II Timothy 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

I am sure you have heard the expression “these are the last days” over and over again. I have since I was a child. Those were the days when pastors preached a lot about hell and damnation. And, by the way, the substance of their message was not in error. Jesus taught about the reality of hell. (See Matthew 10:28). Then came the era of the “prosperity gospel” when believers were encouraged to ‘name and claim’ pretty much everything they wanted. Now the emphasis is on the love of God. Praise the Lord! This is so important because that is the central message of the gospel. Jesus is the gospel. God so loved you and me that he sent his only Son to die to bring us back into fellowship with himself. Whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. (See John 3:16). You are that valuable! No other gods can make this claim. Have you responded to that love by acknowledging Christ as the only Savior? I hope so. If you have, then you have no reason to fear these “last days”.

I have not always fully understood the expression “the last days”. Now I do. Look at Hebrews 1: 1-2. These verses clearly state that whereas in the past, at many times and in various ways, God spoke to mankind through the prophets, he now speaks to us in these last days by his Son. So the last days began when Jesus came to earth! Both II Timothy 3 and II Peter 3 describe fully the behaviors which characterize the social order today. With regard to the second coming of Christ, Peter pointed out that men do scoff and say “Where is this ‘coming’ he (The Lord) promised?”  Peter is careful to explain that man’s concept of time is not the same as God’s and that the seeming delay is the exercise of God’s patience with humanity allowing us time to repent. But the end of God’s patience will come and while the believer looks forward to a new heaven and a new earth, unbelievers and everything else will be destroyed. Don’t wait to choose sides or take this great offer of salvation for granted.

“The same God who created all things by his word in six days is able to make it all disappear in a flash. As it was in the beginning so shall it be for my ways are not the ways of men. Man needs raw materials to make things and discard them whenever it pleases them. Do I not have the same right? I am the Almighty God, the only one. Man is a creature, I am the Creator. We are not equals: not in might, not in power, not in glory. I build up and pull down, create and destroy. But I am merciful and as long as time lasts man has the opportunity to turn to me and be saved; to honor my Son as Savior, Redeemer and friend. But the end will come and there will be no more opportunity for repentance, only destruction. The time is short.”