The phrase "In the Last Days" is a subject that has a broad range of views. Yet, as I begin to embark on this little venture, I feel most comfortable not basing this phrase on predictions, historical references to a time or place, or even guesses that can be interpreted to a specific point and time as to when these "In the Last Days" might happen.
The phrase itself does not come without some literary terminology problems. In the Scriptures, the King James Version always refer to this phrase as "In the Latter Days", while modern translations use the phrase we hear "In the Last Days". The real problem in understanding some of these passages in the Scripture are: 1) Is the author using this phrase in reference to days within his own lifetime? 2) Is the author referring to a later time in history?, or 3) Is this phrase being used to describe the "End of Time"...a time when the world comes to an end as we know it?
This phrase itself is found both in the Old and New Testament. One of the most popular passages come out of Acts 2, during the Day of Pentecost, when Peter preached to the many in attendance and referred to the prophet Joel in the Old Testament...announcing how God is pouring out His Spirit in...The Last Days.
As for us in 2015 A.D., many centuries have passed since passages in the Scriptures like this were written, and in today's societies the "In the Last Days" have a variety of thoughts. Today we might think of war-like fantasy themes (like in video games), for others it might conjure a thought of a new utopia, where everything is "green" and the world has a new order, and yet for others it can envision a more apocalyptic aftermath where we have barren wasteland and the earth is filled with zombies.
Yet, as I begin to research the "In the Last Days" phrases read of in the Scripture, I am finding it is really not about a terrible day event....one that is sought out by many as to the specific day on a calendar it might happen.
Even some of those in the Christian community have jumped on the bandwagon...preparing for the final outcome of "In the Last Days" at a specific time and place...only to wake up the following morning...and face the reality of ...it didn't happen.
As I gather data on this phrase, I am beginning to realize that the "In the Last Days" references are not really about a time, a place, or a specific day when a sudden calamity will come upon the earth...and then we look up in the sky...and there is Jesus.
Rather, the main subject to these references are: "A Great Outpouring of God's Spirit", not zombies, war-like fantasies, or a specific time it may happen.
Even in the first century church, when Paul and the other apostles were alive, they were facing people within the church challenging this "In the Last Days" train of thought. What was going on at that time was some believers in various local churches were beginning to question whether Christianity was true after all. 25 to 30 years after the Day of Pentecost, no one had really seen Jesus since that time, which was quite shocking to some, with all that had happened in less than a generation before, and now perhaps they thought...it was just another religion...a propaganda type religion that teaches mankind better morals...yet is really nothing more than a fairy tale.
As I think about this, I can kind of understand the logic in all of it...just looking at the entirety of history itself. Here you have Old Testament prophets, 700 to 1000 years before the birth of Christ, writing of a Messiah...Isaiah, Daniel, Joel and others. Then, you have other "pagan" cultures, non-Christian beliefs, that also write of a return of a god...to re-establish the order of mankind.
Suddenly, in one short period of time of the history of mankind, about 33 years, the Son of God comes...born in a manger, becomes one of us, people in the area get to know Him, then He dies a horrible death, some claim to have seen Him after He came out of the tomb, and poof...He is gone. Now, here we are 2000 years later...still looking for His return...and trying to figure out this "In the Last Days" and if it has to do with...Jesus.
So, honestly I "get" where these first century believers might wonder...Is Christianity for real...or just another passing fad?
Imagine if you will Jesus being born around 1900 A.D. Our Grandparents might tell of the story, friends and neighbors might have got to know Him on an everyday basis, and our parents might recall and share with us on the day He was executed. Then we would hear of how some saw Him...alive!...perhaps even our own relatives, up to a month after...He had been pronounced dead. That would put us around 1933 A.D., the Great Depression was in full swing...and no one has seen or heard from Him...since.
Tell me...what would you make of all it?
So, getting back to the first century Christians, allow me to add to this...it has now been over 2000 years since Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. People have retold, shared, and passed down this story like written of in the Sacred Scriptures. How accurate can it really be? After all, man's ability to add to, change, and twist stories passed down through the corridors of time are quite evident, yet there is one thing Jesus did leave with His people...the Holy Spirit.
Peter, the very same guy that made the great announcement on the Day of Pentecost referring to "In the Last Days" as written in the book of Joel, an Old Testament prophet, now addresses these believers 25 to 30 years later...who were questioning the return of Jesus...and now beginning to wonder whether Christianity was nothing more than folklore.
A Gleaning from 2 Peter 3:8-9
" Nevertheless it is imperative that you not overlook or dismiss this thought...for you must grasp how God views His creation...He sees us from an Eternal point of view.
A day in the eyes of the Lord...is what a thousand years can be to us, and a thousand years in our own eyes...is but a day in the eyes of the Lord. So, all this talk about God being too slow in fulfilling His promises...are simply not true. He is no slower to fulfilling His promises ...than the very day He spoke them. Rather, it is us...who are slow, in the perception of His promises.
You see, God is a God well acquainted with grief and long suffering, I'm speaking of our grief and long suffering. Yet, He is One of extraordinary patience, an Eternal patience...not familiar to the short lives we have here on earth. We cannot measure the fulfillment of His promise given to us...based on our human standards. Even though He appears "late" in fulfilling His promises through our weak and human eyes, the truth is He is patient toward us all...and it is for our sakes He is so. He does not hold back on His promises as it seems, rather, He is patient and merciful and His heart's desire is that no one may perish...or even get lost in our everyday lives. He gives us "space" and the time to change our minds (repent)...and time to accept His plan for us...into our very hearts."
"In the Last Days"...is about an outpouring...of His Spirit....
The phrase itself does not come without some literary terminology problems. In the Scriptures, the King James Version always refer to this phrase as "In the Latter Days", while modern translations use the phrase we hear "In the Last Days". The real problem in understanding some of these passages in the Scripture are: 1) Is the author using this phrase in reference to days within his own lifetime? 2) Is the author referring to a later time in history?, or 3) Is this phrase being used to describe the "End of Time"...a time when the world comes to an end as we know it?This phrase itself is found both in the Old and New Testament. One of the most popular passages come out of Acts 2, during the Day of Pentecost, when Peter preached to the many in attendance and referred to the prophet Joel in the Old Testament...announcing how God is pouring out His Spirit in...The Last Days.
As for us in 2015 A.D., many centuries have passed since passages in the Scriptures like this were written, and in today's societies the "In the Last Days" have a variety of thoughts. Today we might think of war-like fantasy themes (like in video games), for others it might conjure a thought of a new utopia, where everything is "green" and the world has a new order, and yet for others it can envision a more apocalyptic aftermath where we have barren wasteland and the earth is filled with zombies.
Yet, as I begin to research the "In the Last Days" phrases read of in the Scripture, I am finding it is really not about a terrible day event....one that is sought out by many as to the specific day on a calendar it might happen.
Even some of those in the Christian community have jumped on the bandwagon...preparing for the final outcome of "In the Last Days" at a specific time and place...only to wake up the following morning...and face the reality of ...it didn't happen.
As I gather data on this phrase, I am beginning to realize that the "In the Last Days" references are not really about a time, a place, or a specific day when a sudden calamity will come upon the earth...and then we look up in the sky...and there is Jesus.
Rather, the main subject to these references are: "A Great Outpouring of God's Spirit", not zombies, war-like fantasies, or a specific time it may happen.
Even in the first century church, when Paul and the other apostles were alive, they were facing people within the church challenging this "In the Last Days" train of thought. What was going on at that time was some believers in various local churches were beginning to question whether Christianity was true after all. 25 to 30 years after the Day of Pentecost, no one had really seen Jesus since that time, which was quite shocking to some, with all that had happened in less than a generation before, and now perhaps they thought...it was just another religion...a propaganda type religion that teaches mankind better morals...yet is really nothing more than a fairy tale.
As I think about this, I can kind of understand the logic in all of it...just looking at the entirety of history itself. Here you have Old Testament prophets, 700 to 1000 years before the birth of Christ, writing of a Messiah...Isaiah, Daniel, Joel and others. Then, you have other "pagan" cultures, non-Christian beliefs, that also write of a return of a god...to re-establish the order of mankind.
Suddenly, in one short period of time of the history of mankind, about 33 years, the Son of God comes...born in a manger, becomes one of us, people in the area get to know Him, then He dies a horrible death, some claim to have seen Him after He came out of the tomb, and poof...He is gone. Now, here we are 2000 years later...still looking for His return...and trying to figure out this "In the Last Days" and if it has to do with...Jesus.
So, honestly I "get" where these first century believers might wonder...Is Christianity for real...or just another passing fad?
Imagine if you will Jesus being born around 1900 A.D. Our Grandparents might tell of the story, friends and neighbors might have got to know Him on an everyday basis, and our parents might recall and share with us on the day He was executed. Then we would hear of how some saw Him...alive!...perhaps even our own relatives, up to a month after...He had been pronounced dead. That would put us around 1933 A.D., the Great Depression was in full swing...and no one has seen or heard from Him...since.
Tell me...what would you make of all it?
So, getting back to the first century Christians, allow me to add to this...it has now been over 2000 years since Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. People have retold, shared, and passed down this story like written of in the Sacred Scriptures. How accurate can it really be? After all, man's ability to add to, change, and twist stories passed down through the corridors of time are quite evident, yet there is one thing Jesus did leave with His people...the Holy Spirit.
Peter, the very same guy that made the great announcement on the Day of Pentecost referring to "In the Last Days" as written in the book of Joel, an Old Testament prophet, now addresses these believers 25 to 30 years later...who were questioning the return of Jesus...and now beginning to wonder whether Christianity was nothing more than folklore.
A Gleaning from 2 Peter 3:8-9
" Nevertheless it is imperative that you not overlook or dismiss this thought...for you must grasp how God views His creation...He sees us from an Eternal point of view.
A day in the eyes of the Lord...is what a thousand years can be to us, and a thousand years in our own eyes...is but a day in the eyes of the Lord. So, all this talk about God being too slow in fulfilling His promises...are simply not true. He is no slower to fulfilling His promises ...than the very day He spoke them. Rather, it is us...who are slow, in the perception of His promises.
You see, God is a God well acquainted with grief and long suffering, I'm speaking of our grief and long suffering. Yet, He is One of extraordinary patience, an Eternal patience...not familiar to the short lives we have here on earth. We cannot measure the fulfillment of His promise given to us...based on our human standards. Even though He appears "late" in fulfilling His promises through our weak and human eyes, the truth is He is patient toward us all...and it is for our sakes He is so. He does not hold back on His promises as it seems, rather, He is patient and merciful and His heart's desire is that no one may perish...or even get lost in our everyday lives. He gives us "space" and the time to change our minds (repent)...and time to accept His plan for us...into our very hearts."
"In the Last Days"...is about an outpouring...of His Spirit....
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