The Latter Days
Eschatology precedes soteriology.
This is an axiom that I explained when we looked at Genesis 1–2 and how God made the world. When God brought the world into existence, he had a plan for all things. And this telos, or goal, was the basis for saying that proper eschatology depends upon proper protology. And thus, from the beginning of creation, we can see how eschatology began to emerge.
In fact, when the first promise of redemption was given in Genesis 3:15, it did not change God’s eschatological plans; it only advanced them. For as 1 Peter 1:20 reveals, the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world—meaning, that God had a plan for salvation before sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience (Rom. 5:12–21).
Yet, in time, the first gospel (protoevangelium) soon flourished into a messianic hope that turned on the arrival of a Second Adam, a true Enoch, a better Noah, a superior baptism, a seed of Abraham, a royal priest like Melchizedek, a beloved Son like Isaac, a substitutionary ram found on God’s hill, and royal son like Joseph who would come from Judah’s line. In short, the history of the Bible has an eschatological cast to it. In other words, you cannot read the story of Genesis without being confronted with people, places, and events that foreshadow Christ. And lest you think I’m making that up, just go look up the Scriptures in this paragraph.
The Latter Days
If Genesis is filled with eschatology, then it stands to reason that we don’t have to wait for the latter days to learn something about the latter days. In fact, if we are reading carefully, we discover that the first instance of the latter days is found in the second to last chapter of Genesis. And beginning with Genesis 49:1, we have a series of texts from Moses, Isaiah, and the rest of the Prophets that give us content to the latter days.
In other words, we don’t need to wonder if we have entered “the last days,” because Scripture tells us when the latter days will come. Or to turn it around, the Word of God tells us the kind of things that will happen when the Latter Days arrive. And thus, from Moses to the Prophets, let me outline twelve key passages that speak of the Latter Days. And then after enumerating these verses, I will list ten realities that signify the arrival of the Latter Days.
Latter Days in Moses
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, often called the Pentateuch, in which he not only reported the history of the patriarchs and the laws of Sinai, he also spoke of Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus says in John 5:46, when he was debating with the Pharisees about his identity. Jesus says, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” By this measure, and many others, Moses was a not merely a law-giver, he was a prophet. And by the leading of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:9–21), many of his words include eschatological promises, which is to repeat the point: eschatology begins in Genesis.
Yet, more than just finding general ways that Moses spoke about Christ and other future events, we also find in him a specific term that will repeat throughout the Old Testament, until it comes to life in the New. And that term is “last days,” and it is found four places in Genesis 49:1, Numbers 24:14, and Deuteronomy 4:30 and 31:29.
In the ESV, “in the latter days” (be’aharit hayyamim) is translated “latter days” in passages that are understood to be eschatological, while passages that are not immediately defined as eschatological are rendered “in the days to come.” Yet, “in the days to come” hides the eschatological nature of the phrase in Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 4, which is unfortunate because the phrase is clearly eschatological.[2]
I would encourage to read all of these verses their original contexts, but if you do, you will find a list of prophecies for Israel’s twelve sons (Genesis 49); the prophecies of Balaam about Israel (Numbers 22–24); and Moses’s anticipation of a new covenant that will arise after Israel has been blessed and cursed (both in Deuteronomy 4 and 30–31). In other words, the use of the words phrase “in the latter days” is an eschatological term, as it will be used throughout the rest of the Old Testament, until it is fulfilled at the coming of Christ and the establishment of his new covenant.
When we get to the New Testament, we will consider how this term is fulfilled and whether we have been in the “latter days” for 2,000 years or if the latter days refers to the end of one age (the old covenant), before the arrival of a new age (the new covenant and the new creation). For now, it is important to recognize how this language of “latter days” originated in Moses, in contexts where he was speaking about Christ. And, we can confirm this by the way this language is used in the Prophets, too.
Latter Days in the Prophets
In the Prophets, we find the language of Latter Days in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Micah. Without providing a commentary, let me offer the texts where these phrases are used. As expected in the Prophets, these oracles do point to future realities. But most importantly, there is specific content that comes in these prophecies, including an in-gathering of the nations at Zion (Isaiah 2:1–5; Micah 4:1–4), judgment on the nations who do not repent (Jeremiah 23:17–20; 30:24; 48:47; 49:39), the arrival of a Davidic King (Hosea 3:5), and the victorious rule of a kingdom made without hands (Daniel 2:27–29, 45).
In short, by following the language of “latter days” (and related phrases), we come to see that many of the eschatological promises are not found in our future, but in our past. The Son of David has come, he has gathered the nations to Zion, and he is judging the nations, as he establishes his heavenly kingdom. Yet, the only way to see that is to look at what the Bible says. So here are eight passages that identify the latter days.
Jeremiah 23:17–20. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” 18 For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? 19 Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
Jeremiah 49:39. But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.
From all of these passages, we can begin to see a picture of what the Prophets, following Moses anticipated. And if you want to extend the search to phraseology that is like, but not exactly the same as “in the latter days,” you will also find two key chapters: Jeremiah 31 and Zechariah 9–14. Jeremiah 31:31–34 introduces the “new covenant” and Zechariah 9–14 recounts all the events leading up to and surrounding the death of Christ. Notably, in Jeremiah, the language of “at that time” (Jer. 31:1), “the days are coming” (Jer. 31:27, 31, 38), “in those days” (Jer. 31:29), or “after those days” (Jer. 31:33) repeats. And in Zechariah 12–14, the phrase “on that day” occurs sixteen times.
Long story short, the Prophets give us a clear testimony to the coming of a day or days, when God will establish his kingdom through a new covenant. At the beginning of the New Testament, we find the faithful in Israel anticipating this day. And soon, we find Jesus and his Apostles explaining all the ways that Christ brought these new realities into being.
The Last Days Summarized
Next week, I will show the ways the New Testament applies these prophecies to Jesus, but for now, consider a summary provided by G. K. Beale. In his book, New Testament Biblical Theology, Beale concludes his study of the atter days by saying of the term “Latter days,” that it “occurs at points throughout the OT to refer not to the mere indefinite future but rather to the culmination of history from the various writers’ perspectives” (p. 115).
As outlined above, there is specific content that is assigned to the arrival of the latter days. By examining the content of those promises with the New Testament in hand, we can see that most of the expectations have already come and are now continuing as Christ rules the earth from heaven. Again, in days to come, we will look at what the New Testament says, but for now consider this tenfold expectation that G. K. Beale offers.
This list may not include every detail of Christ’s arrival or the dawning of a new age, but it is a good summary of all that the Old Testament promised in the “latter days,” and by comparison, it does correspond to all that Christ brought when he was born, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. Of course, we still need to see how the New Testament develops these promises, but for now, by paying careful attention to the language of “the latter days,” we can see what the Old Testament expectation is.
So, should we be looking for the latter days in our own generation? Absolutely! But like every generation since the first generation of the church, the place to find and understand the latter days (cf. Jer. 23:20; 30:24) is in Scripture and not in the news reports coming from the Middle East. Wonderfully, Christ has come. And the more we can put him at the center of our eschatology, the more we can grow in faith, hope, and love, while avoiding vain speculations and fruitless prognosticators.
For His Glory and your joy,
Pastor David
[1] Beale, NTBT, 92.
[2] As Brown, Drivers, and Briggs, 31a, defines it, “a prophetic phrase denoting the final period of the history so far as the speaker’s perspective reaches; the sense thus varies with the context, but it often = the ideal of Messianic future.” Driver, Deuteronomy, 74, says almost the same thing: “the final period of the future so far as it falls within the range of the speaker’s perspective.” Quotes from Beale, NTBT, 95.
This is an axiom that I explained when we looked at Genesis 1–2 and how God made the world. When God brought the world into existence, he had a plan for all things. And this telos, or goal, was the basis for saying that proper eschatology depends upon proper protology. And thus, from the beginning of creation, we can see how eschatology began to emerge.
In fact, when the first promise of redemption was given in Genesis 3:15, it did not change God’s eschatological plans; it only advanced them. For as 1 Peter 1:20 reveals, the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world—meaning, that God had a plan for salvation before sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience (Rom. 5:12–21).
Yet, in time, the first gospel (protoevangelium) soon flourished into a messianic hope that turned on the arrival of a Second Adam, a true Enoch, a better Noah, a superior baptism, a seed of Abraham, a royal priest like Melchizedek, a beloved Son like Isaac, a substitutionary ram found on God’s hill, and royal son like Joseph who would come from Judah’s line. In short, the history of the Bible has an eschatological cast to it. In other words, you cannot read the story of Genesis without being confronted with people, places, and events that foreshadow Christ. And lest you think I’m making that up, just go look up the Scriptures in this paragraph.
The Latter Days
If Genesis is filled with eschatology, then it stands to reason that we don’t have to wait for the latter days to learn something about the latter days. In fact, if we are reading carefully, we discover that the first instance of the latter days is found in the second to last chapter of Genesis. And beginning with Genesis 49:1, we have a series of texts from Moses, Isaiah, and the rest of the Prophets that give us content to the latter days.
In other words, we don’t need to wonder if we have entered “the last days,” because Scripture tells us when the latter days will come. Or to turn it around, the Word of God tells us the kind of things that will happen when the Latter Days arrive. And thus, from Moses to the Prophets, let me outline twelve key passages that speak of the Latter Days. And then after enumerating these verses, I will list ten realities that signify the arrival of the Latter Days.
Latter Days in Moses
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, often called the Pentateuch, in which he not only reported the history of the patriarchs and the laws of Sinai, he also spoke of Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus says in John 5:46, when he was debating with the Pharisees about his identity. Jesus says, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” By this measure, and many others, Moses was a not merely a law-giver, he was a prophet. And by the leading of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:9–21), many of his words include eschatological promises, which is to repeat the point: eschatology begins in Genesis.
Yet, more than just finding general ways that Moses spoke about Christ and other future events, we also find in him a specific term that will repeat throughout the Old Testament, until it comes to life in the New. And that term is “last days,” and it is found four places in Genesis 49:1, Numbers 24:14, and Deuteronomy 4:30 and 31:29.
Genesis 49:1. Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come” [lit. “in the latter days”].
Alternative Translation: “. . . Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the latter days (be’aharit hayyamim).”[1]
Numbers 24:14. And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
Deuteronomy 4:30. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice.
Deuteronomy 31:29. For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come [lit. “in the latter days”] evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”
In the ESV, “in the latter days” (be’aharit hayyamim) is translated “latter days” in passages that are understood to be eschatological, while passages that are not immediately defined as eschatological are rendered “in the days to come.” Yet, “in the days to come” hides the eschatological nature of the phrase in Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 4, which is unfortunate because the phrase is clearly eschatological.[2]
I would encourage to read all of these verses their original contexts, but if you do, you will find a list of prophecies for Israel’s twelve sons (Genesis 49); the prophecies of Balaam about Israel (Numbers 22–24); and Moses’s anticipation of a new covenant that will arise after Israel has been blessed and cursed (both in Deuteronomy 4 and 30–31). In other words, the use of the words phrase “in the latter days” is an eschatological term, as it will be used throughout the rest of the Old Testament, until it is fulfilled at the coming of Christ and the establishment of his new covenant.
When we get to the New Testament, we will consider how this term is fulfilled and whether we have been in the “latter days” for 2,000 years or if the latter days refers to the end of one age (the old covenant), before the arrival of a new age (the new covenant and the new creation). For now, it is important to recognize how this language of “latter days” originated in Moses, in contexts where he was speaking about Christ. And, we can confirm this by the way this language is used in the Prophets, too.
Latter Days in the Prophets
In the Prophets, we find the language of Latter Days in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Micah. Without providing a commentary, let me offer the texts where these phrases are used. As expected in the Prophets, these oracles do point to future realities. But most importantly, there is specific content that comes in these prophecies, including an in-gathering of the nations at Zion (Isaiah 2:1–5; Micah 4:1–4), judgment on the nations who do not repent (Jeremiah 23:17–20; 30:24; 48:47; 49:39), the arrival of a Davidic King (Hosea 3:5), and the victorious rule of a kingdom made without hands (Daniel 2:27–29, 45).
In short, by following the language of “latter days” (and related phrases), we come to see that many of the eschatological promises are not found in our future, but in our past. The Son of David has come, he has gathered the nations to Zion, and he is judging the nations, as he establishes his heavenly kingdom. Yet, the only way to see that is to look at what the Bible says. So here are eight passages that identify the latter days.
Isaiah 2:1–5. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:17–20. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” 18 For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? 19 Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
Jeremiah 30:24. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this.
Jeremiah 48:47. Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the Lord.” Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
Jeremiah 49:39. But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.
Daniel 2:27–29, 45. Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. . . . , 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
Hosea 3:4–5. For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Micah 4:1–4. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, 2 and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; 4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
Long story short, the Prophets give us a clear testimony to the coming of a day or days, when God will establish his kingdom through a new covenant. At the beginning of the New Testament, we find the faithful in Israel anticipating this day. And soon, we find Jesus and his Apostles explaining all the ways that Christ brought these new realities into being.
The Last Days Summarized
Next week, I will show the ways the New Testament applies these prophecies to Jesus, but for now, consider a summary provided by G. K. Beale. In his book, New Testament Biblical Theology, Beale concludes his study of the atter days by saying of the term “Latter days,” that it “occurs at points throughout the OT to refer not to the mere indefinite future but rather to the culmination of history from the various writers’ perspectives” (p. 115).
As outlined above, there is specific content that is assigned to the arrival of the latter days. By examining the content of those promises with the New Testament in hand, we can see that most of the expectations have already come and are now continuing as Christ rules the earth from heaven. Again, in days to come, we will look at what the New Testament says, but for now consider this tenfold expectation that G. K. Beale offers.
When the latter days come, you can expect (1) a final, unsurpassed and incomparable period of tribulation for God’s people by an end-time opponent who deceives and persecutes, in the face of which they will need wisdom not to compromise; afterward they are (2) delivered, (3) resurrected, and their kingdom established. (4) At this future time, God will rule the earth, (5) through a coming Davidic king who will defeat opposition and reign in peace in a new creation over both (6) the nations and (7) restored Israel, (8) with whom God will make a new covenant, and (9) upon whom God will bestow the spirit, and (10) among whom the temple will be rebuilt (p. 115).
This list may not include every detail of Christ’s arrival or the dawning of a new age, but it is a good summary of all that the Old Testament promised in the “latter days,” and by comparison, it does correspond to all that Christ brought when he was born, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. Of course, we still need to see how the New Testament develops these promises, but for now, by paying careful attention to the language of “the latter days,” we can see what the Old Testament expectation is.
So, should we be looking for the latter days in our own generation? Absolutely! But like every generation since the first generation of the church, the place to find and understand the latter days (cf. Jer. 23:20; 30:24) is in Scripture and not in the news reports coming from the Middle East. Wonderfully, Christ has come. And the more we can put him at the center of our eschatology, the more we can grow in faith, hope, and love, while avoiding vain speculations and fruitless prognosticators.
For His Glory and your joy,
Pastor David
[1] Beale, NTBT, 92.
[2] As Brown, Drivers, and Briggs, 31a, defines it, “a prophetic phrase denoting the final period of the history so far as the speaker’s perspective reaches; the sense thus varies with the context, but it often = the ideal of Messianic future.” Driver, Deuteronomy, 74, says almost the same thing: “the final period of the future so far as it falls within the range of the speaker’s perspective.” Quotes from Beale, NTBT, 95.
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