Chapter Six – Are These the Last Days?

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With world trends and conditions growing more frightening by the day, millions are searching—wondering about the course of events, and whether the world is on the brink of destruction.
Jesus’ disciples wondered the same thing almost 2,000 years ago, and asked Him about the “end of the age” (Matt. 24:3). We saw the prophet Daniel spoke of “the time of the end” (Dan. 11:40; 12:9). The apostle Peter foretold, “There shall come in the last days scoffers” (II Pet. 3:3). And we saw Paul warned, “In the last days perilous times shall come” (II Tim. 3:1). The last verse makes the subject more serious.
Has this final interval in world history arrived? Can you be sure? You can—in fact, God expects you to know!
Many sense or even firmly believe that we are in the last days. We hear from them daily. But these have rarely sought to prove this. They can—and should—know whether we are. So must you.
Let’s pull back and look at the big picture. It has become painfully obvious that this world is in terrible trouble. Mankind is overwhelmed with every kind of trouble, evil and ill—war, terrorism, violence of every kind, famine, disease, pollution, overpopulation, political upheaval, religious confusion and tremendous economic turmoil and decline, which we saw is threatening to make the Great Depression look like child’s play. Then there are the hundreds of millions who live in abject poverty, ignorance and oppression. Now add rampant and worsening immorality and perversion in every Western nation—and growing hatred, unrest and the already-discussed never-ending cycle of war in the Middle East—and deteriorating conditions throughout Africa—and earthquakes, volcanoes and frightening weather patterns across much of the world—and devastating fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought and floods occurring with greater frequency and intensity—and headlines screaming of murder, rape, robbery and crimes of every kind.
These mushrooming problems now threaten all nations.
Is all of this really only a little temporary worsening of what is otherwise “business as usual” for planet Earth? Many more—and much louder!—are the voices that say no, and that time is running out to solve the really big problems facing the world. More world leaders are expressing concern about the rise of division within and between nations. So are other voices of authority in education, the military, science and sociology. Yet, because this is also an age of religious sundowners and doomsayers, most will not pay real—serious!—attention.
But some will.

How long until Jesus Christ returns? For those who believe He will, no question is bigger. But there are other questions, some big, that must be answered first. This chapter looks primarily at perhaps the second biggest question, with later chapters addressing more of when Christ returns and events surrounding it.
The Bible speaks of the period preceding Christ’s Return as “the last days”—“the time of the end”—“the end of the age”—“the end of these things”—“the end of the days”—and of a time when the course of human history as we know it, Daniel wrote, “shall be finished” (Dan 12:7).
Of course, many professing Christians do not believe in a literal return to Earth by Jesus Christ. Of those who do, most think it could be decades away, with sometime just before 2050 having become a popular date. Others think it could be hundreds of years away. Some even believe it could be “a thousand years away.” Others feel time may be short, but see no way to know.

The Apostles Misunderstood

The original apostles thought for a time that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. Paul spoke of the Resurrection of the dead at Christ’s Second Coming, and (twice) used the words “we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord” (I Thes. 4:15, 17), because he expected to still be alive when it happened. Paul later came to realize he had misunderstood the timing of specific events that must precede Christ’s Return. In fact, he had to warn of those who would deceive others about when this would occur. He wrote about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” and that brethren should be careful to “Let no man deceive you by any means...” (II Thes. 2:1, 3).
Could you be deceived?
So then, have we entered the last days? Do you and I live at the time of the end? If so, how can we be certain?
Jesus told His disciples, “I will come again” (John 14:3). Forty days later, as He was ascending to heaven, two angels underscored His words, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Matthew 24:1-51 records more of Christ’s words: “For as the lightning comes...so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mt 24:27). Seven times just in this chapter (Mt 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 42, 44, 46), Jesus spoke of His Coming again, and the need to watch for key events, trends and conditions preceding it.
Make no mistake! The Bible is plain about the Return of Jesus Christ. Many verses speak of His Second Coming to Earth. It will happen—and it does not hinge on the opinions of men. However, in the period leading to this climactic event, many other things are foretold to happen—some, in fact many of them, catastrophic!
The idea of the end of the world has been a subject of speculation, discussion, ridicule, fascination and fancy for almost 2,000 years. Of course, most do not realize how much the Bible shows can be known about this time.
Is the world nearing Christ’s Return—are these the end times? Again, can we know?
In Matthew 24:1-51, when the disciples asked Christ to tell them “when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming?” (Mt 24:3), we saw He answered, “But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven but My Father only” (Mt 24:36).
Does this mean we cannot know the general time of Jesus’ Second Coming?—and then also about the last days before it? Many think this—and therefore shrug off any need to be concerned with either.
Then what do Mt 24:50-51 mean? “The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” Most will simply not be looking for Jesus’ Return at the right time. Worse, many will not be looking at all. But His indictment shows they will have no excuse.
Why will so many be unable to recognize the onset of such an awesome, whole-world-altering event?
In Mt 24:32-33, Jesus gave a parable: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: so likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that [He] is near, even at the doors.” Since this could only apply to those alive at the end, Jesus is stating that we—“you”—can know the “season” of His Return, or when He is “at the doors.”
Do not be willing to settle for less than what the Bible reveals!

Signs of the Times

Years ago, a catchy tune called “A Sign of the Times” became popular. You may remember it. The title actually came from another verse here in Matthew. Religious leaders had confronted Jesus, desiring a “sign.” He called them hypocrites, adding, “You can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times?” (Mt 16:3).
While the intent of their question was to get a sign that Jesus was the Messiah (read Matthew 12:38-40), His point was that they were unable to discern events they were witnessing all around them—or the “signs of the times”—and in their case, the signs of their times regarding Jesus’ First Coming!
Will you discern the signs of our times?
Jesus told His disciples, “And when these things begin to come to pass [He had just carefully listed them], then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28). The “these things” He referred to include a whole series of events prophesied to occur for the first time in history! What He spoke of is happening—and intensifying—now!
A closer look helps to see the “signs of the times.”
First remember this. The apostle John recorded the words of Christ that open the book of Revelation (remember also that this book is Christ’s revealing of things to come, not John’s): “The Revelation of Jesus Christ...to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass...blessed is he that reads [you have to pick up your Bible to do this], and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Rev 1:1-3). At its end, the book repeats “for the time is at hand” (Rev 22:10).
Two thousand years later, how much more—today!—has the time for understanding colossal prophecies come! You can comprehend the message they bring.
But time is short.
God has allotted man 6,000 years to try his own governments, philosophies, religions, attempts at world peace, values and forms of education. But humanly devised ideas do not and can never solve the world’s truly big problems. They always fail in the end. And, in the last 200 years or so, the world has changed dramatically—and rapidly. Events are speeding up in a way that has never been seen before! The 6,000 years are almost up.

The Twenty-first Century World

Everyone is familiar with sign-carrying kooks on street corners saying, “Repent! The end is near!” Hollywood has depicted many. For the most part, such people are not taken seriously. But times have changed, and, I repeat, now many are the voices of reason who report, for those who will listen, that something is terribly wrong! And again, this has caused the idea of one world government, designed to save the planet and mankind from itself, to be heard more often. I recently read an article calling for this. However, no one seems to know how to create such a government and then acquire the cooperation of everyone necessary to make it succeed!
Look all around. What do you see?
As a whole, the world was a much more stable place until the early nineteenth century. At that time, the Industrial Revolution gave birth to the Modern Age. It was not until about a century ago that men began to drive cars and fly, and civilization went from the Modern Age to the “Nuclear Age” on to the “Space Age” and then to the “Information Age” in just a little more than a half century.
The arrival of new inventions, at the fastest rate in history, is changing life daily. Just think of the impact of the printing press and you can appreciate how dramatically a single invention can change the world. Computers have done the same—and there is no turning back from the huge impact, good and bad, of just this one invention. Remember, jet travel only arrived in the last half century.
Although estimates vary, it is believed that mankind’s total fund of knowledge is doubling every few years. Some think this could soon accelerate to every six months!
In the early 1970s, a book appeared titled Future Shock. Written by Alvin Toffler, it described a certain psychological stunning or shock effect on minds due to the high speed of changes in society. The author demonstrated that these changes began in the 1970s at such a rate that people could no longer properly process them. Society as a whole began to go into what was described as mental overload—or “shock”—explained as the “future” slamming into the present so fast that people were “short-circuiting” in a way never seen before. Sometime after, a sequel described the advancement of this condition.
The picture presented was not good, and has only gotten worse!
Yet, with all man’s supposed “advancement,” his problems have never seemed greater or more insoluble!
The projections of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are constantly being revised to reflect an outlook far more alarming than previously thought. Entire sections of Africa’s population are forecast to be wiped out in a few years by this single, awful disease.
Earth’s population of almost 7 billion people is rising consistently at 1.2 percent each year. This means it would reach over 11 billion by 2050—if time were to permit, and it will not come close! This rise is despite the fact that disease and starvation are worst in the fastest growing parts of the world! High fertility rates in these less-developed countries have been bringing these increases right on schedule.

End-time Prophecies

Let’s look at some passages that describe crucial, end-time prophecies!
We explained that the apostle Paul came to realize he did not live in the age when Christ would return. However, God did use him to record what conditions would be like when that time finally came. Consider this now expanded excerpt detailing the widespread degeneration of attitudes and character, just before Christ’s Return: “This know also [many more are coming to know this], that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection [just ponder fast-changing marital laws], trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”—so true, but strangely at the same time—“having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (II Tim. 3:1-6).
This is a graphic picture. It describes a complete breakdown of character in “the last days.” This time has come!—and these conditions are rapidly growing worse! Again, look around. People’s conduct is changing—seemingly always for the worse. More authority figures are sounding the alarm that human nature is running wild—and conditions are exploding out of control!
No thinking person could any longer disagree.
The degeneration of people’s attitudes and behaviour is stark when compared to only a generation ago. There have always been acts of violence, but now they occur more often, and are more depraved. There have always been liars, but now deceit is more pervasive. There has always been adultery, but the percentage of people who commit it is now epidemic, and close to pandemic. There has always been divorce, but today it is much more common. There have always been disrespectful young people, but soon an entire generation will have forgotten the Fifth Commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” There have always been thievery and fraud, but statistics show these have never been worse—even in the most affluent countries, where people have a lot, but want more.
Much more could be said of each term used in Paul’s prophecy. And we have not discussed pornography, child abuse, crime and trends in perverted sex, drug abuse, hatred, war and others! All these conditions have combined to create an age correctly described as “perilous”—or dangerous!
They become another powerful indicator that these are the last days!

Christ’s Greatest Prophecy

Christ’s disciples originally believed that His Return would occur in their lifetime. This is because they misunderstood Him and tied it to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. While the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 69-70, Jesus knew that His Second Coming would be almost 20 centuries later.
Jesus foretold certain other, much later events would precede it. He also described the breakdown of character. He warned that conditions would mirror “the days of Noah,” which Genesis 6:1-22 describes this way: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Gen 6:11-12).
Corruption is mentioned three times in this one short passage. But this description is at the same time highly specific and speaks of men as having individually and collectively degenerated into absolute corruption—with civilization “filled with violence.” God uses both the collective “all” and the singular “his” to drive this point home!
Again, the long age of man’s rule is nearing an end. The total collapse of principles, values, morals, character, ethics, integrity and respect for all law and authority will soon come together and strike the entire world in a terrible and final way!
Consider how often acts of mass violence now occur in schools, campuses, restaurants, malls and workplaces in ways unheard of until recently! The terms “serial snipers” and “suicide bombers” were unknown 15 years ago. And the relatively new phenomenon of terrorism has become global in nature.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Jesus also compared conditions before His Return to those in Sodom and Gomorrah. He leads in with Noah’s time again: “...As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage [society looked like it would continue on], until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded [again, society looked as if it would continue right along]; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-29).
Genesis 18:1-33 and 19:1-38 show that these two cities were so rotten—so evil—that, just before God incinerated them, only four people were deemed worthy to escape: Lot, his two daughters and wife, who looked back and turned to salt. Only eight people were allowed to enter the Ark before God flooded the world.
Ask: How much longer before conditions cannot grow worse?
An aside at this point that has much to do with whether you will believe Christ: Many have been told that the early chapters of Genesis do not describe real people and real events. This is to accommodate the nonsensical fiction of evolution in place of a literal Adam and Eve. But had you realized Jesus said that Noah, the ark and The Flood existed?—and that so did Sodom and Gomorrah, including their destruction?
Those who dismiss these and related Genesis accounts seem unaware that Jesus Christ validated this first book of the Bible. They also forget—or willingly ignore—Jesus’ (and also the apostle Paul’s) references to Adam, and how this validates the Creation account. (Most simply do not know that, while man has been here for only 6,000 years, the earth has existed for many billions of years—and the key to this is understanding what happened between Genesis 1:1 and the very next Gen 1:2. But this lies outside prophecy, the subject of this book.)
We are left to ask: How many will believe and act on Christ’s warning about oncoming events—when He compared these future events to Bible parallels that most do not accept as true—as having ever happened?

Scoffers at the End

This chapter opened with a reference to “scoffers” in the last days. Let’s now read the whole passage containing it before continuing to read through a warning for us today. Notice: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (II Pet. 3:3)—people choosing and following the course of human nature, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, and Noah’s time.
Now Gen 3:4, “And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? [This is not saying they do not know which book it is—the Bible—that talks about Christ’s Return. Rather, they are thinking “it will never happen” because they do not yet see it being fulfilled.] For since the fathers [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” This describes people who are unwilling to believe that serious times—the last days!—could actually come, never mind in their own lifetime. They choose to dismiss obviously worsening conditions and trends, declaring that these things “continue as they were from the beginning.”
God declares in II Pet 3:5, “For this they willingly are ignorant...”—this speaks for itself!
And II Pet 3:9: “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” Remember, Jesus supported the Noachian account and signified its warning for us.
So did Peter.
Now see this in II Pet 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise...but is longsuffering to us-ward [patiently waiting, because He is] not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Sadly, of course, most will not do this.
Next comes a stark warning to those who are not looking at what is happening all around them: “But the day of the Lord [the time of His wrath upon a sin-sick world] will come as a thief in the night...” followed by “Seeing then...what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy [conduct] and godliness,” and “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,” and also “...Seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of Him [God] in peace, without spot, and blameless” (II Pet 3:10-12, 14).
Finally, the very personal II Pet 3:17: “You therefore...seeing you know these things before[hand], beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked [scoffers and ungodly people walking in their lusts all around you], fall from your own steadfastness.”
Now a caution: be careful you are neither among the pooh-poohing, unbelieving scoffers—nor of those who will not seek and obey God while there is still time.
The Bible promises that those who are faithful and obedient will be protected through the worst calamities that could fall upon an unsuspecting world. While the last days certainly are perilous—dangerous—this is just the run-up period prior to the infinitely worse final three and a half years to follow before the good news of the gospel is fulfilled in Christ’s Coming.
But there is more to know about whether we have reached this time. This chapter’s title question now comes into sharper focus…