Growing up around the teaching that we were in “the last days,” which was defined as “Jesus is coming back soon,” colored many of my perceptions about God, Christianity, and the arc of time. As a boy, and long into manhood, I wondered why Jesus was keeping us all waiting if we were, indeed, in the last days. My thoughts spanned a range from, “Not yet! I need more time to get it right,” to “haven’t his children suffered enough already?” At times I was troubled by this delay to the point where I would think that something must be really wrong with my religion. That God existed was not in question. That he may be a rapscallion was a real consideration, however.
My early understanding of the spiritual often came through someone else’s misunderstanding. Given all the misinformation and distorted views of God peddled as the truth it’s a wonder or very likely a miracle that anyone sticks with Christianity at all. Poor information makes for poor conclusions. That was my story. When it came to the phrase, “the last days,” I had reached some conclusions about Jesus and when he was going to yell, “Surprise!” They were misguided. Oddly, when the truth finally came out, my faith (uh oh, the “F” word!), was made stronger and not destroyed.
The Old Testament contains not only historical narrative, but poetry, psalms, wisdom literature, law, apocalyptic and prophetic writings. While there are a number of prophetic books, prophecy is not limited to those books. Scattered throughout the Old Testament are passages that are a speaking forth of things to come. These promises center around a future King of Israel who will lead, deliver and save his people. This figure is known to the Hebrews as Messiah. Since the prophecies were scattered over a 1,500 year period, what the people of Israel had to work with was a fragmented revelation. There was a promise of a Deliverer, but the picture was incomplete. Israel was always hopefully looking.
Among the 300 or so prophecies regarding the King are the following indicating how he would ultimately be identified -
To Noah was given the corner of the world in which Messiah would appear.
To Abraham, the nation.
To Jacob, the tribe.
To David and Isaiah, the family.
To Micah was given the town, and to Daniel, in a boldly specific prediction*, was given the time of his arrival.
As I was studying through the Book of Hebrews earlier this year I came across this statement: 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 [Jesus] . . . (Hebrews 1:1 - 2).
Rather than indicating the end of time, the study taught me that the last days actually means the ‘time of fulfillment.’ Until the arrival of the King, the fragmented revelation had been unfulfilled. Now that Jesus is on the scene, it comes clear that these predictions point to him with stunning accuracy. The promises written regarding Messiah in the Old Testament all come together when Jesus enters the world. The last days doesn’t mean the end of the world, it means the time of fulfillment. The last days doesn’t mean that Jesus is coming back, it means that he is already here. We live in such a time when all the promises have come together. And they have come together as God has spoken in a final way, by his Son.
I am now comfortable living in these last days. I no longer concern myself over not being ready nor do I feel any sense of urgency that things need to be wrapped up one minute before they will be wrapped up. I am as in awe of the predictive nature of these ancient texts as one witnessing the Aurora Borealis for the first time. No myth, this, but a joyful reality of promises kept.
Comments