Last Days Part 6

Welcome Back From The Memorial Day Holiday;

Sunday evening I was catching up on the news with my usual news web sites and ran across a story from Florida that I couldn’t resist commenting on it.  I posted Zombie Attack in Florida around 9:30 on Sunday and before the midnight it had received 19 views with 14 more of my original Zombie Apocalypse.  Yesterday I received another 271 views and another 45 this morning.  My memorial day post got 20 views. I am not complaining really; it’s just that I wonder about people’s priorities.  I must also add that my regular readers are the important base and the ones that probably viewed the Memorial Day post while most of the Zombie views were search engine originated.  The only comment I received was from Nick who felt that I believed in Zombies and took my article seriously.

Well enough of that!  Today we are in part 6 of verses throughout the Bible using the term ”last days”.  The last two verses are in James and 2 Peter.   James 5:1-6 talk is a warning to rich oppressors.

James 5:3 NIV

• 2 Peter 3:3 NIV

  The Day of the Lord

  1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 

  2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
  3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
  4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
  5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
  6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
  7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 
  8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
  
  
  These verses have yet to be fulfilled.  I personally believe that the scoffers verse 3 talks about are people that consider themselves to be Christians .  How can I say that?  In verse 4 they say ”Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”  But in verse 5 they “deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.”  So I believe that verse 4 really has a meaning of “since as far back as mankind can remember” because in verse 5 they don’t acknowledge God as having created everything.  The people it talks about believe in evolutionary theory and don’t worship a Creator God.   They don’t believe in a literal ‘Second Coming’; but rather have spiritualized or allegorized the message of Christ’s return.  The non-believer is not looking for Christ to return.  If they believe that Jesus Christ existed they believe he was a good man or a prophet.   
  
  
  
  But God promises that just as the world was destroyed by a flood of water; so in the last days it would be judged by fire.  In verse 8 it reminds us that God’s time can seem foreign to us and that he is not remembering his promises.  In God’s time a thousand years is like one day. (see Last Days / Part 4).  From all of the verses in both the Old and New Testament that foretell the end time events;  that time is not too far off.  I encourage you to look to Jesus Christ and accept his gift of love and eternal salvation.
  Regular Joe

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