The Last Days

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 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 daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.  

Acts 2:16-17 

When are the last days? As Peter began to preach on the day of Pentecost, he quoted the prophet Joel. Our text is the beginning of that lengthy quotation. It begins with a reference to the last days. Peter is identifying his era as the last days. The writer of Hebrews refers to them as well. Speaking of Christ’s sacrifice he says, ‘He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.’ He identifies Christ’s sacrifice as occurring in the last days. These two references are important for us to consider if we want to understand where we are in the larger chronological scheme. In essence, the last days began during the time of Christ. The remarkable movement of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and beyond occurred during the last days. Thus, two thousand years later, we are much closer to the culmination of those last days. This may seem like a rather obvious point, however, if we understand that the last days began that long ago, we become more attuned to the course of this current world as it accelerates toward the more cataclysmic events some of the eschatological passages describe. These should not surprise us. They are going to come to pass. Our hope has been in Christ all the way along the line. He is our hope now and shall continue to be regardless of how chaotic this world becomes.  

Our God of Grace and Glory, 
we rejoice that You have a perfect plan. 
We praise You that You will carry it out, 
to its’ glorious conclusion. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning