ARE THESE THE LAST DAYS?

Surely no one alive is unaware of the apocalyptic character of the times in which we live.

Everywhere there is a sense of impending disaster.

The voices of the secular media, various Christian proclamations, etc., all are united in saying that something serious is ahead. Even young people, who do not have the experience of the past for reference, are nevertheless sensing a heavily clouded future.
Now we have to ask, what is the Believer’s reaction to all of this? Do these secular doomsayers reflect the conditions that the Scriptures say will prevail in the world immediately before the return of Yeshua the Messiah? Are these the last days?

It is easy to answer that question with a hasty, "Yes." It is easy to compile from the Scriptures a few dramatic descriptive passages that would make most of us say today, "This is it. We are facing those very conditions”. But I am very cautious in doing that, first, because I know that historically this has been done scores if not hundreds of times in the past. You can read back through a few generations of Christian life and for the last three centuries, at least, there have been groups that were absolutely sure that their days were the last days. Some of them even set dates for the return of the Messiah. Other groups have been sure, as they observed the appearances of their own times, that these were the days before the return of the L-rd. Yet we know that all of them were wrong. Therefore, it ought to be a caution to us, it ought to give us pause, before we do the same thing in our own times and immediately pronounce that we are in the last days.
Furthermore, I am made cautious by the fact that Scripture itself makes very clear that the last days began with the first coming of Yeshua. There is a very strong sense in Scripture that for twenty centuries we have been living in the last days -- When Scripture uses the term, "the last days," it is not talking about the time immediately before Messiah returns; it is speaking of the whole period of time that has been going on, some 2,000 years.

Let me show you some of the passages that reveal that. Sometimes Bible teachers are not very fair in their use of Scripture. They tend to pick up a few passages here and there and call these the last days. They ignore other passages that speak very clearly about what these last days truly are. In the opening words of the letter to the Hebrews the writer begins in this way:
1 In days gone by, G-d spoke in ‘many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets. 2 But now, in the “last day’s” he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe.
There is the very phrase, "these last days." The writer says they began when Yeshua appeared and spoke to men in his first coming, therefore the last days are still continuing. The writer sees them as going on until the ultimate end predicted in the Scripture; the whole period is known as "these last days."
Another well-known passage is found in the letter to the Romans. Saul/Paul writing from Corinth, says in Chapter 13, Verse 11:
Besides all this, you know at what point of history we stand; so it is high time for you to rouse yourselves from sleep; for the final deliverance is nearer than when we first came to trust.
It is clear from that that Saul/Paul speaks as though the end were almost upon the people of his day. "The night is far gone, the day is at hand. The hour has come," he says, "when our salvation, which we have been looking for, is almost upon us." Yet that was written in the 1st century. Twenty centuries of time have gone on since then.
In First Peter, Chapter 4, Verse 7, Peter puts it very bluntly:
The accomplishing of the goal of all things is close at hand. Therefore, keep alert and self-controlled, so that you can pray.
Again, this was written to those in the 1st century. Now either we have to believe that the Bible is mistaken about this, or we have to understand that the Biblical phrase, "the last days," does not mean the immediate end before the return of the L-rd; it covers a longer period. In this sense, therefore, it is perfectly proper to answer our question, "Yes, we definitely are in the last days," but we have been there for twenty centuries.
"But," somebody will say, "Scripture speaks of a coming period called 'the last days'." Most people refer to Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verse 1, where Saul/ Paul, writing to Timothy toward the close of Paul's ministry, puts it this way:
Moreover, understand this: in the “last day’s will come trying times. 2 People will be self-loving, money-loving, proud, arrogant, insulting, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, uncontrolled, brutal, hateful of good, 4 traitorous, headstrong, swollen with conceit, loving pleasure rather than G-d, 5 as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power.
That sounds very much like the closing words of the first chapter of Romans, which speaks of a time of incredible inhumanity, when senseless violence will occur, when people will seemingly forsake all the normal strictures against injury to others and there will be crimes of incredible malice and evil.
As people see the reports in our news of ugly and awful things that outrage the entire community, they say we must be in the last days. People say that the Bible predicts that these will come before the end and now they are coming, so this must be the last days.

Now I urge you to read your Bible with care and caution in these areas. If "the last days" mean, as we have already seen, the full period of time between the coming of our L-rd the first time and his second appearing on earth, then what Saul/Paul is referring to is not just one single period when these kind of conditions will prevail on earth, but a repeating cycle of periods that will come again and again and again in history. There will be cycles of revolutionary conditions ("times of stress," the apostle calls them), they will come again and again, and every time these occur it will look like we are approaching the days of the return of Messiah.
You only have to be a student of history to know that history records many examples of these "times of stress." Every century seems to have had its outbreak of evil in this way. Periods of quietness, of relative prosperity and expansion have been followed by terrible times of unrest and collapse of all the institutions that were thought to be so stable in those times:
The end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century was such a time, when barbarian hordes swarmed out of the northern countries of Europe down over the southern states, captured the city of Rome and sacked it. Everybody saw the collapse of all that appeared to be stable in their day. Those were "times of stress."
Again, in the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries, when bands of knights gathered together from all over Europe and marched into the Holy Land, there were terrible times of attack and carnage. People were afraid for their very lives.
Again in the 13th century, when the Mongol hordes swept out of Asia and came battering up against the capitals of Europe -- these were "times of stress."
Again in the 15th century, the Turks assaulted the citadels of civilization in Europe; and in the 16th century during the days of the Reformation, Europe was aflame from end to end.
These were "times of stress." What the apostle is simply saying is that in this whole period will come these repeated cycles of history when men will be facing times of danger and terrible outbreaks of evil, and every time it will look as though these are the last days before the L-rd is coming back again.
What are we facing today? Well, undoubtedly we are facing another cycle of these "times of stress," heralding the overthrow of a civilization, but not necessarily the final days before the L-rd returns. Now, it could be. Every one of these times of stress has been a time when Messiah could have returned, from the outlook of those who lived in that day, but not necessarily so. These "times of stress" are related to the overthrow of civilizations, of established orders, the fulfillment of our L-rd's words that he will, "rise and shake the earth terribly, and everything that can be shaken will be shaken," (Hebrews 12:26-27). These appear to be apocalyptic times in which we are facing the possibility of the end.
"Well," someone says, "what about signs like the return of the Hebrew people to Israel. What about the amazing, scientifically documented increase in natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.? What about the possible imminent rebuilding of a temple in Jerusalem? What about these strange stories that are widely circulated these days of demonic manifestations, and of angelic manifestations -- the appearances of apparently angel messengers to various people from place to place -- as well? What about these?" Well, let’s take a look at some of these:
The return of the Hebrew people to Israel is indeed a remarkable sign. It is necessary before the final days that Scripture predicts can be fulfilled. There must be the Hebrew people again in the land. There is not a word in Scripture of how long Israel will be back in the land before the Lord returns. The fact that something fulfills a predicted event does not in any way set up a calendar that says we are very close to the return of the L-rd. It does indicate a "time of stress," a cycle of distress, perhaps, reappearing in history, but it does not indicate that it is the end. No one knows, and there is not a word or hint in Scripture of how long Israel will be back in the land. It may be hundreds of years before the Lord returns. Scripture does not say.
Natural disasters are specifically said by Yeshua to be "but the beginnings of the birth pangs" of an approaching end. Again, there is no word, not a hint in Scripture of how long these things will last. In fact, Scripture seems to suggest that these kinds of conditions, these kinds of disasters will occur in repetitive cycles just like the "times of stress." In 79 C.E.., when Vesuvius blew up and buried Pompeii in ashes, this was a very similar situation to what  happened in the state of Washington when Mt. St. Helens blew up, and buried a great part of the country in ash. There have been great earthquakes throughout all this period of history, some far more devastating than anything we have known in modern times. The great earthquakes in Lisbon in the ninetieth century and the one in Tokyo in the early part of the twentieth century were far more devastating than anything we have seen. Including the great earthquake of 1906. So to point to natural disasters as "signs of the times" is indicative that you do not understand much about prophetic Scripture. These are themselves nothing but the "beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8), as Yeshua himself pointed out, and are not indicative of the near approach of the end.
Take the demonic and angelic manifestations that many are recounting today. There is a rash of stories going around about people picking up hitchhikers who say something about "Yeshua is coming soon," and as the driver continues the conversation the hitchhiker disappears, gone while the car is moving. I have heard probably 25 different versions of that story in the last few years. "What is the significance of this?" We have to recognize that there are times in history, recorded in the Scriptures, where there have been outbreaks of both demonic and angelic manifestations: At the time of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt angels appeared frequently to people. Again in the days of Elijah and Elisha there were both demonic and angelic manifestations. Again at the coming of the Messiah and during the apostolic period there are several recorded instances of the appearance of angelic beings. This manifestation seems to fade and then come back again. Now what do we say about these?
Well, the only thing we can safely say is that they are manifestations of these cycles of stress that come into history repeatedly, but that there is no indication, necessarily, that these are declaring an imminent appearing of Yeshua the Messiah returning to earth again. Now, no one will argue that we are certainly closer today to the return of the Lord than we have ever been before, but I am saying that there is no certainty at all that the return of Yeshua may not be centuries away. There is no sign, nothing that I know of today that indicates that he is at the door, that that time is imminent. All of this can settle down and go back again into what we call "normal life." Civilizations may collapse, what we have known as stable economies may be overthrown, violent changes may occur in society, but those in themselves do not herald the return of the Lord. That is what I am saying.
Now let me add something. I believe from the Scriptures that the departure of the body of Messiah to be with the L-rd has always been an imminent possibility. It is an event that Scripture says will occur without warning. How can you get ready for an event that is going to occur without warning? You stay ready, but there is nothing particularly you have to do to get ready. It is very much like our own personal death. None of us has a guarantee that he will be here tomorrow; at any time death could intervene for any of. We live in that expectation, and it is a good expectation, a good reminder that we must not live for this world and for this life as though it were everything. We have no hold upon it, our grip may be loosened at any time, therefore these things must not be allowed to possess us. Neither is it something that we anticipate with such immanency that we fold our hands and wait for it. We are not to do that any more than we are to decide that since we have arrived at 20, 30, 40, 50 or more years of age, that  we are going to fold our hands and wait for death. We do not do that, and we should not do that about the return of the Lord either because that is an event without warning, invisible to the natural eye when, as Saul/Paul describes it:
For the L-rd himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s trumpet; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the L-rd in the air; and thus we will always be with the L-rd.
But that is an event that is suddenly launched upon humanity without warning, as Yeshua himself made clear in the great Olivet Discourse. Now, there are some who say the body of Messiah is not going to escape the great tribulation. I always feel sorry for those people. I can imagine looking back down on earth and seeing them still marching around with their little signs saying: HELL NO! WE WON'T GO! Even if they are right, even if our eschatology at this point is wrong, we are told that there is no action expected of G-d's people until they see the desolating sacrilege sitting in the temple, predicted by Daniel the prophet. Yeshua himself said that that is the sign of the imminent end. When the Antimessiah proclaims himself to be G-d in the temple in Jerusalem. How long that temple has to be there before that happens, no one knows until that time takes place. But Yeshua said that when that happens, "Move! Get out of town. Don't wait. Don't even go down and take a coat. Move!" That is the moment for action. But until that occurs there is no word given to us to make any kind of preparation, physically, for the last days or for the return of Messiah.
I would conclude, therefore, two things from this:
One is that it is actually harmful to the cause of Messiah to get involved in some physical preparation for the last days, to go hiding rifles and food up in the hills with the anticipation that you are going to go up there when things get terrible. There is nothing like that in Scripture. No word is given to us to do that. To run from meeting to meeting to keep your emotions stirred up with the expectation that the L-rd is coming back almost any moment is harmful, because it takes our attention from what Scripture tells us we ought to be doing when we are facing one of these cycles of distress that could, admittedly, culminate in the return of Messiah.

Well So what? What does all this mean for me?

 We are in one of those times. What does the Scripture tell us to do? Well, let me detail it for you. It is found very plainly and clearly set out in Chapter 4 of First Peter. He says:
The accomplishing of the goal of all things is close at hand. Therefore, keep alert and self-controlled, so that you can pray. 8 More than anything, keep loving each other actively; because love covers many sins.
Do not go running off after some wild-haired movement that wants to run up in the hills and defend themselves against whatever is coming. "Keep sane and sober," Peter says.
When Yeshua talks about the last days he begins and ends what he has to say with one word, "Watch," (Matthew 24:42, 25:13). "Watch out," is the idea, because these will be days of delusion days of confusion, days when people will be emphasizing the wrong things, when false escapes will be offered and false ways of living will be set forth and delusive ideas will be abroad. Peter says, "Watch. Take heed. Establish yourself in your faith again. Go back to the Scripture and find out where you are. Be careful. Keep sane and sober," he says, so that you will not be swept away by all the excited reactions that you will hear about in these last days, in these times of stress.
Then Peter says,
Keep praying
The reason, of course, is because days of stress always create great possibilities, great opportunities, and prayer is a way of laying hold of those opportunities. Prayer is a way of calling all the artillery of heaven and bringing it to bear against some weak point in the devil's armor and breaking through at that point so that G-d reaps a great harvest, despite the terrible conditions that are around. Saul/Paul tells us in the letter to the Ephesians that evil days create great possibilities, therefore, "redeem the time," he says, buy it up. One way is to be alert, to be praying about the possibilities that open for us day after day, possibilities with individuals, with circumstances and with groups so that you might enter and break through some of the barriers that have shut us out from these groups in the past. Thus, keep praying, Peter says. Watch and be sober and sane and keep praying. And,
9 Welcome one another into your homes without grumbling.
There is the manifestation of the "Body Life" of the congregation -- being open to help people who are in need. Be deliberately responsive to appeals that are made for help; practice hospitality widely and generously. And finally,
As each one has received some spiritual gift, he should use it to serve others, like good managers of God’s many-sided grace.
In other words, get busy, use your gift. G-d has given each one of us gifts. For heaven's sake, use them; that is what he is saying. When times of stress come again and people are frightened and who knows what is going to happen, when the future looks uncertain, that is a good time for you to take knowledge of what gifts G-d has given you. Can you teach? Well then, start teaching.  But use your gifts. If you have the gift of encouragement, look around for people who are discouraged and start helping them and encouraging them and strengthening them. If you have the gift of administrating, offer yourself. If you have a gift of wisdom, or knowledge, use it. If you have a gift of helps, put it to work. This is the way Peter says we are to act.
if someone speaks, let him speak G-d’s words; if someone serves, let him do so out of strength that G-d supplies; so that in everything G-d may be glorified through Yeshua the Messiah—to him be glory and power forever and ever.
There is the activity for the "last days." Do not waste your time running around from meeting to meeting, speaker to speaker, clapping your hands, and singing about the coming of the L-rd. I do not have anything against that per se, but, if that is all you do, you are wasting time; you are not preparing for his coming. A pep rally never won or lost a ball game!
These may or may not be the very last days, who knows? But whatever they are, they are days of opportunity, days of possibility, days when G-d can be glorified. And if they culminate at last with the trumpet blast and the snatching away of the body of Messiah, what a satisfying thing it will be to know that you did not get all wound up with a lot of extraneous activity that goes nowhere, but you "occupied," as Yeshua said until he came. That is what he tells us to do:

 "Occupy (do My work) until I come,"
 Luke 19:13