Pastor Bob Lawrenz
Just prior to the Resurrection Holiday studies, we were looking at Prophecies of the End Times. There is still much to be covered when we speak of the Times of the End. Hence, the title of today’s teaching is “Last Days, End Times, Last Times.” These phrases all point us in the direction of God’s prophetic words of those days as life on this Earth winds down.
But end time prophecies are not just for the Church, they are spoken for the benefit of all. Some, such as Genesis 49 are specific to groups of people, as is the case there, spoken by Jacob on his death bed, concerning the Twelve Tribes, his sons, his progeny.
This may bring a question to mind which we will address today. “Just when did the end times begin?” “The Last Days” may make us think about the final 48, or 72 hours of the Earth. But, what about 2 Peter 3:8: “a thousand years is like a day, and a day is like a thousand years?” I don’t think we can define scriptural days and millenniums with any specificity, or by an earthly calendar.
Why is it so confusing? It is indeed more than likely that what is confusing to us, is perfectly clear to God, for He lives outside the physical property of Earth’s time. His time periods are not our time periods!
In Daniel 12:7 we read of a “time, and times, and a half,” which has been interpreted to correlate to the three and a half years of Daniel’s “70 weeks” prophecy. The 70 weeks refers to a period of time given to the nation of Israel to finish the transgression of mankind, and bring an end to sin, and to reconcile for sin (Daniel 9:24).
We will look today at a more specific time period spoken of by Peter regarding the time that Messiah Jesus was here on Earth, ministering and teaching, and fulfilling the Father’s plans during those “last times.”
“For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” ~ Romans 15:4 ~
Today's Audio Message:
"Last Days, End Times, Last Times" - 1 Peter 1:1-25
The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross wasn't improvised. God didn't make it up in response to the unfolding events of history. Peter writes that Christ was known before the world was founded. As God, Jesus existed in eternity past as the one whose blood would cover the sins of all who receive salvation. Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and return to the Father were always God's plan to save us. Always. Jesus was always the answer to the questions asked by the prophets and the angels investigating what the Holy Spirit's Old Testament prophecies were pointing to (1 Peter 1:10–12).
Finally, in Peter's lifetime and those of his readers—the beginning of what Peter calls the "last times"—God revealed the mystery. He showed Himself and His plan to the world by coming to earth as a baby, a man, God in flesh, the final sacrifice for sin. Why? For our sake. God's great gift of mercy, and the timing of that gift in human history, demonstrates God's great love for us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
Summary/Notes: Coming Soon!
