Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.” (American Standard Version)

The phrase “last days” occurs only eight times in the King James Version of the Bible. The first occurrence is at Genesis 49:1, where “Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” Much can be deduced from this statement, but for this study, I will merely state part of what Jacob says about Judah, the tribe from which our Lord came:

“The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him the obedience of the peoples will belong.” (Genesis 49:10, New World Translation)

“Shiloh” means “tranquil,” and is an epithet of the Messiah. Notice that these events, which includes the coming of the Messiah, were to occur in the “last days.” (Genesis 49:1)

The next occurrence of the phrase “the last days,” is found at Isaiah 2:2; and the last occurrence of the phrase in the Hebrew Scriptures is found at Micah 4:1. I will address these two references later in my study.

There is debate in Christian circles as to whether or not we should preach that these are “the last days.” The only way to accurately answer this question, is to find out whether or not the apostles preached that they, who were Christians two thousand years before us, were in “the last days.” For we know that it is written, “But even if we, or an angel out of Heaven, should announce a gospel to you beside what we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, and now I say again, If anyone announces a gospel to you beside what you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-8, Green's Literal Translation)

The very first occurrence of the phrase “the last days” in the New Testament is found at Acts 2:17, where Peter explains to the people what the events they were witnessing was all about. He states, “But this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams: Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of the LORD come, That great and notable day. And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Acts 2:16-21, American Standard Version)

Since Peter is obviously quoting the prophet Joel, I looked at the corresponding verse in The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament, by John R. Kohlenberger III, which reads, “And he will be after this I will pour out spirit of me...” (Joel 3:1[28])*

One thing is for sure, Peter clearly stated that what they were seeing on that glorious day of the Festival of Harvest (Pentecost), was in fact “that which was spoken through the prophet Joel.” (Acts 2:16) It is clear that in “the last days” God was going to pour out some of his spirit upon every sort of flesh. From this point in Acts throughout the rest of the inspired book, this is exactly what we see happening. Again, this, as Peter stated, was occurring in “the last days” as God had foretold.

Paul tells Timothy, “And this know thou, that in [the]* last days will be at hand times grievous.” (2 Timothy 3:1, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament in Greek and English)

*In this Interlinear, words supplied in English for which there is no Greek equivalent are placed in square brackets. Therefore, in this particular verse, unlike Acts 2:17, the word “the” is not present in the Greek.

On the surface, it seems that Paul’s statement to Timothy is a reference to the future, but given Jacob’s statement about the coming Messiah in “the last days,” (Genesis 49:1, 10); and Peter’s statement that what was happening on that particular Pentecost day, was that which God had said would occur in “the last days,” (Acts 2:17); and now the absence of the definite article when Paul tells Timothy that in “last days” grievous times will be at hand; I am of the personal opinion that Paul’s statement is a general statement about final days in this “system of things.” All Scripture must harmonize and if Paul’s comments were in reference to the future, then he contradicts both Jacob’s prophetic statements, and Peter’s explanation on that particular day of Pentecost. I am of the personal opinion that he is not.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul warns “But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3, American Standard Version)

Peter, in his second letter, states, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle, in which by reminder I stir up your sincere mind to remember the words having been spoken before by the holy prophets, and the command of the Lord and Savior by us, the apostles; first, knowing this, that during the last days scoffers will come walking according to their own lusts.” (2 Peter 3:1-3, Green Literal Translation) It is interesting to note that in this particular reference, just as with 2 Timothy 3:1, there is an absence of a definite article, perhaps suggesting that the writer or speaker is stressing the quality or characteristics of “last days” in general. But this is just my personal opinion.

But what is not my personal opinion, and presents even more evidence to the fact that the apostles were already in the last days, is what Jude writes very shortly after Peter. He writes to those who are called, ”Beloved ones, though I was making every effort to write you about the salvation we hold in common, I found it necessary to write you to exhort you to put up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones. My reason is that certain men have slipped in who have long ago been appointed by the Scriptures to this judgment, ungodly men, turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for lose conduct and proving false to our only Owner and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 3-4, New World Translation)

“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the LORD, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The LORD rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.” (Jude 5-16, American Standard Version)

“But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” (Jude 17-19, King James Version)

These ungodly men who had already infiltrated the congregation during Jude’s time, were those whom the apostles had warned would come in “the last days” (2 Peter 3:3). Now if it were the “last days” in Jude’s time, it would still have to be the “last days” now. These references clearly do not pertain to the Jewish system, but undoubtedly to new covenant believers (Jews and Gentiles) in Jesus as Messiah.

There is no doubt that Peter (Acts 2:17; 2 Peter 3:3), and Jude (Jude 17-19) made statements that show they were living in the last days. Now, we know that it has been written that the testimony of two or three witnesses establishes a matter(John 8:17; Deuteronomy 19:15), and the writer of Hebrews is yet another witness. He writes:

“God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2, R