By Dee L. McCroskey
Peter's Last Days and Paul's Last Days
Peters last Days
"And it shall come to pass in THE LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon 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).
Paul's Last Days
"This know also, that in THE LAST DAYS perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy" (II Timothy 3:1.2).
When we speak of "the last days" in the Bible, we should be sure we know WHAT last days we are talking about. For Peter's '1ast days" and Paul's '1ast days" are not the same last days. Many Christians, even preachers with a good deal of Bible knowledge, are confused about this, and fan into serious error.
First of all, Peter's prophecy speaks of a great REVIVAL, whereas Paul's prophecy of the last days speaks of a coming great APOS. TASY. Paul speaks of the last days of the present age of grace. Peter speaks of the future revival of the people of Israel during the Tribu. lation age.
If you read on in Peter's address (Acts 2:17.21) he quotes the words of the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32). He speaks of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon all flesh, the sons and daughters of Israel prophesying -all of which wiII take place when the Lord Jesus returns to set up His millennial kingdom.
But if you read on in Paul's proph. ecy of the last days (II Timothy 3:1-5 and 4:3), you will see that he speaks of the present last days, when men shall be lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; when children will be disobedient to parents on a world-wide scale; and na. tions will be filled with trucebreak. ers and traitors; when religion (a form of godliness without di~ine power) will hold sway the world over; when religious seducers and deceivers will wax worse and worse. Who can deny that these things are now happening, that we are now in Paul's last days?
But Peter's last davs are more related to the people' of Israel, and will reach their peak in the latter part of the Tribulation time. As pointed out in the Scofield notes, the "last days" as related to Israel are "last" not with reference to this dispensation, "but with reference to the whole of Israel's history."
Peter said, "This is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel." Joel's prophecy began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, but the most of it is to be fulfiIled in a future day. There will be wonders in the sky, the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood BEFORE that great and notable (or terrible) "day of the Lord" shall come. The Tribulation judgments will be followed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth, and the millennial blessings, when even the animal kingdom wiII be changed (Isaiah 11:6-9), and God's Spirit poured out upon all flesh.
The hope of all believers in the present age of grace is that great event which we call "the rapture," when the Lord shall come in the air and catch up all the saved to be with Himself (I Thess. 4:14-18). One of the old meanings of our English noun "rapture," was the act of carrying someone off to another
place or sphere. It is commonly used for the expression "caught up" in verse 17.
But the details of the "rapture" are said to be a "mystery" or sacred secret (I Cor. 15:51), and only revealed through Paul. This was not given to Peter, and was even "bard to be understood," as he writes in II Peter 3:15-16. When Peter speaks of the coming of the Lord, as in the third chapter of his Second Epistle, he is not speaking of the rapture of the Church, but rather of the actual second coming of Christ to set up His kingdom.
Likewise, when Peter speaks of "the last days" (II Peter 3:3), he is referring to the general last days that culminate in the Tribulation time and finally, the return of the Lord to earth.
When Peter quotes Joel, he says that in that day "whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That will be the most
essential part of the way of salvation during the Tribulation period.
But when Paul quotes the Prophet Joel, he uses only this one statement
from it, that "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.
Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
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