Are We Living In the Last Days?

Are We Living in the Last Days?

We receive continual questions about the phrase “the last days” and people want to know if we are now in the last days or at least getting close to it.

We have commented on this matter several times and because of the interest in the subject we return to some basics about this matter.

While on the Mount of Olives, Jesus’ disciples asked, “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3).
The disciples too were intensely interested in what world conditions would be like at the time of the end—yes, the end of this world! Jesus goes on to describe, not the permanent end of Earth’s existence, but rather the end of this age—the world as we know it to be, ruled by Satan
(2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 4:4). “For then shall be great tribulation,” Jesus said, “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).

YES – we are NOW in the “last days.”

We Read in Joel 2:28-3
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (KJV)

This prophecy in Joel is quoted in Acts 2 and the Bible makes it clear that the term “last days” began on the Day of Pentecost in Acts when the Church was born.  We read in Acts 2:17-21:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And it will continue until the end of the tribulation period (“the Day of the LORD”) when the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the Nation of Israel (Ezekiel 39:29; Zechariah 12:10).

All during the “last days” the work of God in pouring out His Spirit refers to the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. It has gone on now for over 1900 years.

Are we living in the last days? Well, the Bible tells us that as the coming of Jesus draws closer, increased lawlessness will cause hearts to become callous.

Near the end of these “last days” a period of time will come which the Apostle Paul calls “perilous times” (II Timothy 3:1-7). Reading over the
18 characteristics of these “perilous times” would lead one to suspect that we are now in that dangerous time of deception and sinful behavior.

Yes, deception is all around us and there has never been a time in history where we need to cast off the cares of this life and press on toward the prize that awaits us.

The completion of the “last days” will happen when “the Day of the LORD”
takes place.

The term is used 25 times in the Bible and refers to Daniel’s 70th week of his prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 and refers to the coming “Great Tribulation” which our Lord and the writers of the New Testament have referred to often.

It appears to be seven years in length and will begin with a false sense of peace and security and a resolution of the conflict between Israel and her hostile enemies.

The attempt to bring that resolution or peace agreement about is, of course, going on now.

What the final result will be and when – is known only to God.

The “Day of the LORD” refers to the time when God’s revenge takes place upon a world that has rejected Him and His authority.

It is the subject of most of the Book of Revelation. It is the “day of God’s wrath” upon planet earth.

The Bible uses terms such as “deception” “darkness” “distress”
“destruction” and “death” etc., to describe this period of time. sounds familiar doesn’t it!

The world will be plunged into the greatest period of desolation and disaster that humanity has ever seen!

Over one half of the world’s population will be killed before this coming trouble is half over!

Bible scholars and teachers disagree about many details concerning the future. There are some who think that there will be no future tribulation, and that all the prophecies of the Book of Revelation were fulfilled in 70 AD with the Roman invasion and destruction of Jerusalem.

I believe that the events of the tribulation are yet future.
The important thing in all of this discussion is to make sure of your own relationship with the LORD through His Messiah, our Savior from sin, death, and hell.

Bible truth has the power to change lives. Ephesians 4:22-24 But some of the most ungodly acts take place under the veil of religion.

People will simply adjust to sin as the new normal. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? How else can we explain New York law-makers passing a bill that allows a full-term baby to be killed? Later I read, that the lights on the 9/11 memorial tower shone pink in celebration. If that’s not evidence of cold and callous hearts, then I don’t know what is.

In Luke 17 Jesus tells us, “as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” He repeats the reference, citing the days of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. So, what characterized the days of Noah and Lot that’s also evident today?

Ezekiel wrote, The sin of Sodom was great, for it was pride full list of bread and abundance of idleness. People are busy doing life without any thought to the kind of life they’re living. They are wrapped up in seeking pleasure and profit without any concern for God. Secondly, ignoring the warning of God’s judgment. As a matter of fact, Noah’s neighbor’s laughed at the suggestion. Again, sounds familiar.

We see the warnings of 2 Timothy 3 already taking shape. Most religious expression in the last days will be powerless. Preachers craft culturally appealing messages that lack the authority of God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to carefully consider the consequences of ignoring this warning. Spiritually cold hearts are home to spiritually dull minds. Truth is discerned through the lens of Scripture, not by feeling emotionally right even if it’s biblically wrong.

Sadly, there’s plenty of measurable evidence that the Church hasn’t heeded these warnings. For years, the unaddressed issue in evangelicalism has been pornography. Pure Desire Ministry now has clinical research revealing widespread sex addiction in local churches, even among pastors. If that wasn’t bad enough, The Houston Chronicle just reported over 700 alleged victims of sexual abuse by 380 Church leaders and volunteers since 1998. Even the good news is bad. The reason fewer marriages are ending in divorce is that more people are living together out of wedlock. The Church has adjusted to sin as the new normal.

I don’t know how close we are to the rapture and to the second coming of Jesus. I do know, however, that we are closer today than yesterday.
There is nothing left on the prophetic “to do list” to prevent the rapture from taking place today. Scripture doesn’t tell us these things to make us afraid, but to alert us, build our faith and so we could encourage one another with the truth of God’s Word.

As believers watching prophesy unfold, we need to actively guard against wanting God’s judgment to consume our lost world.

Noah and his family took no pleasure in the sounds of those perishing outside the safety of the ark. The Lord still desires to save. Today, you will cross paths with people who will die and spend eternity separated from Jesus Christ. The question is, are we too self-absorbed and spiritually calloused to care?

If we truly believe that Jesus is coming soon, then we need to be busy telling those folks that It’s high time we awoke out of our sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.

There is NO OTHER WAY (John 14:6; Acts 4:12-13)!

It was His death on the cross over 1900 years ago that paid the price of our sin, and He is NOT dead – He’s alive, and He’s coming back again!

He is the only sufficient payment of sin before a Holy God, and it is our prayer that you will receive Him, trusting your life and future to Him alone – And be saved!

“BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED!” Acts 16:31
Merry Christmas Friends
Terry Reynolds
Jeff Russell

2 Comments


Katherine Austin - August 24th, 2021 at 1:20pm

Great information about last days

Laird Smith - May 11th, 2023 at 10:44am

John 4:34 says that Jesus came to do and to finish his Father’s work. John12:49 says that the Father sent Jesus. John 12:31 Jesus prophesied that if he be lifted up, which happened while on the cross, he would draw all men( humanity) unto himself. John 12:31,32 Jesus was speaking, he said “ now” is the judgement of this world:

John 19:30 Jesus said it is finished, meaning the work of his Father was complete! Further evidence of the end of the world was the tearing of the temple veil, which was split in half from top to bottom, Mark 15:38.

Colossians 1: 12 Giving thanks, verse 13 the Father has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, verse 14 in who we have ( that means now!) redemption thru his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, verse 22 we have been found holy, and unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight. verse 23 If we continue in the faith( of Jesus Christ, not our own faith) grounded and settled, Galatians 2:16 it is the faith of Jesus Christ that saves us. Gslatians 2:21 if righteousness comes by the law then Christ is dead in vain.

Jesus Christ has purged our sin.

No man goes to heaven but Jesus Christ John 3:13