LAST DAYS

Certain religionists, especially those who subscribe to the dogma of DISPENSATIONALISM (see), maintain that the "signs" of Matthew 24:1-34 indicate that the return of Christ is very near; they constantly harp that we "are living in the last days." First, the "signs" of Matthew 24:1ff are related to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, not the time of the Lord's final coming (v. 34-36). Second, the expression "last days" refers to the concluding dispensation of time, the Christian age. Note: (a) Joel foretold of the pouring out of God's Spirit in "the last days" (Joel 2:28ff). On the day of Pentecost, Peter quotes this passage and applies it to the era commencing that day (cf. Acts 2:16-17). (b) God's house, the church (1 Tim. 3:15) was to be established in the last days (Isa. 2:2-4); it was established on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-42, 47). (c) Paul warned Timothy of certain sins that would be prevalent in "the last days." He then admonished: "from these also be turning away" (1 Tim. 3:1-5). The present participle form reveals that Timothy was in the last days at that time. The expression "last days" does not demand, therefore, proximity to the end of the world in an imminent sense.