Are we living in the last days?

When will the end of the world take place? The answer to this question is easy because Jesus told us in Matthew 24:36: “About that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Not even Jesus in his state of humiliation, when he did not make full or constant use of his power and glory as God, knew when it would happen. Nevertheless, the question often arises: Are we living in the last days? What is meant by the phrase “the last days” in the Bible?

The last days have come

On Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Christians in Jerusalem with the sound of a rushing wind and fire, they began to speak in languages they’d never learned. The foreigners who witnessed this phenomenon were amazed and asked the good Lutheran question: “What does this mean?”

While some mocked and claimed the people were drunk, Peter corrected them and said: “These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ ” (Acts 2:15-21, emphasis added).

Peter indicated that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled before the people’s very eyes. Joel said explicitly what would happen in those days. Therefore, Peter translated it in Acts 2:17 as “the last days,” indicating that the last days had come, and the people who were there in Jerusalem at that moment were living in those “last days” to which Joel referred.

The phrase “the last days” in the Bible is a reference to the time between Jesus’ work of redemption and the end of the world. Other references in the New Testament also reveal this.

For example, the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1,2, emphasis added).

In these last days, God’s Word is proclaimed. The fulfillment of everything Jesus did by his perfect life and innocent death in our place has been accomplished and is revealed to us. Jesus came to this earth to save us, and his blessings are now ours through faith in him. These are the last days.

The end of the age is now

Closely connected to the words “the last days” is another phrase that the Bible uses: “the end of the age(s).” Once again, the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote about Jesus’ redeeming work and noted that Jesus did not have to offer himself again and again the way the Old Testament high priests had to keep repeating their sacrifices. Jesus’ sacrifice was done once for all time. “Nor did [Jesus] enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:25,26, emphasis added).

The author of Hebrews shows us that Jesus came at the time appointed by God to atone for sin and bestow on the human race the gift of salvation through his sacrifice on our behalf. The “culmination [or end] of the ages” refers to the time when Jesus accomplished all of this. It is the New Testament era. Here and now, we are the recipients of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Likewise, St. Paul referred to the way God dealt with the people of Israel when they rebelled against him and how he brought temporal judgments against them. Paul warns us, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11, emphasis added). (Some translations render it “the ends of the world” or “the fulfillment of the ages.”) It once again indicates that here and now we are living in the last days.

“The end of the ages” and “the last days” both refer to the same time. It is the time when God fulfilled his promise to save us by sending Jesus to be our Savior from sin, death, and the devil.

We have work to do

The question Are we living in the last days? is answered for us. Yes, we are living in the last days. Since the time Jesus came to this earth and fulfilled his mission, we have been living in the last days and will be until the end of the world.

Since the time Jesus came to this earth and fulfilled his mission, we have been living in the last days and will be until the end of the world.

The Bible also warns us, “Mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days” (2 Timothy 3:1, emphasis added). And again: “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires” (2 Peter 3:3, emphasis added).

Christians need to understand that these are the last days, the days Jesus spoke about when he said, “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:10-14).

There will be opposition to our Christian faith in these last days. Jesus and the apostles tell us so.

However, here is our great consolation in these last days: We have the saving gospel to proclaim. God is still working through it for the salvation of souls. It is Jesus himself who promises in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

His promise gives us the courage and zeal to share this saving message in these last days until he comes. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Misuse of the expression

Because of the way the New Testament uses the phrase “the last days,” it is important also to let Scripture interpret Scripture when it comes to Old Testament verses that use this expression.

Take, for example, Isaiah 2:2; Hosea 3:5; and Micah 4:1. In our day, these verses are often misinterpreted as references to Jesus’ millennial reign on earth. However, they are really referring to Jesus’ messianic kingdom, the body of believers in Jesus as the promised Savior.

Author: Jeffrey Bovee
Volume 112, Number 06
Issue: June 2025