Some Thoughts on the Last Days
Acts 2:16-21
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 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:
Hebrews 1:1,2
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
1 Peter 1:20
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Many Christians have accepted without question the idea that the time we're living in now (2015) is part of the last days. That has been an unfortunate outlook concerning the time believers have been living in since the 19th century.
As the Scriptures above irrefutable show, the last times wasn't something the Church and its leaders were looking for in some faraway future, it was considered immediate and unquestionably upon them almost 2,000 years ago.
The last days started when Jesus came to the earth, and was reinforced when He sent the Spirit to indwell believers.
Note some of the things mentioned above about Jesus in connection with the last days. He was appointed "heir of all things." "He made the worlds." He was "foreordained before the foundation of the world."
These are powerful insights into His greatness, grandeur and position as King of kings and Lord of lords, from before the foundation of the world, and continuing on through the last days, which were now initiated with His incarnation and appearance in the world.
Jesus Christ, the anointed One and heir of all things, had appeared in the world to take away sin and destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and after returning to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within those that put their faith in Jesus, and from there would begin to rule and reign on the earth - in the last days.
Initially, some of you will recoil from these words because you've always been taught the last days referred to a time right before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to resurrect us. Instead, the Holy Scriptures teach the last days aren't a period related to His immediate return, but rather it was related to the period when He came to the earth as a man.
The last days are a reference to the man Jesus Christ appearing in the fullness of times, and we continue to live in these last days now.
What are these last days all about then? What are their meaning? It's spoken clearly in Hebrews 1:2, where it states, "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."
The last days is about the Son of God speaking to us in His person and in His words, explaining as a man what God was like and what His expectations were of us.
It wasn't that He hadn't communicated His expectations before His appearance, it's that people had great difficulty relating to who He was because they didn't understand Him, or were hard of heart toward God in general.
"He was manifested in these last times for you." That's the essence of these last times. It's the manifestation of Jesus Christ in His own person, and then, after being filled with the Spirit at the new birth, He continues to manifest Himself in and through a people. That's what being conformed to His image is all about. It's the totality of what He wants for man in the last days before He returns.
There are of course numerous aspects of this, but the overall eternal purpose of God for man is that we will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ the man (Romans 8:29). This was a reference to Jesus the man, not His divinity.
So the last days or last times is going to be an expansion of Jesus Christ in His people, where they learn to obey Him from the heart and display that obedience in their adherence to His commands outwardly.
It's not one or the other, it's both.
That way a believer isn't outwardly displaying obedience, when inside they resent and despise the expectations of God for them. And on the other hand, it's not someone believing they have this good attitude towards God, but participate in all types of outward sins (sins can be in attitude or in action - within or without).
For that reason Jesus dealt with anger and lust in the heart, which can lead to murder and sexual immorality (Matthew 5:21-30).
Now when you think of the last days, think of Jesus Christ beginning a work about 2,000 years ago which He will continue to grow and expand until the time He resurrects us.
He will sit on the right hand of the Father until He makes His enemies a footstool for His feet (Hebrews 1:13). He will accomplish that in the last days, which we are now living in.
What if Jesus Doesn't Return Soon
False End-time Prophecies and Loss of Functioning of Body of Christ
In the Heart of God before creation
Sit ... Until I Make Thine Enemies Thy Footstool
Some Thoughts on the Last Days
Great Encouragement
Taking Responsibility
Christian Service
Little Things
Progress and the Kingdom
Conclusion
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