By Dr. Dan Coflin
How many times have you heard someone say, “Well, you know we are living in the last days and the signs of the times are all around us”? Usually, they are referring to what Jesus described in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, and they equate that to the return of the Lord at the end of time. Is Matthew 24 really referring to the end of time?
We need to remember that the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the age, not the end of time”; the end of the age was referring to the age of Temple worship and animal sacrifices according to the Law that Moses gave.
It is difficult for some people to hear the description of this judgment and apply it to the events of A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. “The sun being darkened and the stars falling from heaven” sounds as if these events would affect the whole of creation.
But the historical judgment of God on Egypt, Idumea, Babylon, Samaria, and other nations is described in the same fashion as Jesus described the judgment on the city of Jerusalem that was coming to that generation. All of these events would take place in “the last days” – between the resurrection of Christ in A.D. 30 and the destruction of the city and Temple in A.D. 70.
Many of the writers of the New Testament mentioned that they lived in “the last days.” Peter, preaching to the multitudes in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, declared that in that very day, the prophesy of Joel was fulfilled, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts. 2:17).
The writer of Hebrews tells us that God’s Son has spoken to us, “in these last days” (Hebrews 1:2). The Apostle John writes in his first epistle, “My dear children, these are the last days. You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming, and now many enemies of Christ are already here. This is how we know that these are the last days (1 John 2:18 NCV).
The writer of Hebrews declares that the new covenant has come and that the old “is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13)
The last days or last times in these Scriptures are in reference to the end of the Old Testament age. Jesus ushered in a new age of grace; made possible because He was the final sacrifice for sin. The last days were in reference to those forty years between the resurrection of Christ (A.D. 30) and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 7.
When will the end come and the resurrection of the last day take place? “…when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he [Jesus] must reign, till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
What is the sign of the end before Jesus returns? It will be when all His enemies have been put under His feet (the Church). Then, Jesus will return. There will be a resurrection of all of the dead on the last day, and Jesus will deliver up the kingdom of God to the Father and destroy death, the last enemy, forever.
The signs of the end are not disasters and cataclysmic events, but the defeat of God’s enemies.
(This article is an excerpt from Dr. Dan Coflin’s new book, “A Better End Times”.
Pastor Dan Coflin and his wife Dianne co-pastor River of Life Church. We invite you to join us at 410 E Chapman Road Lutz, Florida 33549. Our services are 10:30am Sunday morning and 7:00pm Wednesday nights with childcare provided. Looking forward to meeting you.