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2 Timothy 3:1, “But know this, that in the last days….”

I have spent quite a lot of time trying to find a clear definition for last days.  Sorry, I have not found one.  What I have found is that the “last days” is referred to throughout the Bible.  So, one has to be careful about context.  It does seem that the phrase refers to a time in the future but there is no specific time given for the end of the times.  Several Bible scholars have believed that the last days began with the beginning of the church, at Pentecost as told about in Acts 2.  The disciples were convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ would return in their lifetime to establish His kingdom on earth.  The apostle Paul wrote often about the last days to make sure people were ready and watching for the Lord’s return.  I am going to believe what I heard or read a long time ago.  If Paul thought that he was living in the end of the times – the last days - then we must be living in the end of the end times.

What does all this mean?  Remember there are three very significant events to occur, very different events.  The first is the rapture of the church; the time all true believers both dead and alive will be taken up to meet the Lord in the clouds.  This will allow the man of sin, the Antichrist, to come to power to rule the world with fear and terror.   Third, after a seven-year period of reign known as the Tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to destroy the Antichrist at the battle of Armageddon and will establish His kingdom on earth.

The Bible gives us many references about events and the condition of man leading up to this.  We have examined Matthew 24, 25 and Paul’s description on man’s condition in 2 Timothy 3. Paul discusses the rapture of the church and the rise of the Antichrist in his letters to Thessalonica.  My concern is the lack of knowledge regarding these writings.  The attempt has been made to encourage the readers of this blog to study for yourself what the Bible says about these events.

What should the response be to all of this? The Bible is again very specific – be alert and watchful, be ready.  The world is not getting better, the times are certainly perilous!  The physical earth is groaning to be redeemed (Romans 20-22).  Conditions are ripe for the rapture to occur at any time.  Should you be fearful? No!  if you have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ you will b with Him; that is gain as Paul says.  What do you do in the mean time?  Live the way He wants you to live.  Live with expectation and with anticipation – eternity with Lord.  Tell others how the Lord has accepted you by forgiving all your sins and how He has changed your life.

These are perilous times!  They are also exciting times!  Do not fear what the Lord is doing.  Set your eyes and thoughts on the things of heaven and live your life according to what He has set forth in His Word.

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