Even after many years as a serious student of our Father's Word
there is one fact that has become abundantly clear to me, and that
is, the truth of the old adage that one never gets too old to learn.
Certainly, all of us place great importance on "learning." However, I
was taught many years ago as a young disciple that there is
another thing that is of greater eminence. As one who was advancing in
years, I became more aware that a willingness to "change one's mind"
when shown to be mistaken on any matter, must be commensurate with one's
quest to learn, otherwise, one does not profit from acquiring this
new-found knowledge, for it then simply becomes "wasted knowledge." For
this reason, it seems to me that "humility of mind" should occupy a
lofty place of permanent residence in our daily prayers to our Creator;
that we may have the humility and courage to be willing to change our
thinking should Scripture warrant such. I believe that this is evidenced
by our Father Himself in Is.66:2 where He says: "But to this one I will
look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at
my word." O dear God; My! My! O how I needed that!
Beloved, over the years I have changed my thinking about a number of
things as I'm sure that we all have as we grow and learn better. I won't
deny that sometimes it's not an easy thing to do, for we are often times
very stubborn creatures. Speaking from personal experience, I know
what it's like to be deeply entrenched in some doctrine and then have to
let go. It was a difficult thing, even though I could clearly see from
our Father's Word that I was wrong on that particular matter. But thanks
be to our Father for His goodness to and patience with us; that He is
willing to give us time to make those needed changes in our thinking.
Of the many things about which I have changed my thinking, is the matter
of "the last days." Now I don't know just what your thinking is
regarding "the last days," but for many, many years it was my
understanding that YOU and I are presently living in "the last days,"
and that we have been ever since the first Pentecost after the cross of
Christ. Does this sound familiar to you? Today, we hear day after day
from the pulpits across this great land, that all the sensational events
which we see happening all around us are proof that these are, without a
doubt, "the last days," and that very, very soon, in fact any day now,
Jesus will return! Beloved, I am well aware that this may be where you
stand on the matter today! And I also realize that you may still be
there even after you finish reading this little essay. And if you are, I
want you to know that we still be brethren! But for the next few
minutes, would you please be so kind as to examine with me a few things
regarding this matter of "the last days?" In recent years I have
encountered some very interesting things from The Scriptures regarding
what God says about the last days; some things which I had not
considered before. Please see if they make sense to you! Obviously,
these are not "new" things but simply things that I had previously not
yet considered or thought about. I realize that they have always been
right there before my very eyes all the time, but I just simply did not
see them. And, it's these things that have caused me to reconsider my
view as to just how The Scriptures define "The Last Days."
In Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts chapter 2,
beginning in vs.14, the apostle Peter addresses the great mass of Jews
from every nation under heaven. The apostles were empowered with the
miraculous gifts of The Holy Spirit, which enabled them to
linguistically accommodate all the many (some fifteen or so) different
Jewish nations present for this great feast (Vv 8-11). Those Jews that
mocked them were accusing the apostles of being drunk on new wine. But
Peter, along with the other eleven apostles (vs.14) assures the
multitude that they most assuredly were NOT drunk, but rather that this
was the very fulfillment of the prophet Joel's words in Joel 2:28-32!
Then Peter, in the defense of the prophet, says in vs.16, that what
these people were now witnessing, was precisely what the prophet Joel
had prophesied some 800 years prior. And Peter continues on and quotes
Joel, saying: "And it shall be in THE LAST DAYS, 'God says, 'That I will
pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind...'"
Now beloved, it's right here in this passage, that I first began to run
into difficulty with my former understanding of "the last days." It was
my understanding, as an amillennial thinker, that The Old Covenant came
to a complete end "at the cross." Therefore the "last days" mentioned by
Joel, I saw as the period from "Pentecost" to the supposed "end of
time." And as such, I saw "the "last days" mentioned by Peter in Ax.2 as
pertaining to the New Covenant Age and, that the Old Covenant Age was
then completely gone!
As I now look back on that understanding today, I'm persuaded that my
former understanding presents some difficulties, because if the "last
days" of which Peter speaks, has no reference to The Old Covenant Age,
then that would seem to contradict a number of other passages in The New
Covenant Scriptures. It seems that the more I studied, the more I could
see glaring discrepancies between what the Scriptures actually said and
what I understood them to say. And beloved I learned many years ago,
that anytime there's a seeming contradiction between what the Scriptures
say, and what I THINK they say, well, I'm the loser, O.K.? God's Word
wins every time!
Now, it may be that you have experienced some of the same confusion in
some of your studies on this matter of "the last days," and that you
have also wondered about these things. If that's the case, then let's
just look a little further into these things and see if we can reach a
conclusion that is totally consistent with the message our Father was
conveying, first and foremost, to those recipients of these letters in
the 1st century. Yes, let us keep in mind that the New Covenant
Scriptures were written FOR "us," however, they were written TO those
disciples in the 1st century. Therefore, I believe that we should study
them in a 1st century context.
So, in light of all the above, it would seem to me that there are two
questions that come to mind: The first is, "Just what are these 'last
days,'" and secondly, "At what point DO or DID these 'last days' come to
an end?" First, please let me say that I find NO place in the Scriptures
that speak of more that just ONE "last days" period. I must be honest
here; I can find no consistency with Scripture here, which provides for
both, a "last days" period for "The Old Covenant Age" and another "last
days" period for "The Christian Age!" As a matter of fact, brethren, I
do not find in The Scriptures, an end to the "Christian Age!" (See
Dan.2:44; Dan.7:14; Is.9:6,7; Lk.1:32,33; Eph.3:20,21; Heb.12:28;
Heb.13:30). Luke, for example, in recording the words of the Angel
Gabriel, of the birth of Jesus, said: "He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the
throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob
FOREVER; and His Kingdom WILL HAVE NO END." (Lk.1:32,33) Therefore, in
light of these Scriptures, how can we logically speak of the "last days"
of something which has no end?
Now, Let's just suppose that someone says, "Well, I believe "the last days"
came to an end at the cross of Jesus!" Well, if that is the case, then just
how would one reconcile this with the fact that this quotation by Peter from
Joel 2 was made fifty days AFTER Jesus rose from the dead and went back into
heaven? Also, please note with me another passage of great import to these
questions! The scribe of Hebrews penned his epistle to Jewish disciples
about 67 A.D. and, he had this to say in Heb.1:1,2: "God, after He spoke
long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
IN THESE LAST DAYS has spoken to us in His Son..." Beloved, please look very
closely at that passage! Do you see what I now see? Do you see how the
writer puts into the same exact "last days" time-frame, both the "preaching
of Jesus" and the "writing of this glorious epistle to the Hebrews?" Isn't
that remarkable? Yes, the writer says that God's Son HAS SPOKEN (past tense)
in THESE last days (present tense). Brethren, in this passage TWO things now
come into perfect focus for me, and they are: (1) That the "last days" in
which Jesus spoke while on earth were the same "last days" in which the
Hebrew writer penned his epistle in 67 A.D. and, (2) That "the last days"
came to an end neither "at the cross," nor by 67 A.D. when the Hebrews
epistle was penned. Yes, these truths becomes so clear to me now when
considering the tenses of the language used!
To help us further answer some of the questions we might have, it may be
that Joel could shed a little more light on this for us. Going back to that
prophecy of Joel: After he spoke of God pouring out His Spirit upon
disciples, along with the attendant gift of prophecy (Ax.2:17,18), Joel is
also quoted by Peter in Vv 19-21: "And I will grant wonders in the sky
above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now, it's very
interesting here that as Joel speaks of all the marvelous things that were
to take place in "the last days," among them were also the many catastrophic
signs and wonders just listed. Therefore, if we knew exactly what Joel had
reference to by those catastrophic signs, then we will know much more about
the point in time at which the "last days" ended. But brethren, I think that
we should be careful to remember, as we consider these things, that Joel in
his prophecy, does not mention but ONE "last days" period, and that he does
not say, "In the 'last days' OF the 'last days' period;" he only speaks of
"the last days!"
In the 13th chapter of Isaiah, Vv 1-22, we find a most interesting account
of God's dealing with wicked ancient Babylon and His great judgment upon
her. He said: (vs.1) "The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of
Amoz saw.(vs.3) I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My
mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, to execute My anger...The Lord of
hosts is mustering the army for battle. (vs.5) They are coming from a
far country, from the farthest horizons, The Lord and His instruments of
indignation, to destroy the whole land. (vs.6) Wail, for the day of the Lord
is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. (vs.7) Therefore all
hands will fall limp, and every man's heart will melt. (vs.8) And they will
be terrified...They will look at one another in astonishment, their faces
aflame. (vs.,9) Behold, the day of the Lord is coming...To make the land a
desolation; (vs.10)for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not
flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon
will not shed its light. (vs.11)Thus I will punish the world (Babylon's
world--emph. mine JG) for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity...
(13)Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken
from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning
anger.(vs.15)Anyone who is found will be thrust through, and anyone who is
captured will fall by the sword. (vs.16) Their little ones also will
be dashed to pieces before their eyes. Their houses will be plundered and
their wives ravished. (vs.17) Behold, I am going to SEND THE MEDES against
them..."
Now, I'm certain that you noticed the striking similarities in the language
used is this account of the judgment on Babylon and the language used by
Joel which Peter quotes on Pentecost! In God's use of The Medes as His
instrument of judgment on Babylon, the prophet Isaiah used such terms as
"The stars of heaven and their constellations not flashing forth their
light, the sun being dark, and the moon not shedding its light. But did
these celestial calamities actually happen "literally?"? Why, of course not!
No more than "every man's heart literally melting, or their faces being
aflame, or the earth being shaken from its place, or the heavens trembling!"
This is simply prophetic apocalyptic language used to indicate judgment from
The Almighty, with the bringing down of rulers, authorities, and
governments!
Now, beloved, when I look at this same language used by Joel to indicate
what was going to happen in "the last days," I see God's judgment that was
about to be brought upon ISRAEL! Yes, Jehovah was shortly (just 40 years
later) going to bring judgment (execute His anger) upon His own household
(1Pet.1:17); its nation, its city, and its temple, with ROME as His lethal
instrument of Judgment this time! Now, here's why I see that: Until the
coming of John The Baptist, God became silent after the prophecies of
Malachi. But before that silence, He said to Israel: "Behold, I am going to
send My messenger (John), and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord,
whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the
covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap...Then the offering
of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old
and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I
will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers
etc..." (Mal. 3:1,2,4,5) And then God's final words to Israel before the
four hundred years of silence were: "For behold, the day is coming, burning
like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and
the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that
IT WILL LEAVE THEM NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH...Behold, I am going to send you
Elijah the prophet (John The Baptist) before the coming of the great and
terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to
their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite the land with a curse." (Mal.4:2-4) Folks, I get a sense of the
marvelous transition of God's dealings with a "natural, fleshly, temporal"
Israel to a "spiritual" Israel when I read such verses here as Mal.3:4,16,17
and 4:2-4. Beloved, please read these verses, and then see if they don't
comport with what God has to say about the "New Heavens and Earth." in Is.65
and Is.66! I don't know about you, but when I read passages like these, I
see the marvelous change in God's Israel; a change from the "fleshly,
natural, or national" to the "spiritual." (His elect); yes, those of the
faith of Abraham! See also Rom.2:28,29 and Rom.9:6-8.
With the end of Malachi's prophecy, the voice of God becomes silent and
remains so for a period of four hundred years. However, with the coming of
the second "Elijah" (John the Baptist), that silence is broken. And just
look at what John has to say to Israel: "And the axe is ALREADY laid at the
root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire." Yes, God is now fed up with apostate Israel!
They are now ripe for judgment, however, He sends John to turn as many of
them as possible back to Him before He wipes the slate clean with "fleshly,
apostate" Israel. John does indeed come, and prepared a people for the
Messiah who would come shortly. When our Master, The Messiah came, He
declared to the rulers of the Jews that Judgment was indeed imminent. Please
read Matthew's account of Jesus' next to last appearance in the temple as he
excoriated the Jews for their wickedness and hypocrisy in Mat.23:29-39! He
said, beginning in vs.34: "Therefore, Behold, I am sending you PROPHETS and
wise men and scribes; some of them you will KILL and CRUCIFY, and some of
them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
that UPON YOU (first century Jews) may fall the guilt of ALL the righteous
blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and
the altar. Truly I say TO YOU (1st century Jews, emph. mine, JG), all these
things shall come upon THIS GENERATION. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, WHO KILLS
THE PROPHETS and stones those who are sent to her; How often I wanted to
gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her
wings, and you were unwilling. Behold YOUR HOUSE (Temple) is left unto you
desolate. For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until YOU (1st
century Jews, emph. mine, JG) say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of
the Lord." Here, The Master declares that even though He loves them dearly,
and wept over them, He says "Your case in hopeless," and He says very
clearly that THEIR GENERATION was about the see Judgment brought on them as
they would "fill up the measure of the guilt of their fathers before them."
(Vs.32)! Beloved, is there any wonder why Peter on Pentecost pleaded with
them to "Be saved from THIS PERVERSE GENERATION?"(Ax.2:40). Yes, folks, as
an inspired apostle, Peter knew what was about to befall THAT GENERATION.
With regard to this impending doom, Peter, toward the end of
the period of The Spirit's revelatory work, would write: "The end of
all things IS AT HAND; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for
the purpose of prayer...For IT IS TIME for THE JUDGMENT (the definite
article 'the' is in the original text) to begin with the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD
(Israel emph. mine JG); and if it begins with us first, what will be the
outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1Pet.4:7,17) Brethren,
with these words of Peter in mind, it is crucial to our proper understanding
of these things, that we take note of the fact that Peter, himself, declares
in 1Pet.1:20, that he is writing IN "the last days" and writing OF "the last
days! And furthermore, he is expressing warnings that the judgment about to
come on the household of God (Israel) in "the last days," was IMMINENT!
In light of all the above, it becomes increasingly clearer to me as to the
"what" and "when" regarding "the last days" spoken of by Joel in Joel 2, and
quoted by the Apostle Peter on Pentecost in Ax. 2:16-21. Just from the
things which we have covered to this point, I am persuaded that "the last
days" are inclusive of "the coming of John the baptist" and extends through
the period of "the revelatory work of The Holy Spirit." So, just when did
the last days end?" Well, one of the things that I didn't realize for many
years is the fact that there was still something that stood in the way of
the Old Covenant world being totally removed. Notice Heb.8:13! Here, the
writer says: "When He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first
obsolete. But whatever IS BECOMING obsolete and GROWING old IS READY to
disappear." Beloved, these are some of those precious little gems of which I
spoke, that lay there right before my very eyes for years, and yet, I didn't
see them! Certainly, you know what I'm talking about. All of us have
experienced these joyous moments when we discover one of those truths or
precious gems which was entirely new to us, even though it was right there
all the time, just waiting for us to pick it up! Well, this matter of just
what "the last days" WERE, and WHEN they ended, was one of those marvelous
discoveries for me, for not only did it clear up that subject for me, but in
doing so, it in turn cleared up many other obscure passages for me! And, I
see now that my problem was that I was viewing the whole matter from a
preconceived viewpoint or paradigm. And because I was, Heb.8:13, and other
similar passages would be those passages that I would simply have to pass
over hurriedly because, I could not explain why the tense of the verbs
regarding the Old Covenant were in the "present" tense such as "is becoming"
obsolete, or "growing" old, or "is ready to pass away." But we need to
remember that the Temple still stood in Jerusalem at the time the Hebrew
scribe wrote this epistle and, that temple, for centuries, was at the
epicenter of the Jews "heavens and earth. Yes, it was the center of THEIR
WORLD. So, the temple still stood, along with its fleshly priesthood with
its altar and animal sacrifices, its veil over the entrance to the temporal,
typical Holy of Holies, its ark of the covenant in which were the tablets of
the Law, the jar of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. Yes, brethren, all
the vestiges of that Old Covenant world still stood in the way of the
"consummation of all things." This is the very thing the Hebrews writer is
saying in Heb.9:8,9 when he says: "The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that
the way into the holy place has NOT YET been disclosed, WHILE THE OUTER
TABERNACLE IS STILL STANDING, which is a symbol FOR THE PRESENT TIME (1st
century present time). Accordingly, both gifts and sacrifices ARE OFFERED
which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience..." Yes, it's easier
for me to see, now, just why all of these things had to be completely
removed before the New Covenant and New Heavens and Earth could be fully
consummated. And I believe that this was all accomplished at our Lord's
Parousia in 70 A.D. as He used Rome to remove all these things for Him.
Yes, beloved, NOW, passages such as Mat.5:17,18 are not
obscure at all to me, because NOW I understand what Jesus meant by "Heaven
and Earth!" Please notice the passage! Jesus said: "Do not think that I came
to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to
fulfill. For truly I say to you, until HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS AWAY, not the
smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is
accomplished." These words of our Lord here comport so well with what the
Hebrew writer said. When considering them together, it's clear in my mind
that the old world of Judaism (the old heavens and earth) had to be totally
removed before "The Law" could completely pass away and the glorious New
Covenant world (the NEW heavens and earth), the glorious Kingdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ be perfected. Read also Heb.12:18-29 where God declares that He
would shake that old "heaven and earth" one more time, so as to remove all
the "old things," where, then, only those things which could NOT be shaken
could remain viz., the glorious New Covenant Kingdom of our Lord! We already
know that the animal sacrifices that the fleshly, earthly priesthood still
offered at that time (Heb.8:4), could certainly NOT take away sins as
evidenced by Heb.9:9; 10:4. But yet, these things still stood in the way.
However, they would not stand in the way for very much longer, for soon,
yes, very soon, these things would finally be removed (Heb.10:37; 12:26-28)!
And beloved, it was at the time of the removal of these things, that God
declared: "Behold, I am making all things NEW" (Rev.21:5)! Isn't that a
marvelous thing?
And so, dear friends it was THEN, I believe, that "the last days" came to
their conclusion. Jesus, answered the questions of Peter, James, John, and
Andrew, as to when it would be that the temple would be destroyed, and when
their Master's Parousia (coming) would be, and when the "end of the age"
would be (Mat.24:3). In His answer, He indicated that it would come
immediately AFTER the gospel had been preached to the whole world (vs.14---
this was accomplished even before the end of the period of the Holy Spirit's
revelatory work---Col.1:23; Rom.10:17,18), and told them of the sign which
would signal His coming. He said it would be when they (1st century
disciples) would see Jerusalem surrounded by the Roman armies (vs.15 and
Lk.21:20). They would come against the nation, the city of Jerusalem, and
the temple. Jesus told them that it would be a time of "great tribulation"
(Mat.24:21), and He even uses the same prophetic, apocalyptic language as
Joel, to describe the terrible Judgment (Vv 29-31), and beloved, most
importantly, our Master plainly declared that all of these things would take
place in THAT THEN PRESENT, 1st century GENERATION (vs.34).
Both Peter and John wrote of the closeness of the end of
"the last days" period. Peter, near the end of his earthly life, perhaps 66
A.D., said this in 1Pet.1:4,5 concerning the "salvation" for which HIS 1st
CENTURY READERS were "eagerly waiting" at the time of his writing: ".to
obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God
through faith for a salvation READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME." Please
note that these disciples were presently in "the last time" or "last days"
and awaiting the return of their Lord with the their promised inheritance.
Then, perhaps just a little while later, John wrote these things in
1Jn.2:18; "Children, it is the LAST HOUR; and just as you heard that
antichrist is coming, even NOW many antichrists have arisen; from this we
know that it is THE LAST HOUR." From these words of John, I conclude that
not only was he writing in "the last days," but near the VERY END of "the
last days! Yes, beloved, at the time of John's writing, the time was very,
very short before the "coming" (parousia) of their Master. The THEN presence
of many antichrists, as he says, was evidence of that fact, because they
(the antichrists) were to come in "the last days." Just as a side note, John
also defines the antichrists for the disciples. He says: They went out from
us (John and the other disciples of Jesus), but they were not really of us;
for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went
out, in order that it might be shown that they ALL are not of us." (vs.19).
"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ; the one
who denies the Father AND THE SON. Whoever denies the Son does not have the
Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." (vs.22). Yes, I
believe that when we read of "the last days" regarding all of these events,
it is speaking of the last days of "The Old Covenant age," the world of
"fleshly" Israel and Judaism. As for the New Covenant age, I pointed out
earlier the many passages which so clearly indicate that the New Covenant
Kingdom has no "last days," but rather will remain forever and ever. May the
Lord richly bless you all with His grace and peace
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