Last Days

(God) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2 NKJV)

What are the Last Days?

Apparently, the last days are the days in which we are presently living according to the above verse.  I would suspect this period began with the birth of the Lord and will end with His coming again to set up His kingdom.  I would suggest that the tribulation period is the end of the last days.  Notice the use of the term “last days” in the following verses.  

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.  (Acts 2:17 NKJV)  The last days included the birth of the church and these verses will be fulfilled again by the Jewish evangelists of the tribulation period. 

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, (2 Peter 3:3 KJV)  This seems to be our day.

Then Shall the End Come

“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, (Matthew 13:49 NKJV)

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (Matthew 24:6 NKJV)

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14 NKJV)

I believe the end that will come is the end of the tribulation period which is also the end of the “last days.”

Modern Day Prophets

Like Amos, I can say, “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. (Amos 7:14 NKJV).  I personally was not a shepherd and I don’t tend trees with sycamore fruit.  I am just a man who came to know the salvation of the Lord back in November of 1963.  I was educated as a CPA but I always believed that a person without a seminary degree should and could understand the Bible.  I have come to realize that it is possible to know what the future holds for both the believer and the unbeliever.  It is possible to know what the future holds for both Israel and for the non-jewish nations.  But it is impossible to know just when the unbelieving nation of Israel will link itself with a man with roots in the old Roman empire that will offer the nation peace.  That is when the Jewish time clock begins again.  And it is clear that there are seven years of 360 day prophetic years that follow the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and one who promises them peace.  I believe that most of the prophetic events of Matthew 24 subsequent to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. are part of the last 7 years.  But rather than argue about the when of the prophetic plan, it is the duty of believers to act like Christ in this ‘the last days.”  

Perilous Times

It is clear that in the last days perilous times will come.  Things were perilous when that was written and things are perilous now.  Paul says, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV)

If we want to bear testimony to the saving power of the Lord Jesus, then we cannot associate in any way with those whose lives are represented by these characteristics.  But more important, we who are believers cannot be living our lives as though there are no guard rails.  

I may not be a prophet or the son of a prophet, but as a believer, I am concerned about the eternal destinies of those who die without Christ. I believe that we who claim to be believers in Christ, should be clear in preaching the Gospel and we should make sure that our lives make that believable.  We need to let God work out his own prophetic plan, we don’t need to help him with that.   Today we are living in “the last days” and today may be the “last day” for someone we know.  Let us be clear that the prophetic plan includes the truth that, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36 NKJV)

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of July 6, 2025

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.