Christian Perspectives on the Last days

Christian perspectives on the last days and end of the world differ as widely as those who wear the name Christian. This is tragic. The end of the world is really not that complex, though it has some complexities associated with some facets of it. However, the basic principle of the end of the world is very simple. It is our tabloids, televangelists and TV movies which have helped to muddy the waters on the endtime.

The premise of the endtime begins with the fulfillment of the Old Covenant. In other words, bible prophecy, i.e. endtime prophecy is Old Testament prophecy. We do injustice to the subject by assuming that the New Testament is teaching a new or different endtime than that found in the Old Testament.

The last days do not begin with Revelation. They end there. The last days begins with a prophecy in Genesis 49:1, 2, concerning Jacob's twelve sons. He tells them what would happen to "their" descendants in the last days. Most important is the fact that the last days specifically describe events which would occur when only one tribe of Israel remains in covenant relationship with God, -the tribe of Judah.

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes. To him shall the gathering/obedience of the peoples be.(Genesis 49:10)The coming of Shiloh is the coming of Christ. It is the second coming. Thus, Jacob's farewell message to Israel is that Christ would come before the scepter (kingdom rule) departed from the tribe of Judah.

Israel's relationship with God began a downward spiral with their breaking the law given to them at Sinai by their worship of the idols of the people of the land. This "screw up" led to the "break up" of the twelve tribes after the days of Solomon.

God promised that he would take the kingdom from Solomon for his idolatry and intermarriages with the foreign women. See 1 Kings 11. However, God promised not to rend the kingdom from Solomon in his days, but in the days of his son after him. This he did for the sake of David and for Jerusalem's sake.

In the break up of Solomon's kingdom, God promised to give 10 tribes to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from the town of Zereda, and one tribe (Judah) to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. (1 Kings 11:26-40)

However, Jeroboam sinned grievously against God by setting up calf worship in Dan and Bethel to prevent the 10 northern tribes from going to Jerusalem to worship and possibly fall under the influence of Judah and give their allegiance to Rehoboam.

This was a political move and military strategy that miserably failed. God destroyed Jeroboam and sent the 10 northern tribes into Assyrian captivity,(circa 721 B.C.), cutting them off from the house of David. The king of Assyria repopulated the land of Israel with foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Aba, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim. Thus the land was occupied by Gentiles and Israel (taken now to mean the 10 northern tribes) were scattered throughout the land of Assyria. (2 Kings 17:23-24)

Thus, only the southern kingdom remained in the kingdom of God, consisting primarily of Judah, a portion of the Levites and Benjamin. Through the prophet Hosea, God said he would no longer have mercy on Israel, the 10 northern tribes, and that they would no longer be called his people. (Hosea 1:4-9) Yet, God promised a restoration of Israel, saying they would be as numerous as the sand of the sea. However, this restoration would take place in the latter (last days), (Hosea 3:5), after Israel had for a long time been without a king, prince, priesthood and priest.

This brings us to the New Testament, of which times God says they were in "these" last days. To properly identify these last days we must consider the entire reference. "God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son." (Hebrews 1:1, 2)

Thus Christ's ministry was in the last days. Of necessity, this is the last days of the Law of Moses, for Christ did not live on earth or speak on earth at any time after the church began,(Galatians 4:4) His ministry on earth ended with his death before the church began.

Hence, the last days cannot refer to our age, but to the Jewish age which was then present. This is the meaning of Jesus' use of "this age" (meaning the Jewish age) versus the "age to come" which was the present Christian age. (See Matthew 13:39, 40, 24:3, 34; Hebrews 9:26) During this time, the Old Covenant was coming to an end, (Hebrews 8:13) The apostles saw the end of the age as occurring in their day. "Now all these things happened to them for examples, and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (1 Corinthians 10:11) They were not mistaken, misguided nor misinformed. The Holy Spirit led them into "all truth," (John 16:13)

With only one tribe in the covenant at the time due to the history cited above, Jesus' ministry was a warning to Judah to repent lest they would lose their rights to the kingdom, (Matthew 23:34-36). He is simply reminding them of the message Jacob gave to his sons in Genesis 49:1, 2, 10. The Jews refusal to heed Jesus' words would end with the kingdom being taken from them and given to another nation (Christians) who would bring forth it's fruit. See Matthew 21:43. The kingdom was taken from Judah in A.D. 70 at the fall of Jerusalem, the time which corresponds to the coming of Christ on his throne in glory within that first century generation, (Matthew 24:30-34).

Peter wrote concerning Israel, the ten northern tribes who had been scattered throughout Assyria, identified in 1 Peter 1:1 as the Diaspora (Israel scattered among the Gentiles) that God was then fulfilling the message of Hosea that in the last days Israel would be gathered. This gathering however was in the church where God would once again have mercy on them and call them his people. Compare 1 Peter 2:9 with Hosea 1:7,8; 2:23). Thus, in the last days of Israel, (1 Peter 1:20) God regathered the 10 tribes through faith in Christ in the church. Rebellious Judah, the one remaining tribe was cast out and only those who obeyed Christ were considered children of Abraham and included in the saved community of the kingdom.

Thus, the statements in the epistles of the endtime show clearly that it was imminent when the apostles wrote. They taught that the hour had drawn near, (Romans 13:11). The end of all things had drawn near (1 Peter 4:7) They knew that the last hour had come because the Antichrists were already present in their day, long ago in the first century. (1 John 2:18, 19)

Therefore, the last days and the endtime are behind us by some 1900 plus year, not in front of us as modern-day prophecy pundits suppose. Judah was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, resulting in their loss of kingdom rule. In connection with Jerusalem's fall by the Romans, Jesus predicted that "These are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:20-22). All came to pass in that first century generation, (Luke 21:32). The rule of the kingdom is now in the hands of Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. That is the message which Jacob saw for his sons in their last days.