A very large percentage of Evangelical Christians are waiting for the last days. Gary Demar wrote a book entitled last days madness. His point as a preterist is that most, if not all of the prophecies in Revelation and the gospels, were fulfilled in the first century at the siege of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple. Still, the largest part of evangelical Christianity is awaiting the last days. There have been a number of popular movies and books about the concept of being left behind.
Harold Camping has prophesied that judgment day will be May 21, 2011. Hmmmn… I was born on May 21, and so according to Camping and his followers, my birthday party will be eclipsed by the judgment… kind of an invigorating possibility don’t you think?
Never mind the fact that this is by no means Camping’s first date setting fiasco. He wrote two books announcing that the judgment would be happening in September of 1994. That date came and went, and so it took several years to make the prediction again. I am quite confident that none of those who believe the last days are *now* (approaching) are in any way correct. In my view, the last days have come and gone. Certainly, that was Peter’s belief. He preached a sermon on the day of Pentecost that was/is recorded in Acts chapter two.
Peter says:
Acts 2:14-21 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. (15) For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. (16) But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: (17) "'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; (18) even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (19) And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; (20) the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. (21) And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
It is very obvious that Peter believed that the last days, and the fulfillment of this prophecy was in fact in the first century, in his lifetime, and not drawn out two thousand years later. Peter even goes so far as to change the wording of the Old Testament passage (Joel 2:28) from afterward to “the last days.” There is no possible way to extend this prophecy to a later date. Peter clearly puts it in his time, in his generation.
Matthew 24:36 “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows". It is my belief, and yes, I am still waiting for my Savior to come!
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