With the flare up of events in Israel (see also: Israel at War: How to Pray and How to Help), many people are asking, “Are we living in the End Times?”
The short answer is: YES!
Yet, some further explanation will provide helpful in understanding exactly how to understand the times we are living in and what to expect.
The Promise of Jesus’ Coming
In 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter the Apostle responds to those who, in his day, were asking the question: “Where is the promise of his coming?”
In other words, even 2000 years ago, in the First Century A.D., people were asking this same question: “Are we living in the End Times?” And the question, “If Jesus said he would return, why hasn’t he come back yet?”
Peter tells us that “the promise of Jesus’ coming” was predicted by the Old Testament Prophets, was promised by Jesus, and by the Apostles. In 2 Peter 3:7, he tells us that Jesus’ (second) coming will involve a day of judgment, and the destruction of the ungodly.
Peter says in 2 Peter 3:10-12 that Jesus’ (second) coming will be “the day of the Lord,” in which the Lord will return to Earth, and the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies (stars) will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and everything in it will be exposed.
And in 2 Peter 3:13 he says that this will not only be a day of judgment, but for those who are in Christ, it will be a day of salvation. It will be at this time that God’s promise will be fulfilled, of bringing about the New Heavens and New Earth in which righteousness dwells (see also Revelation 21:1-4)
The Day of the Lord
The “Day of the Lord” is a really important concept in the Old Testament, especially in the Prophets. It refers to a time in history when God intervenes in the happenings on Earth, in order to bring judgment on those who do evil, and salvation to those who belong to Him.
Throughout the Old Testament there were many smaller “days of the Lord,” when God intervened and brought judgment (such as the flood in the time of Noah, which Peter mentions in 2 Peter 3:6.
But all of these “smaller” “days of the Lord” were just previews and foreshadowings of THE Day of the Lord, which is still yet to come. And what Jesus told us is that THE Day of the Lord, AKA: “the day of God’s coming, will be the day when He returns to Earth in the Second Coming.
The “Parousia”
The phrase “Second Coming of Christ” is not found in the Bible, but instead, the word the Apostles used to speak about the Second Coming was the Greek word “word “”Parousia,” which means “presence,” or “appearing,” or “arrival.” More specifically, it might be translated as, “presence after absence.”
The word “Parousia” is used 13 times in the New Testament, and every time it is used it speaks of Jesus’ Second Coming.
For example, check out: 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1,8; James 5:7,8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4,12; 1 John 2:28.
In Jesus’ first coming, he came to live as one of us, as our substitute in life (a life of perfect obedience to God), and in death (as an atoning sacrifice for our sins). Further, he resurrected, in order to make a way for us to also be resurrected from death to life everlasting.
In Jesus’ Second Coming, he will come as king: judge, and ruler.
Are we living in the Last Days?
Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:3 that in the last days, there will be scoffers who will say, “Where is the promise of His coming?” In other words, “If Jesus is really coming back, why hasn’t he come back yet?”
After all, modern readers of the Bible might ask the question, “If Peter and the early Christians, who lived nearly 2000 years ago, thought that they were living in the last days, then does that mean that they were wrong?” “And what does that mean for us today, especially if you say that we are living in the Last Days right now?”
It is true, that the early Christians believed that Jesus was going to return during their lifetimes, and that he did not, and that he still has not returned since that time. So, if those early Christians thought that they were living in the End Times, then how can we say that we are living in the End Times?
This requires an understanding of what the “End Times” is.
Are we living in the End Times? Yes. Was Peter living in the End Times when he wrote this letter? Also: Yes.
Here’s why: Because the “End Times” or “Last Days” is a PERIOD of time which BEGAN with Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, 40 days after his resurrection.
How do we know that? Because in Acts chapter 2, we read about how, on the day of Pentecost (10 days after Jesus’ ascension), the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 believers who were gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem. As a result, those people began to speak about God’s amazing works, in multiple languages, and the people down on the street who heard them doing this, said amongst themselves, “Look! Those people are already drunk, and it’s only 9:00 in the morning!” (Acts 2:13)
And Peter stood up at that moment and addressed the crowd, and said to them: These people are not drunk! Rather this is what was spoken of by the Prophet Joel. (Acts 2:14-16)
Peter then quoted from the Book of Joel, chapter 2 — where the Prophet Joel said that in the Last Days, God will pour out his Spirit, and these kinds of things would happen. (Acts 2:17)
In other words: Peter was explaining to those people, that with the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, the “Last Days” had begun. The Last Days is the final period in the timeline of history, before the “coming of the Lord.” We are in that period right now, and have been for the past several centuries since Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.
You can think of it like this: Until the ascension of Jesus, history was moving forward, towards “the end of the age,” (Matthew 24:3). But when Jesus ascended into Heaven, the timeline of history turned, and began running parallel to “the end.”
That’s why we have been in the “End Times” or “Last Days” for almost 2000 years now. And the reason that’s important is because it means that Peter and the early Christians were not wrong in expecting Jesus to return in their lifetimes.
Further, it means that there is currently nothing preventing Jesus from coming back at any moment.
Peter says in 2 Peter 3:10 that when Jesus comes, it will be like the coming of a thief. When I lived in Hungary, one evening while we were out at dinner, our house got broken into and robbed. The thieves did not notify us that that they would be coming over at 7:00 PM on Tuesday. The only way for us to have been ready for their coming, would have been for us to always be ready. In the same way, Jesus’ coming could happen at any time.
Why Does Jesus Delay His Coming?
Jesus has not actually delayed or postponed his coming, though, to many of us, it may seem like the “end times” has been going on a long time.
In 2 Peter 3:8-9, Peter says:
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3:8-9
Our sense of time is very different than God’s sense of time, Peter tells us. 2000 years may feel like a long time to us, but it’s not a long time to God.
In other words, God is not slow, but He is patient. And God’s patience has a purpose.
The purpose of God’s patience is that there are more people He wants to save! There are more people he wants to rescue and redeem, and bring into His family. Personally, I sure am glad He waited for me!
As Christians today — we often (rightly) say, “Come quickly Lord Jesus!” “Come and deal with all the wickedness in the world! Come, and bring your Kingdom of Righteousness!” Yet, if Jesus would have returned 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, many of us would not have been in a saving relationship with Jesus.
We should not confuse the patience of God with the permission of God. That’s the mistake that some in the New Testament era made. There is an urgency to the message of the gospel. And yet, God’s patience has a purpose: that more would be saved.
How to Live in the Last Days
In 2 Peter 3:11-12, Peter tells us that “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God”
Since this world is going to pass away, it would be foolish to live lives focused on and for earthly things that will not last. Instead, our attention is better spent focusing on things that will last.
When everything is destroyed, what will remain are: God and human souls.
Therefore, the focus of our lives should be on pursuing godliness and holiness, because a relationship with the Living God is eternal (see John 17:3).
Furthermore, holiness and godliness matter for our mission. Jesus taught us: Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
Both Peter and Paul talks the importance of Christians living holy lives so that the way of Jesus is not reviled. Hypocrisy and ungodly actions and attitudes undermine our effectiveness in the mission we have received from Jesus to spread His love and truth to people all over the world.
In Matthew 25, after talking to his disciples about the signs of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24), Jesus then told his disciples a parable to describe what it means to be “ready” for Jesus’ coming. To be ready, Jesus told them, is to be actively investing the resources that God has given you, to further his Kingdom. In other words, the way to live in the Last Days is to be busy about God’s work until Jesus comes again.
Theology for the People 