Ever since I was a child, I’ve heard Christians say things such as, “Times are really bad. We are surely living in the last days.” Indeed, things are getting really bad in our world. Society is becoming godless and secular. Gross immorality is put on display in TV shows, movies, and music. Many churches have compromised and allowed the surrounding culture to influence them more than the Bible. Is this what Paul meant when he wrote 1 Timothy 4:1?
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (1 Tim. 4:1 ESV)
Are we living in the later times Paul spoke of? Yes, we can be absolutely certain that we are living in the last days. How can we be so certain we are living in the later times? We can be sure because the later times began over 2,000 years ago with the establishment of the New Covenant.
When did the “later times” begin?
These “later days” Paul speaks of were not some far off time in the future. In Paul’s day, the church had considered themselves as living in the last days since Pentecost. Peter applied Joel’s prophecy concerning the last days to the time they were living in:
And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17 ESV)
Likewise, the Hebrew writer considered the last days to be those from the time of Jesus forward:
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Heb. 1:2 ESV)
Paul is pointing out that the last days were already there and this is another reason why the heresy being taught in Ephesus should not have come as a surprise to anyone. The Holy Spirit had told them this.
It is likely that the Spirit’s prophecy in this matter related to Paul’s warning to the Ephesian elders:
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:29–30 ESV)
Doesn’t “last days” refer to the end of time?
Why would the Bible use the phrase last days if it weren’t speaking of the time just before the end of the world? The biblical authors called them the later times because they were foretold prior to the establishment of the New Testament. Therefore, from the perspective of those living in Old Testament times, the last days referred an age which had not yet come to be. The last days include the end of time, but the end of time is not necessarily the point under consideration by the New Testament authors.
The authors of the New Testament lived in a unique time in history. They lived part of their lives under the Old Covenant and the remainder under the New Covenant. This New Covenant had been foretold in passages like Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 and the people of God knew that the establishment of the New Covenant would happen in the last days.
“At first glance it appears that the phrase ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς, “in the last times,” refers to some time in the future, especially since the verb is a future tense (ἀποστήσονται, “will apostatize”) and the phrase can be translated “in the later times.” However, a closer examination shows that Paul sees Timothy and himself as being presently in the last times.”1
“From the time of the experience of Pentecost the church viewed itself as being in the last days (Acts 2:17–21; Heb 1:2), and this expectation is throughout Paul. ἀποστήσονται, “will apostatize,” is future because Paul is probably looking at the prophecy from the perspective of the time it was originally given, a future that has now become present.”2
The last days began with the establishment of the New Covenant
The apostles and prophets of the early church were mindful of the fact that, with the coming of the New Covenant, they had stepped over the threshold into the later times. The apostle John spoke in terms of the “last hour.” His letter conveys the idea that “the whole era between the first and second coming of Christ is the ‘last hour’” (1 Jn 2:18).3 “The early church considered themselves to be living in the “last days.”4
The last days are here
Paul is reminding Timothy that since the later times have arrived, it shouldn’t surprise him that false teachers, devoted to the doctrines of demons, were undermining people’s faith. The Spirit had foretold it.
According to the Bible, we have been living in the last days since the establishment of the New Testament. We can be sure we are living in the last days, but so did Paul, Timothy, Peter, John, and all the other followers of Jesus throughout history. It is a misconception that the “last days” is only referring to the time just before the end of the world.
References
- Mounce, William D. Word Biblical Commentary, Pastoral Epistles, Vol 46, Nelson, 2000, 371.
- Ibid., 372.
- Arnold, Clinton E., ed. Romans to Philemon, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Vol. 3. 4 vols. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2002. 463.
- John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), 1 Ti 4:1.