Last Days
Over the last few months we have done a few separate weeks on the first two chapters of 2 Timothy, and this week I want to go on to chapter 3, where Paul begins with these words: “Mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1 NIV)
I wonder what you believe about the ‘last days’. I saw a post on Facebook recently that said ‘never mind the last days, we’re living in the last minutes’. Do you believe this?
There are Christians I very much respect and admire who believe that the end is near. A minister friend of mine the other day posted that, preaching through Revelation recently, he concluded that Jesus’ return is very close!
Focus on Faithfulness
But then there are other Christians I respect and admire who come to a different conclusion reading the same Bible. Gary Demar, in his book Last Days Madness, writes this: “Dip into any period of history and you will find prophets of all types, from any number of theological traditions, who claimed they knew when the next end-time event would occur. Some have pointed to the rise in apostasy, lawlessness, natural disasters, signs in the heavens, and an increase in rival religions in their day as unmistakable evidence that the end was near for them. Finding hidden meanings in biblical numbers was another favorite pastime that assured the faithful that the end had to be at hand… The small and the great, the sane and the insane, the sacred and the profane have been quick to predict when the end might come… Skeptics of the Christian faith are likely to conclude that since these self-proclaimed prophets were wrong on the timing of Jesus’ return when they seemed so certain (particularly of the nearness of the rapture, the rise of Antichrist, the Great Tribulation, and Armageddon), then maybe they are wrong on other issues which they teach with equal certainty. Maybe the entire Christian message is a sham.”
I think we need to be very careful to set any dates or times to Jesus’ return to earth. There are so many different views on his coming again, and people can really demonize those who don’t share their views. And I think that when this happens, the enemy laughs. I think when we take our eyes off of Jesus and begin lambasting people for a different view of Christ’s return, we are forgetting that what matters most is trusting in Jesus and living for Him today.
Live with Urgency
I have come to believe that, whether you think Jesus might be seconds away or millennia away, the basic message of the New Testament is for us to live for Jesus and trust in Him today.
Paul, in this verse, says that many in the last days will turn from the faith and live godless, misguided lives, seeking things but leaving God out. In the end, whether Jesus comes today or later, the questions is: have you surrendered to Him? Is He your God, your Saviour now?
Because even if Jesus doesn’t come back today, the truth is that you or I might die today and end up facing God, before Jesus returns. And if that happens, are we right with God?
Whatever your view of the last days, let it motivate you to live a passionate, committed Christian life – not a misguided one, which Paul warn us of in the verses to come.
