Studies in Revelation
Part 11 - The Last Days - Part 5

To begin this study, let me reintroduce a list which I shared in Part 2 of this series which agrees with the illustration of the lampstand we have been using to clarify the “last days.” Note that I’ve added some things to it to agree with our illustration.

Forty-Two Months (1,260 Days | Time, Times, and Half a Time or 3½ Days)

1. Abraham to David – Called [14 Generations] (Feast of Passover)

2. David until the captivity in Babylon – Chosen [14 Generations] (Feast of Pentecost)

3. The captivity in Babylon until the Christ – Faithful [14 Generations] (Feast of Tabernacles)

As we learned in this series, the 42 months of Revelation 11:2 are synonymous with the 1,260 days as well as with the time, times, and half a time or 3½ days. Since months are formed by days and also define the seasons with which we’re all familiar, both months and days are found in our three seasons of harvest, i.e. our three prophetic Feasts of Israel as given in our list. Altogether, our three Feasts of Israel define our spiritual journey from “called” to “chosen” to “faithful.” This is true of each of us as individuals and also true of the church in a collective sense. As I have attempted to show in the previous videos of this series, the church has been moving forward through the “last days” since that great Day of Pentecost almost two thousand years ago.

I find it interesting that the phrase “last days” is found just three times in the King James Old Testament. Two of these are prophecies from the book of Isaiah and the book of Micah, and are basically the same prophecy. The first is in Isaiah, Chapter 2, and the second in Micah, Chapter 4. Since these prophecies are the same, we’ll just read from Isaiah, Chapter 2.

Isaiah 2:1-4 (KJV)
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

There is certainly much to consider in this prophecy, but for now, look at how our prophecy ends. “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” This, my friends, is what the true gospel of Christ must bring to us in its entirety, which was never more exemplified than by the Lord Himself almost two thousand years ago. Please consider what Jesus said to His disciples in the following.

Acts 1:6-8 (NKJV)
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Even after His resurrection, we find the disciples of the Lord quite concerned about the kingdom being restored to Israel. Sound familiar? It should, for that is the current mindset of almost every person in every country today. For most, their country and culture is an important matter of national pride, a pride that runs so deep that we fail to see how it conflicts with the teachings and principles of God’s kingdom. Think about it! Did Jesus come to restore the kingdom to Israel? No, He did not, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17; NKJV). Beloved, His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom within us which transcends cultural boundaries. For this reason, concerning Abraham, we read in Hebrews 11:10, “For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (ESV). This is what the disciples failed to realize until they had been baptized by the Spirit in the upper room. Ah, but once baptized, they finally understood what Jesus meant by the kingdom of God. Beloved, God’s kingdom is not earthly, nor will His kingdom validate any earthly kingdom or government which now stands. Rather, His kingdom being inward, sets us free from all the self-imposed boundaries which are cultured into us during childhood. When we walk in the faith and principles of the true gospel of Christ, there are no boundaries, no labels, and no prejudices based on country, culture, color or language. The apostle Peter summed it up beautifully in Acts 10:34 when he said to Cornelius’s household, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,” not even to Christians, “but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Our phrase “last days” is found just five times in the King James New Testament, and its first occurrence is in Acts 2:17, which we have considered. The next occurrence is in 2nd Timothy 3:1.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves (1), covetous (2), boasters (3), proud (4), blasphemers (5), disobedient to parents (6), unthankful (7), unholy (8), 3 Without natural affection (9), trucebreakers (10), false accusers (11), incontinent (12), fierce (13), despisers of those that are good (14), 4 Traitors (15), heady (16), highminded (17), lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God (18); 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy we read that “in the last days perilous times shall come” and notice where I have numbered the various characteristics which Paul named for a total of 18 which is three sixes or 666. Coincidence? I don’t think so! For further understanding, see Revelation 13, verses 11 through 18.

Now, having stated this, what did Paul follow with to describe these perilous times? He speaks of men being “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,” and so on, in other words, Paul stresses the inward condition of men’s hearts as the reason for “perilous times.” And how did he end this discourse? “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” If you will recall, we found that the “power” of God is in the “preaching of the cross” as stipulated by 1st Corinthians 1:18. There are many today who embrace the Lord but do not embrace the message of the cross; see Matthew 16, verses 24 through 28.

We should see in these passages that the “number one” sign of the last days is the condition of men’s hearts, and this despite their religious confession or affiliation. Perhaps this is why Jesus, when asked about the sign of His coming and the end of the age responded first, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many,” not few, “will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matt. 24:4-5; NKJV). No, this does not mean that many would come and claim to be Jesus, but it does mean that many would claim to be “anointed” by the Spirit of God, which is what the word “Christ” actually means.

Beloved, the kingdom of God has and always will be about what lies within, for the outward manifestation of suffering we see today always goes back to what is manifested from the hearts and minds of humankind. As we get further into this series, we will find that it is this which the book of the Revelation addresses. Now, go with me to Hebrews, Chapter One.

Hebrews 1:1-4 (NKJV)
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…

As we see, Hebrews states that the Father “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,” agreeing with Peter’s declaration in Acts 2:17. Now, let’s consider the following from 2nd Peter 3:1-7.

2 Peter 3:1-7 (NKJV)
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

No doubt, these are very sobering passages, and, after instructing us to be “mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets” and by the apostles themselves, Peter states, “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts” and doubting the promise of His coming. Would our phrase, “Walking according to their own lusts” agree with Paul’s description of the “last days” in 2nd Timothy 3:1-5? Very much so! And what is it that they scoff at? The “word of God,” the same word which brought the flood in Noah’s day and the same word which even now preserves the present heavens and earth.

Now, notice what Peter said. “For this they willfully forget.” The New American Standard renders this as “they are willfully ignorant of this fact” while the New International Version renders it, “But they deliberately forget.” Brothers and sisters, there is a marked difference between just being ignorant and being “willfully” ignorant. The first can be corrected by knowledge but the second is a matter of resistance and rebellion, of choosing a stance of deliberate ignorance about and against the Word of God. And believe me when I say that we can do this in the midst of all of our religious motion. Consider what Jesus said in John 12:47-50.

John 12:47-50 (NKJV)
47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

Here we go. Jesus said, “If anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him.” Rather, it is the “word which He has spoken” which judges us “in the last day.” This brings us to the prophecies of Revelation, which are the words of Christ to the church. And the trumpets and bowls of Revelation? They are the unfolding or coming to pass of these words in exactly the way that the Father through Christ has determined.