End times - past, present, or future?

Are we living in the end times?

When were the 'end times'? One of the most universally accepted facts of the Bible is that Jesus and the apostles were living in the 'last days' or the 'end times'. There are so many Bible verses that state how they were living in the 'last days' that there is no misunderstanding. Jesus and the apostles were living in the 'last days'. The question then is, the 'last days' of what?

Jesus and the apostles lived during the 'last days' of the temporary, old covenant age. It had lasted 1500 years but it was being fulfilled and made obsolete by Christ. It was, then, about to pass away (Heb. 8:13). However, before it could pass, it had to be fulfilled (Matt. 5:9). This fulfillment was fully accomplished by His coming in judgment and tribulation on the old covenant nation of Israel and the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. Micah had prophesied, "Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it." (Micah 3:11-4:1).  His return was not only in judgment of old covenant Israel, but was also in the blessing of new covenant Israel. The 'last days' of the old covenant age were referred to many times throughout the Bible.

The age that was ending was the temporary, Jewish, old covenant age. The age that was dawning was the beginning of the eternal, new covenant Christian age. They were standing on the brink of these age changing events. The completion of the 'last day' of the temporary, old covenant age had to be completed in order to usher in the eternal, new covenant age. This is a concept that is so basic and yet the traditionally conditioned mind is often so unable to comprehend it. If our age is an eternal age (Heb. 13:20), it can have no 'last days.'

Many Bible passages come to life with a whole new meaning when this basic concept is understood. So many times the mind says "yes" to this concept but later the mind continues to say "yes" to the 'last days' being the last days of the physical world. Such deeply ingrained thinking, which is reinforced today by many religious teachers, is simply not easy to give up. Old habits are oh so hard to break. Sometimes we struggle so hard to correct our thinking or actions only to find ourselves stuck in the mud.

We were living in the 'last days' or the 'end times' of the reign of Bill Clinton as president of the United States. We are now living in the reign of George W. Bush. We have no problem understanding this reign changing event. However, when we go to the first century, A.D. 70 reign changing events, we have difficulty understanding how they were living in the 'last days' but we are living in the eternal, new covenant age.

To the mind that has been raised and taught that the 'last days' are the last days of the physical earth, the biblical concept of time is often beyond their grasp. It is difficult to lay aside traditional teaching in order to embrace biblical teaching. It is not an easy change of mind to accept.

Once we understand how the 'last days' or the 'end times' of the old covenant age preceded our eternal, new covenant age, many of the Bible time statements fall neatly into place. When the time frame of Bible statements is correct, the rest of the pieces fit together to display the beautiful picture of God's eternal salvation for all nations.

Gene Fadeley

Bible prophecy Christian books make it easy to understand the end times!

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