A question I’m often asked is, “Are we living in the last days?” From what’s coming out of Hollywood and on the internet, it seems many people think the end of the world is very close. Everyone has some experience hearing about when God brings an end to the world. I remember, as a new believer, I went to a nursing home. I visited several nursing homes and did Bible study, singing, and visiting with the residents. I was speaking to an older gentleman about his faith. He was probably around 85. He told me he remembered sneaking under an evangelism tent when he was ten. He said he heard the preacher say that the last days of the world were at hand. He heard that message 120 years ago. In 1970, an evangelist named Hal Lindsey wrote a book entitled, *The Late Great Planet Earth. This was a huge seller. At the time, there were conflicts in the Middle East, America was fighting in Vietnam, the Cold War was heating up with China and Russia, there was political unrest around the world, and technology was seen as a great evil. The point of Hal Lindsey’s book was world events were lining up with Biblical prophecy, and the second coming of Jesus Christ was at the door. Fifty-three years later, there are still conflicts in the Middle East, there’s still political unrest around the world, and technology is still seen as a great evil.
Was that tent preacher wrong? Was Hal Lindsey wrong? Is Jesus coming back? Are We Living at the End of Days?”. Let’s see what the Bible says about when the world will end.
I have a list of well-known Prophets and the Son of God who told their listeners the day would come when the world ends. Isaiah spoke of ‘the last days’ 2,750 years ago (Isaiah 2:2). Micah spoke of ‘the latter days’ 2,700 years ago (Micah 4:1). Daniel spoke of ‘the end of days’ 2,500 years ago (Daniel 12:4). Jesus was asked by the disciples about ‘the end of the age’ 2,000 years ago (Matthew 24:3).
From Jesus and these prophets, we see the Bible plainly states that one day, God’s judgment will come upon the earth. But what’s missing from the prophecy is the date and time. Jesus said no one knows the day or time except the Father. So if there’s no exact time, then the time is anytime. But people still try to promote the idea they’ve figured out the date the world will end. And when it doesn’t happen, they predict a new date, or they say the second coming of Jesus was spiritual, not physical.
Believing God will bring judgment on the earth isn’t exclusive to Christianity. Every culture and every religion has an apocalyptic day that will end the world. But no one has a date. As we’ve discussed in other episodes, the apostles believed that Jesus would quickly return and establish his kingdom on earth. Listen to what Peter said in Acts 2:14-21.
The first Jewish Christians thought they were living in the last days. The Apostle Paul taught the Gentile believers in Greece and Asia Minor that Jesus was going to [[return]] quickly.
Paul’s letters are written around his belief that Jesus Christ would return in his lifetime. All the apostles believed and taught that Jesus would soon return and establish his kingdom on earth. So, there was no need for possessions, owning a business, being married, or having children. The things of this life would soon be wiped away. But Jesus didn’t return. Some sold homes, gave away possessions, quit jobs, didn’t get married, or had children. That’s what people do when they believe the world is ending.
Is that how we should prepare for the sudden ‘end of days’? Let’s look at what Paul wrote to a young preacher named Timothy about the “last days” 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
When Paul gave these instructions, he was in his second and final imprisonment in Rome under Nero. He knows his execution is approaching. He’s giving Timothy some final words of advice about what’s coming. He tells Timothy the last days will be very difficult, and then he lists what The Difficulties of ‘the last days’ will be. The Greek word Paul uses here for Difficult means depressing or disheartening. It’ll be difficult to live as a disciple of Christ because the things they’ll see going on in the world will be depressing and disheartening because it never stops. They’ll see wars, hatred, killing, envy, and jealousy, which will be depressing. They’ll see people who love themselves and their money and show their selfishness when others are in need. They’ll see boastful people everywhere as they brag about themselves and lift themselves above others, scoffing against everything because they know better than everyone else, even God. And because they’re so self-sufficient, they’re ungrateful and thankless. They’ll see those who hold nothing sacred. Not the laws of God or man, not faith, not honor, not marriage, not nature, or even Right and wrong. They’ll see people who are unloving and unforgiving. And those who will slander others and be out of control. They’ll see that people are cruel to others and hate what’s good. They’ll betray their friends and act recklessly. They’ll be filled with pride, which will puff them up. The Greek words Paul uses here mean they’ll have big heads, so big it will make them unbalanced and arrogant. People who think they’re so important that the rules don’t apply to them. They’ll see people who love pleasure rather than God. And those who will act religious but deny the power that can change them.
Some see this list and think Paul describes what people will be like when God judges the world. But Paul was describing what people were like right then because he believed they were at the end of time. Are people more selfish and greedy for money today? Are people any more ambitious, full of themselves, and self-centered today? No, there are more of them, and we have the technology to be louder about selfishness, self-centeredness, and religiousness.
Are we living at ‘the end of the age’? Yes, we are just like believers in the first century. Is ‘the end of the age’ about to happen? It could happen at any moment, or it could happen hundreds of years from now. That’s the message. There’s nothing between us and the second coming of Jesus Christ, but the timing of the end is in God’s hands. Listen to what the Apostle John said about the Last hour in 1 John 2:15-18.
Paul, John, and Peter all believed they were living in the “last days.” Are we living at the end of time? Yes, we are, but no one knows the exact minute or day the end will happen. But some will say the end can’t happen until the antichrist is revealed. According to John, many antichrists have already come. The term Antichrist refers to any individual or movement that opposes the Word and life of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the savior of the world. Karl Marx was an antichrist, and his communist movement still active in the world is antichrist. Nero, who burned believers and executed Paul and Peter, was the antichrist. Every emperor until 380 AD was the antichrist. The atheist movement is antichrist. Nietzsche was an antichrist, and his philosophy is the antichrist and is being taught in universities and on the internet worldwide.
So, since we’re living in the ‘end of days” and the antichrist is in the world, what should we do? We should do as Peter, Paul, and John instructed believers in the first century: Stay prepared for the return of Christ. What does that mean? How do we prepare for the return of Christ? Stay prepared by doing what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:18-20. Don’t get distracted by all the ‘end of the world’s noise; just keep preaching and teaching until the end happens.
There is one more thing we should do according to what Paul told Timothy: Stay away from those who act religious but deny the power of God. Paul spoke specifically of people who appear to believe in God but deny His power. Deny what power? The power of God to save us by His grace through faith alone. Many Jewish converts acknowledged Jesus Christ but still followed the law of Moses to become righteous. We’re made righteous by the death of Jesus Christ, not by our religiousness. Paul is warning Timothy that these people are like a disease that will infect the whole Church if you let them in and don’t turn away from them. We have people today who appear religious but deny the power of God. They are seen in liberal churches, in Universalism churches, and in Process Theology churches. Some Christian atheists say God is irrelevant, but the teachings and ethics of Christianity are important. They’re like the Sadducees. Some of these Christian atheists are Bible scholars, teaching in universities and taking the Bible apart and re-interpreting it based on their Ph.D. and lack of faith in God. These are the religious people we must turn away from, or they will destroy the faith of many and prevent others from believing in Jesus Christ.
There has always been opposition to Jesus Christ and God. Therefore, we must stay prepared and ready to meet Jesus Christ suddenly. I hope this message encourages you to overcome your fear and anxiety about what’s happening in the world. Everything happening around us is just a lot of noise to distract us and take our focus away from the anticipation of receiving our glorious, transformed bodies and living with Christ forever. Until our next episode, May the Lord keep your heart and mind stayed upon the return of Christ and avoid those who oppose the truth of Jesus Christ.
