“The Last Days”

Sunday, December 24, 2023

There is a branch of religious scholarship called eschatology—the study of last things.  Its chief aim is to predict the details of the end of the present age, because while every Christian school of thought agrees that Jesus will return, other questions remain, such as what specific events will precede his coming, and what sort of age will then commence.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

(1 Corinthians 15.22-25)

Paul’s concern here was not to lay out a detailed schedule, but rather to answer a false teaching being entertained in the church at Corinth, to the effect that “there is no resurrection of the dead” (v12).  Perhaps that should tell us something about the relative importance of eschatological inquiry. As we consider this passage, it illuminates the silliness of our piddly arguments about minor details in two ways.

First, Paul said that Jesus “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (v25).  His point relies on the unstated observation, made explicit by the author of Hebrews, that “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him” (He 2.8).  Jesus himself said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Mt 28.18); but his reign is not yet fully established.  When it has been fully established, then he will hand his kingdom back to his Father.  He reigns now, on account of his resurrection—his victory over death.  His death was, in turn, his victory over sin.  And yet, sin and death persist in this world, so it’s clear these spiritual enemies have not been destroyed!  How can this be?

This mirrors one of many “foolish, ignorant controversies” that primarily serve to “breed quarrels” (2Ti 2.23).  At one extreme are those who profess Christ, and insist that his sovereignty is the whole issue—that is, individuals have no ability to affect their own eternal destiny in any way, because God “has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills” (Ro 9.18), and therefore every minuscule event is a reflection of God’s sovereign will.  At the other extreme are those who profess Christ, and insist that “the god of this world,” Satan, is the one behind practically every minuscule event (2Co 4.4).

Both sides have a point; but both take it too far!  At one extreme, they use a caricature of God’s sovereignty to absolve themselves of the responsibility to wrestle with moral decisions, and to justify themselves while judging others.  At the other extreme, they use a caricature of Satan’s sovereignty to…absolve themselves of the responsibility to wrestle with moral decisions, and to justify themselves while judging others.  Why do these opposite extremes lead to the same sins?  Because they’re both wrong!  But what is the truth?  Jesus does reign today, but while his kingdom is partly in the world, it does not dominate the world.  One day, every knee will bow before the King; but today, the great majority rebel and deny his authority.

But when will this happen?  If the process of putting all things under Christ’s feet has already begun, when will it end, and how will it look?  Phrases like “the last days” appear frequently in the Old Testament, informing most eschatological models.  In the New Testament, Paul and Peter wrote of the “last days” in terms of future expectation:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

(2 Timothy 3.1)

…scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

(2 Peter 3.3-4)

Yet, while these imply the “last days” were, at the time of their writing, yet to come, the author of Hebrews frames it differently:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…

(Hebrews 1.1-2)

Peter also, at the very birth of the church, said the “last days” were the present time:

“For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…’”

(Acts 2.15-17)

The last days had already begun, nearly two thousand years ago!  Yet, paradoxically, they are also coming.  The period of Christ’s reign—while his kingdom is established on earth, but does not dominate it—is the final age, as Paul also wrote that “the end of the ages has come” upon us (1Co 10.11).  Clearly, there is an end in view—Jesus’ return, which will be, so to speak, the last of the last days.  But in broad terms, we’re already in the midst of  the last days, and understanding this helps us to avoid much of the confusion about the end of the world.  This is good, because we’ve been barking up the wrong tree.

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

(Mark 13.32)

Do you really think we will prove Jesus wrong on this point?  As in every controversy among those who profess to follow Christ, the answer is not to be found in arguing endlessly about our own ideas or interpretations.  Our job is simple: be ready.  “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mk 13.33).

Jeremy Nettles

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