IN THE LAST DAYS
Today is Friday! No matter what the calendar may say as you read this article, today is Friday. And it is very late on Friday. It is almost ready to become a new day, Saturday namely, which is the Sabbath day; the seventh day, the day of rest.
It appears that the time of man's dominion on this planet is likened to a set of several periods of time - each one being one thousand years. (Perhaps there are seven of these periods of time, which would conveniently resemble the concept of a week.) I wonder if this isn't the idea Peter wants to bring across when he said, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). I do not think this is a formula as much as an interpretation of other scripture. Peter is speaking here in the context of the end of time and the end of the world system as we know it.
Since the time of Jesus until today approximately 2,000 years have passed - or 2 prophetic days. Perhaps Jesus was 4 days from Creation. In the Scriptures this period is known as the last days (plural). We are at the end of this period of time. One could say we are living in the last days (literal) of the last days (prophetic). Peter, again, says that what began on the day of Pentecost "is (a part of) that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Joel 2: 28-32; Acts 2:16). Joel said this would "...come to pass in the last days, says God..." (Acts 2:17). We are not forgetting the seventh day. It is distinct, however.
What are the characteristics of the last days? Joel's prophecy tells us it will be an age characterized by prophecy, a supernatural proclaiming of the Word of God. Also, spiritual communication will be prevalent by visions and dreams. This was initiated on the day of Pentecost, according to the Word, and has been in force until the present hour. We may not receive it, believe it, or experience it but we are not to walk by sight but by confidence in the Eternal Word of Scripture.
Joel's prophecy goes on to describe some events which we did NOT see on the day of Pentecost and indeed do not see even in our day (1994). "I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord" (Acts 2:19-20). Peter said that the day of Pentecost began the era of the last days. The events of that day fulfilled Joel's prophecy except for the signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. These remain to be fulfilled but WILL be fulfilled during the last days. In other words, the second phase of the last days prophecy may come to pass at any moment. The heavens and earth signs will be completed BEFORE the great and terrible DAY OF THE LORD. So, before the sixth day ends, Joel's prophecy will be fulfilled entirely!
The Day of the Lord (singular) is the seventh and last "day" in which Jesus of Nazareth puts down all rebellion and resistance to the rule of God and finally hands over the Kingdom to the Father. We are almost at that day! In the beginning of the Bible we are told several times that "...the evening and the morning were the (first, second, etc.) day" (Gen 1:5,8,13,19,23,31). Biblically, a day begins with the evening; with darkness. So it is with the Day of the Lord. It begins with judgment and destruction. It concludes with the Thousand -Year Wedding Feast of the Lamb! Both aspects are called the Day of the Lord. It is the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth.
There is another part of Joel's prophecy that was not fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on ALL FLESH" (Acts 2:17). The 120 obedient disciples, the 3,000 converts, and perhaps others who did not totally respond to the Gospel message at Pentecost experienced the outpouring of the Spirit, but not "all flesh". There has been some discussion about whether "all flesh" includes the animals. I think that is too broad but it certainly includes every human alive in that day, saved or unsaved. All flesh carries the same idea as "every creature" as in "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).
What we can understand from what Joel and Peter are telling us is this:
1) We are living in the last days now; days characterized by prophecy and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. (We may or may not be walking in it - God's Word remains unchanged by our opinions or unbelief).
2) We have not yet seen the total fulfillment of Joel's prophecy.
3) Since the Last Days are almost ready to expire we can expect to see all things fulfilled at any moment!
4) The final part of the Last Days outpouring will be global and universal.
What days we are living in! And what times are coming upon the earth! God has said He will pour out His Spirit upon every person, regardless of their spiritual state. Or in other words, the Rain (Hosea 6:3) will fall "on the just and on the unjust" because it will be upon flesh; all flesh. Imagine for a moment: The neighbors standing in the street in front of your house, hands raised to heaven, proclaiming the Word of God at the top of their voice. At the check-out line in the grocery store, people falling to the floor, weeping uncontrollably. The evening news dedicated to a running story about school children in China prophesying day and night in English and other languages. And imagine something more incredible that that: Churches where not one person allows the Spirit to have His way! Like blocks of ice in a roaring furnace that never melt. You see, it is not totally irresistible - just universally available for a short time.
How can the unsaved receive the Holy Spirit? They cannot. "...the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive..." (Jn 14:17). The Outpouring is upon flesh; on the outside. The Spirit dwells inside the Christian. Many unsaved will move in the "charismatic" manifestations of the Spirit in that day but they will not know Jesus Christ. Knowing Jesus personally is the greatest thing and it is that which determines one's eternal destiny. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be so great that every human being will be affected but not necessarily changed or reborn. Jesus said, "MANY will say to Me IN THAT DAY, 'Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out devils in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' AndI will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matt 7:22-23). Many! Large numbers of people will be caught up in the power released upon the flesh of all men. Many in that day will have the Spirit upon but not the Spirit within. Jesus said this will occur in That Day, not in the Last Days. This refers mainly to the judgment aspect of the Day of the Lord which is immediately preceded by the climax of the Last Days Outpouring, the Spirit upon all flesh.
Some may wonder, What is the purpose of all this? "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved" (Joel 2:32). If anyone recognizes that this is the hand of God and if he allows the Spirit to show him the true state of his sinful heart; if he simply calls upon the name of JESUS he will be saved (born again) and saved (delivered from the wrath of the Lamb).
God is giving His Spirit for the purpose of producing one last great harvest. The number of believers who make up the composite Wife of the Lamb will quickly be completed and made ready for His soon appearing! Don't miss it, Christian friend! Draw in close to God in these last days of the last days. If you do not, you will not know what is happening around you. You will think that God is the devil and the unclean is holy. Draw in very close to the Body of Christ also in these days. God is doing a mighty work and we need to humble ourselves and be made ready for Saturday, the Great One Thousand Year Day of the Lord!
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, and then the heavens will vanish (pass away) with a thunderous crash..., what kind of person ought [each of] you be [in the meanwhile]?...While you wait and earnestly long for - expecting and hastening - the coming of the day of God..." (2 Peter 3:10,11,12 Amp).