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The Last Days - Fact or Fiction

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

One of the most neglected teachings in the New Testament Church today is the teaching of Eschatology.  Eschatology is the study of Last Things. 
We are living in the last days.  Dr. Jack Hayford defines the last days as “the time from the first appearing of Christ until His Second Coming.”
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:1, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.” The word perilous can be translated as “harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, and hard to deal with.”[i] The Word Wealth of the Spirit Filled Life Bible says, “The word describes a society that is barren of virtue but abounding with vices.” Perilous literally means “times of stress and pressure.”  The New American Standard Bible translates this as “difficult times.”[ii]

            The next event on God’s prophetic calendar is the Rapture of the Church.  The word rapture is not in the Bible, but it is used to describe this great truth.  It is translated from the Latin translation of the Bible, and it means “to seize or snatch away.”  The Apostle Paul unveils this mystery in I Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

The early Apostles, the Apostle Paul and the early church believed Jesus could return at any moment. Dr. James O. Davis writes, “This truth was continually in the minds of the believers in the early Church. They had witnessed the life of Christ, the effectiveness of His ministry, the agony of His death, the power of His resurrection and the majesty of His ascension back to heaven.  The early Christians believed that Jesus would come again. This became the subject of every conversation, every prayer.  And we pray, ‘Come quickly, Lord Jesus.’”[iii]



[i] Hayford, Jack, Editor, The New Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible, Nelson Publishers, Kindle Edition, Location 23733.
[ii] The New Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible, Word Wealth, Kinde Edition, Location 23733.
[iii] Davis, James, O., Published Sermon, Tenets of His Coming.

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