THE LAST DAYS
By oldhermit
Now I am not going to pretend that I understand all the consequences and implications that are linked to the term “the last days” but, it is certain that it is always associated with both blessing and/or judgment from God. What many have attempted to do is assign a strict and limited definition of time to this term and relegate it solely to a time that is still yet future, but this is not how we generally see it used in scripture. This term is very often used in connection with Israel but does not always represent the same period of time in their history; for example, sometimes it will refer to times related strictly to the OT period as in Daniel 8 which is a partial restating of what Daniel saw in chapter 11 simply cast in different symbols. Here, “the last days” is limited to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes and his destruction of Jerusalem. Other times it refers to the last days of the Jewish economy which was marked by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It also seems to be used in Daniel 12:9 to refer to the end of all time as marked by the resurrection of the dead.
“The Last Days” never seems to have been used by any New Testament writer to refer to the end of the world. The first century Christians were living in the last days of the Jewish economy. It was not the Christian's last days, nor was it the last days of the world, nor of any specified nation other than Israel. It was the last days of the nation of Israel. It represented a time frame of some 37 years that stretched from between 33 AD to 70 AD. This language is used both in connection with the beginning of the reign of Messiah, and the destruction of Jerusalem.
What are “The Last Days” and to whom do they apply? This expression is limited in its application by scripture, not by the reader. It was limited to a specific group of peopleand to a specific time in THEIR history. As it referred to the end of the Jewish economy it defined the destruction of the nation, the killing and scattering of the people, the destruction of the capitol city, the desecration and destruction of the temple, the end of their sacrificial worship, and the destruction of their culture both religiously and politically. This would also end the nation of Israel's association with God. Exclusivity with God would no longer be defined ethnically. As a race, Israel existed only as a type whose appointed function had been fulfilled. Israel was the Bride of Jehovah through whom Messiah would come. All the nations of the earth would be blessed through her. Exclusivity now shifts from the physical to the spiritual. A Jew is now redefined, Romans 2:28-29 – “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” After the destruction of the Jewish economy, no generation is recognized by scripture as being in the last days as it is unlikely that any New Testament book was written after 69 AD. We are not now, nor have we ever been in the last days as this term is used in scripture. This period of time has been closed of by historical fulfillment. The following list of New Testament books represents all of the NT books that make use of the phrase “the last days” and the most likely time of their writing.
Acts – AD 62-64, 2Timothy – AD 62-66, Hebrews – AD 63-66, James – before AD 60, 2Peter – AD 66-67, 1John AD 60-65, 2John – AD 66-68, Jude – AD 66-69 (maybe early 70), Revelation – AD 62-68.
What did the prophets say would happen in the last days as this related to Israel?
I. Old Testament focus of the “Last Days”
A. Ezekiel 38:16, “And you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.” This is a prophesy against Israel that deals with the destruction of the nation by the Assyrians in 722 BC. “In the last days” then is endemic to that specific destruction.
B. Daniel 8:17, “So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, 'Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.'” This is a prophesy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes in 169 BC.
C. Daniel 10:14, “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.” These days were in the future with respect to the time of Daniel.
D. Daniel 11:35, “Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.” This has an extraordinary and detailed historic fulfillment from the time of Darius to Antiochus Epiphanes. If you like, I can provide this for you as well.
II. As God Used the Term “Last Days” regarding the nations of Moab and Elam.
A. Jeremiah 48:47, “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the LORD. Thus far the judgment on Moab.”
B. Jeremiah 49:39, “But it will come about in the last days that I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.” Although God said he would destroy Moab and Elam he promised that he would restore their fortunes in “the latter days.” This seems to have redemptive aspirations regarding the salvation of the Gentiles in the last days. These are not the first times God uses the term “I will restore the fortunes” in this connection.
III. End of Time Focus
Daniel 12:40, “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” This seems to refer to the full end of human history as it speaks of the resurrection of the dead.
IV. New Testament Focus:
A. Genesis 49:1, “Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the last days.” That this has Messianic focus related to the coming of the Messiah out of the tribe of Judah is clearly seen in Jacob's prophesy concerning the tribe of Judah in verses 8-12.
B. Micah 4:1, “And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.”
C. Isaiah 2:2, “Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.”
D.Jeremiah 23:20, “The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.” This entire chapter deals with the coming of their Messiah.
E. Hosea 3:5, “Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.”
V. The Last Days as Spoken of by the New Testament
A. Acts 2:17, “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;”
B. 2Timothy 3:1, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.”
C.Hebrews 1:2, “In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
D. James 5:3, “Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!”
E. 1Peter 1:20, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.”
F. 2Peter 3:3, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts.” Peter confirms the presence of these in his time as testimony that they were in the last days on the first century.
G. 1John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
H. Jude 1:18, “That they were saying to you, 'In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.'” Like Peter, Jude confirms the presence of these in his time as testimony to the fact that they were in the last days on the first century and that this was the time prophesied by Enoch.
