In These Last Days:
Times and Seasons in God’s Calendar.
Habitually, before I set out on a trip or leave my home in the morning, I check on my phone for the day’s weather forecast, to be sure I prepare adequately for what lies ahead. Thanks to technology and the Staff of the National Weather Center, I get information about what to expect in five to ten days, and adjust my movements appropriately.
Weather forecasting is not new after all. The Pharisees and the Sadducees of Jesus’ time, were good at it. Even so, they were rebuked by Jesus for their failure to discern the signs of the times:
When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning, “Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Mattew 16: 4).
To interpret the signs of the times, Paul encourages believers in Christ thus:
“And do this, understanding the present time: “The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13: 11-13).
Scripture in multiple passages speaks about “the last days.” For “the last days” to be, there must be “the first days.” Genessis 1: 1-2 tells us about the first days - the beginning of all creations, the earth, and everything in it.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2 says “For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…” etc.
Not only is it true that every human and living thing with a beginning also has an end - so the earth with a beginning has an end.
“The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire and destruction of the ungodly “ (2 Peter 3:7).
That is scary.
Hebrew 1:1 has this: “In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in “these last days” he has spoken to us by his Son.”
Also, Peter refers to Christ as having been manifest in “these last days” (1 Peter 1: 20). That’s to say, “these last days” happens with the coming of Christ, the Son.
What’s more, the apostle Paul describes the state of society in the “last days”:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, etc., etc., (2 Timothy 3: 1-5).
How far is this a true characterization of our day and age? Fair to say that we are in the last days!
But wait for a minute, we’ve heard about “these làst days” for ages:
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah thought theirs were the last days. Sure, God has not failed to intervene and get involved at a critical juncture in the history of mankind. His guiding hand has been evident in history. He intervened in the days of Noah, and the events of the Exodus. He was with His chosen people as they settled in the Promised Land.
There were those in the first century who expected the return of the Messiah in the aftermath of the temple’s destruction by the Romans in 70 AD. Later, in the aftermath of the Mongol invasions and the Black Death, many Europeans were convinced that theirs was the end time. Still others thought that World War I and World War II must be the events that would usher in the end of all things.
All of these have come and gone; Society continues and moves on.
Will there ever be an end to the injustices/iniquities of this world? What are the indications? - the signs that we are close to the end?
Peter warns:
“Dearly beloved, do not be ignorant of this one thing that one day is as a thousand years with the Lord, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3: 8 RSV).
He adds, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (v.9).
Using the template of 2 Peter 3: 8, some Bible scholars have translated the six-day creation narrative in Genesis 1 not just as an account of creation, but also as a model of God’s time plan (a blueprint) for humans' work ethics on earth - suggesting that one literal day in real-time is 1,000 years.
Genesis says the heavens and the earth in their vast array, were created and completed in six days;
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (v.2).
There’s a time for work and a time for rest - the pattern was passed on to mankind in Exodus 20:8-11.
The six-day creation account is framed in the mold of the Ancient world’s oral traditions/creation myths, adopted as the blueprint for human physical and mental exercise for self-rule on earth.
In light of 2 Peter 3: 7, six days in history become 6000 years. One day is 1000 years, so 6 days become 6000 years.
When used as a template for human time on earth, we begin to count 6000 years from the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden. The next 1000 years would be the one-day sabbath rest - set apart as holy for believers in God’s Son “in these last days.”
Eschatology (Revelations 20) tells us that Christ will reign for one thousand years at His Second coming. Then believers who entered his rest “in these last days” will reign with Christ - taking charge over cities and nations of the world.
It is estimated roughly that 4000 years was the time–frame between Adam and Eve in Eden and the first advent of Jesus Christ on earth. (Note: The numbers are rough estimates and approximates).
Now about two thousand years on, the world is at the twilight (final stage) of the last days. Christ is returning to receive believers into His Rest (His millennial reign). In other words, the first advent of Christ on earth came after about two-thirds of mankind’s six-day “workweek”.
Signs of Christ’s Imminent Return:
The 20th century was a watershed in the history of humankind. Two catastrophic World Wars broke out during the century, leaving in its trail what has become a “Sword of Damocles” hanging over the head of humanity. World War II opened in 1939 with Polish officers leading a cavalry charge to defend against Hitler’s invading army. It ended six years later with the drop of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
With the introduction of atomic weapons, in warfare and later nuclear, humankind acquired the capacity to wipe civilization off the face of the earth.
The 20th century began with most people living much the same as their ancestors. Most of the world’s population lived off the land, not in cities. They obtained their livelihood through farming. They did so, using hand tools and draft animals. People traveled by walking or riding on an animal. There were no radios or television sets; Computers were not known. The first airplane had not yet flown. Space travel and satellite technology was inconceivable to man at the dawn of the 20th century.
Yet, within a short period, the century witnessed technological breakthroughs and an uptick in the industrial revolution. We in the 21st century are seeing the magic of technology and Artificial Intelligence with the growing threat of nuclear and the near possibility of the extinction of the human species on Earth.
With unparalleled technological development has come rapid social and political tension on the horizon. Given man’s tremendous increase in knowledge and man’s natural inclination and proclivity for selfish pursuits, humanity is faced with existential challenges and uncertainties.
The human capacity for evil is legendary, pushing our world to the brink. We need no other proof to show that we are in the last days.
The question is where do we go from here? Are we at the Beginning of the End?
Despite extensive disarming and dismantling of nuclear stockpiles by the U.S. and Russia, following the breakup of the former Soviet Union, nuclear arms proliferation has continued unabated. In addition to the U.S. and Russia, seven other nations have joined the club of nuclear powers.
The acquisition of nuclear weaponry has become the signature of who is who in the power politics of our world, and the right of a superpower to ride roughshod over the rights of weaker and poorer nations.
There is no other time to pray for the Creator’s decisive intervention in the affairs of our world than now.
MARANATHA!
