Are we living in the end times?

Let us remember that the Apostle is not describing heathendom, but the condition of Christendom, in which our lot is cast, and as it exists in our times; for who can doubt that we live in "the last days"? — the awful condition of which is so vividly portrayed.

We are not surprised at the state of things around us. Scripture tells us of “the mystery of iniquity,” and that nearly two thousand years ago it was already working. Scripture is being fulfilled to the letter under our very eyes. On every hand signs are as thick as falling leaves in autumn blasts. They foretell the imminence of “the day of the Lord.” We are indeed in “the last days.”

It is Paul who tells us what the signs of the last days are, warning us of perilous times. We are in these last days, and it is good that we are foretold their character, otherwise we might be perplexed and dismayed as we see such indifference and worldliness in that which professes the name of Christ. On the contrary, faith is strengthened as we see Scripture being fulfilled before our very eyes.

"Men shall be lovers of their own selves," this is the first item on the list. The second is, "covetous" or "lovers of money." The list ends. "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." Love of self, love of money and love of pleasure are to mark the religious people of the last days, and as for all the evil things mentioned between they indicate the various ways in which the proud, self-sufficient, lawless spirit of fallen man expresses itself — and all this, remember, in people who call themselves followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. If we know anything of the present state of the so-called Christian nations we may well conclude that we have reached the last days.

We believe that these "last days" are now upon us, and consequently the Scripture we have indicated has a most urgent voice to us. Hence our calling attention to it in these pages. We ask that the passage be carefully read.

To any dispassionate onlooker it must be very evident that the world today is ripening for judgement. Almost every country has its political problems which in many lands have developed, if not into outright war then into riot, rebellion or insurrection. Corruption is found in many of the great institutions be they either corporate or political and social; morality has collapsed. I am convinced that this world has little time left, soon the Lord will return and take His Church to be with Himself for ever, the event which we term the rapture. The Holy Spirit, the restrainer of evil will withdraw from this world and the hatred of men for God will burst forth. Satan, the great Archenemy, will come in like a flood. A time of great tribulation will follow and then the event which we are now considering will take place. The King will come, His enemies will be subdued and the reign of righteousness will begin.

If the appearing be in question, then such scriptures as 2 Thessalonians 2, 2 Timothy 3, and Matthew 24 supply the answer. The rising tide of apostasy in Christendom; the prevalence of false prophets deceiving many; the extraordinary awakening of the Jewish race, i.e., the fig tree putting forth leaves according to Matthew 24:32; the increasing carelessness of the world deceived into false security by its own achievements and saying "Peace and safety"; all these things and others of which we are witnesses indicate that we draw nigh to the end of this age.

It is distinctly unfortunate that both in Matt. 13 and Matt. 24 the Authorized Version uses the expression "the end of the world." "The end of the world" and "the end of the age" are by no means one and the same thing. "The end of the world" is the absolute wind-up of things as we now know them. At that epoch, time will pass into eternity. But "the end of the age" is simply the wind-up of a certain order of things, with a view to some other order taking its place in the wisdom of God. The statement may seem bold to some, but it may quite safely be affirmed that the end of the world is at least a thousand and seven years distant. Before the history of the world, as we know it, is wound up, the Man of God's choice must reign in Zion a thousand years, and the man of the Devil's choice must reign there seven years before Christ's appearing. But none dare say that the end of the age is far off. Indeed, all that is taking place around us to-day is suggestive that it is very near. Great changes are impending. Even men of the world feel that it is so. This thought should solemnize our hearts, and cause us to look well to our ways.

There are certainly sure signs that we are in the last days, but these are not "wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes in divers places and famines and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs" (Luke 21). All these are to take place before the Appearing of the Lord in His glory and have nothing to do with the coming of the Lord for His Church. Some have allowed their imagination to run riot as to such things and as to sensational events in the political world. So, in the rise of Mussolini, and the efforts of the League of Nations, they have seen the Beast of Revelation 13 and the ten kingdoms. It is a superficial knowledge of Scripture that leads them into these errors, and the inability to rightly divide the word of truth.

(Vv. 7, 8). Secondly, the disciples are warned against concluding that the end is near on account of "wars and rumours of wars." "Such things must needs be" in a world that has rejected Christ. Wars, earthquakes, famines and troubles, are the beginning of sorrows, not the end.