In 2nd Timothy 3:1 the Apostle Paul said, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." I would guess that anyone who has been around the church for any time has heard preaching from this verse. We seem certainly to be living in the days that Paul spoke of. In fact we are perhaps in the last of the last days.
Joel's prophesy that the Apostle Peter referred to in Acts 2:16, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel..." says in Joel 2:28-32, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." What Joel prophesied was for the last days, starting with the Day of Pentecost!
But if the last days started on the Day of Pentecost, about two-thousand years ago, where are we today? Surely we are in the last of the last days. Other prophesies of the last days began way back in the Book of Genesis 49:1 when the Patriarch Jacob told his sons what would become of them "in the last days." Then in both Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-4 we find almost identical prophesies where the prophets said, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it, etc." In each of the prophet's words it would seem that the last days started on the Day of Pentecost. They have not ended for we have yet to see the day when the last part of the prophesy is fulfilled, e.g., Isaiah 2:4b and Micah 4:3b respectively. "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Oh what a happy day that will be.
In Acts 1:6 the disciples asked the Lord Jesus, "saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus' reply was what could be considered a mild rebuke, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (See Acts 1:7-8) But surely we are in the last days. Yes I believe we are. However we are to focus on the mission that Jesus gave us, that is to be His witnesses into all the world beginning at Jerusalem.
The Bible says in Hebrews 10:37, "For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." When the Lord returns (and He will return) that those who have looked for Him shall be the first to know. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:28, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Someone has said "the Lord is looking for those who are looking for Him." Are you looking for Him? Are you about your Father's business? The Apostle John wrote in 1st John 3:2-3, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
Are you ready for the Lord to return? If you need to repent of your sins, do it today. If you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to receive the remission or forgiveness of sins, find someone to baptize you today. God has promised to fill you with the baptism of the Holy Ghost just like He did the apostles and early church. (See Acts 2:1-4) Jesus is coming again and I believe we are in the last of the last days.
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