“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” _{2Timothy 3:1}

The passage for Sunday begins with this phrase, “last days”. Reading the passage it is apparent that Paul is not talking about a distant future moment. He is talking the present.

Understanding how the Bible defines “last days” is important. NT Wright suggests the history of the world should be understood as five acts: 1-Creation, 2-Fall, 3-Israel, 4-Jesus. The Fifth act then is the time between the resurrection and the second coming. It might be called the “Church”, but the New Testament (itself written during the fifth act) calls it the “Last Days”.

Understanding this can help to explain why every generation (including Paul) thinks they are living in the last days. Each interprets present events as signs and connections with scripture. Each expects Jesus’s return at any moment. And all are right – they are in the Last Days… but a day to God might be a 1000 years.

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This Sunday we continue our theme ReSolve — Walking into the future with God. 2Timothy 3 gives us warning against false teachers, a reminder to dwell with Jesus. To come back to the story we find ourselves in (scripture) and confirm we are acting out God’s desires! — Joining us at 10:30 in person with masks or streaming live on FB and YouTube.