apostles jeering and mocking saying, “Where is this kingdom you’re talking about?”

 

Peter then preached his Pentecost sermon, saying, “You need to repent of your sins first.” But they responded with, “Not till we see the kingdom.”

Peter warned them that that they’d be too late at that point.

So, the argument of the scoffers arose and continues to this day, “Where is the promise of His coming?”

 

But didn’t He already come?

Yes.

So, what’s the obvious problem with that?

He didn’t bring the kingdom He promised. He didn’t actually redeem Zion. He didn’t bring the resurrection.

See how this can be confusing?

 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:2–3, Paul writes to address this confusion and comfort the Thessalonians, who were concerned about whether they were living in the last days and yet some of them had already died.

Paul reassures them, saying:

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 

 

2 Thessalonians 2 has long been a problem for those who make “That Day,” the Day of Christ, the rapture of the church which is not.

The passage clearly says that the Day of Christ will not come until after the Antichrist is revealed and performs blasphemies that occur within Daniel’s 70th week in Jerusalem.

The gathering of the church to the Lord is imminent, the Day of Christ is not. Making the Day of Christ the rapture leads to mistakes.

He explains that the day of Christ will not come until certain events occur first.

 

Now, we remember Matthew 24, where Jesus lists the signs of His coming.

But Paul interrupts that list and says that those things haven’t happened yet.

Paul takes Jesus’ teaching, cuts it in half, and says, “That part happened, but this part didn’t happen.”

 

The Thessalonians were worried about these events in Matthew 24.

They saw some of these things happen and assumed that it must be the end!

But Paul corrects them by saying No, the other half of His message hasn’t happened yet.

 

In 1 Peter 1:5, the same Peter who said that Christ came in the last times and sacrificed Himself, also states here:

who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

 

Peter previously said that Christ came and fulfilled prophecy, and it was the last times.

Then, he says salvation is still to be revealed in the last time.

Is Peter confused? Did the Holy Spirit who spoke through Peter get it wrong?

No. Peter recognises that something’s already started but isn’t yet finished.

Whenever we see “last days” in scripture, we should keep this in mind.

If we only think about a future Antichrist or Christ’s return, we miss what’s already happened and we won’t see why the last days haven’t stopped yet.

 

Are the last days really 2,000 years long?

No!

Something else has happened during this time.

If the last days had simply been prophecy unfolding then 2,000 years would be an incredibly long “last days” period.

But that’s not what’s been happening for 2,000 years.

 

Look at 2 Timothy 3 where Paul says,

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 

 

Most people think that this proves that when things get perilous, it’s a sign of the last days

But Paul’s not giving a sign of the last days here.

He’s simply saying that perilous times’ll come. They came in the former days, and they’ll come in the latter days just as they’ve always come.

Perilous times are a reality of the world.

 

When Paul describes those perilous times, he lists:

• Men shall be lovers of their own selves.
• They shall be without natural affection.
• They shall have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.
• They shall creep into houses, leading captive silly women laden with sins.

Paul’s not making predictions about some distant future time.

He’s not having a vision, saying that someday, in the last days, it will be terrible with disobedient children, liars and corruption everywhere.

Paul lived in perilous times himself. He was persecuted by those who didn’t believe and today there are still perilous times, and they’ll continue until Christ appears with His kingdom.

 

Paul talks about the ages to come in Ephesians 2:7,

that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

 

Paul states this even though Jesus spoke of the last days, John said that these are the last times, and Peter said that these are the last days.

So here’s the dilemma. If there are ages to come, then what are these last days being referred to so long ago?

Last days refer to the fulfillment of prophecy. The last days of sin. The last days of this world system and the last days of the times of the Gentiles.

 

Paul says that in the ages to come, God’s going to show forth His kindness to us in heavenly places.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:10  Paul assures his audience then and us now,

and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 

 

Hebrews explains that:

Jesus came and made Himself a sacrifice. He died for sins to bring all things under subjection. That’s why He came, but He didn’t finish everything He promised to Israel.

Hebrews 2:5,

For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 

A future world! One that hasn’t yet come.

 

Hebrews 2:8 continues,

YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 

 

Every word in that sentence is important.

But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

 

When will all things put under Christ?

When He comes down to earth, sits on Mount Zion, and teaches all the nations who are subject to Him.

But what about today? Where is Christ today?

Heaven.

 

Is there anything not subject to Christ?

You and I as believers are complete in Christ aren’t we?  He’s the head of all principality and power. There’s nothing He’s not the head of.

But can we see it?

No.

By faith we recognise that He’s above all things today.

However, at His return all people will see it with their own eyes, they won’t need faith anymore.

Ephesians 2:6  says

and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 

 

And Ephesians 1:21 tells us

that He’s far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 

 

That’s what you know today, but until He comes back, the earth won’t be fully under subjection to Him.

 

So, do we live in the last days or not?

The last days of prophecy began 2,000 years ago.

The last days prophesied that Christ would come, and He came.

The last days prophesied that the kingdom would come. Christ preached the kingdom at hand.

Did He rise from the dead? Yes.

Did He speak about judgment and that He’d be the Judge? Yes.

 

So, the last days began 2,000 years ago, as the Bible states, but they’ve not yet been fulfilled.

The last days were interrupted and never completed.

 

In 1 Corinthians 15:8 Paul says,

Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 

 

Apostles were individuals specifically chosen and sent by Jesus personally to spread His teachings and Acts 1:21-22 states that to replace Judas Iscariot, the new apostle had to be someone who had been with Jesus from the beginning and had personally seen Him after His resurrection.

Paul, though not among the original twelve, also saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:3-6 and he emphasised Galatians 1:1, that his calling was not from men, but directly from Jesus Christ.

 

After Paul, there weren’t a succession of apostles, he was the last.

He was the last to see Jesus.

You and I haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh physically. Paul was the last to see Him.

 

Today we live in a day that separates the last days of prophecy from the future days of prophecy.

Paul describes this current time as a secret day, a mystery, a revelation about Christ.

This mystery information revealed through Paul’s epistles by Jesus Christ describes something previously unknown.

The kingdom’s not here, yet salvation is preached.

 

Here’s why some people mistakenly believe that Paul’s revelation is the New Covenant, and it replaces Israel. They get that idea because Paul’s new information seems to replace their old expectations.

But that’s not reading Paul’s letters properly.

We live in a day that divides the last days of prophecy, and the future last days.

There’s a gap that’s this mystery revealed by Christ.

 

Jesus Himself said that those days would be prolonged and that He would have to go away and then return.

Then He left during the last days, and revealed a mystery, a revelation about Himself.

 

That’s what He’s been doing for 2000 years.

He hasn’t been operating according to the prophetic last days but according to this mystery operation.

However, that mystery required Christ’s resurrection and judgment of sins and it required Him to be above all principality and power.

We live in a day of salvation, which is what the last days promised.

But it’s salvation without sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7,

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 

 

In 1 Corinthians 15:12 Paul faced the same objections people raise today, and we read,

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 

 

If the resurrection of the last days is true and Christ came bringing resurrection, then why is my brother, who believed in Christ, still in the grave? The haven’t been raised yet. Paul says, that the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of all men are separated by this period of time, this intermission to prophecy.

Paul further explains in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14,

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

Then 1 Corinthians 15:17,

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 

 

We must believe in resurrection even though we don’t see it yet.

Then what about those who’ve died?

1 Corinthians 15:18,

Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 

 

Paul’s saying, if there’s no resurrection, then those who believed are gone forever.

Paul teaches the truth about resurrection, that it will happen, but not yet.

We look at Christ’s resurrection against future resurrection.

 

1 Co 15:22-23,

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

 

This’s His coming to meet the church in the clouds, not His second coming.

Paul’s explaining that there’s a period of time between Christ’s resurrection and when believers are raised from the dead.

Then comes the end, when everyone gets resurrected and judged by Christ.  We’re living in a day of resurrection, but it’s a spiritual resurrection, a promise of resurrection, but last days’ resurrection of all people hasn’t yet occurred.

 

Today we’re not living in the earthly Davidic kingdom of Israel.

But Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:18,

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 

 

Then in Colossians 1:13,

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 

Where is that kingdom?

 

That kingdom is His dominion which we’re under as members of His body.

This is not the kingdom that God prophesied for the earth and Israel.

This is a much greater thing, a bigger dominion.

When Paul states in Acts 28:31 that he’s preaching the kingdom of God, he’s not contradicting himself.

Some teach rightly that we’re living in an invisible spiritual kingdom. But they’re wrong if they miss the key point of who we are in Christ and that we’re members of the body of Christ. Sadly many teach that this’s a spiritual kingdom that you get into by your works and that’s the problem.

We enter the kingdom of His dear Son by the grace of God. Through the mystery of Christ.

 

Every person has been judged a sinner. Then Christ came.

Israel should have received Him, but they didn’t, they rejected Him.

Now, all are judged sinners both Jew and Gentile, everyone.

God’s not evaluating us anymore, He’s already declared judgment.

The judgment of sin is death, eternal death, God’s wrath.

But He’s not yet delivered the sentence.

Christ executes that judgment in the days of the Lord, His second coming.

This period when He came the first time, these last days spoken so extensively about back when He lived on earth, died, rose again and ascended to heaven, is where God condemns the whole world because that’s when Israel rejected Him, their own prophesied Messiah.

 

But after this intermission to the prophecy timeline, when He returns, He delivers the execution of the sentence.  You might say we’re on death row.

Today we’re living between judgment and execution and it’s a period of grace.

If we trust Christ, we’ll be saved from death row by His finished work and we’re already living eternal life now.

If we don’t we’ll never be released from death row and we’ll face our inevitable, eternal second death.

 

We don’t preach Christ as King over earthly kingdoms today.

We preach Christ as head of all principality and power, Christ dwelling in us.

Colossians1:27,

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

We’re in Christ through His body and He’s in us.

 

Colossians 3:4 says,

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 

Is that a contradiction?

Is Christ in us or are we waiting for Him to appear?

Both.

Christ is in us because He’s omnipresent, everywhere.

But we’re also waiting for Him to appear, because He hasn’t visibly manifested yet.

 

So, are we living in the last days?

We’re living in the day of the revelation of the mystery of Christ.

The last days began but they’ve not yet been completed.

God revealed a mystery that rightly divides the beginning from the end of the last days.