The Last Days compose an era of unspecified time which refers to the times that end the era preceding the return of Jesus Christ in the Second Coming

The Last Days are noted for certain specific characteristics by which we can identify these times as different from other times

While there are characteristics which can be found in all ages, the end times is more or less a culmination with components of every age, all coming together

The ancients viewed prophecy as circular, not linear› They believed in life coming full circle, prophecy

coming full circle, and things standing restored

› In the beginning was God, man, and order; in the end will be God, man, and order; to get there, there must be a time of uproar and disruption

› The Last Days prophecy does not refer to a literal explosion or cataclysm totally destroying the entire world, but a series of events that shall disrupt and get the attention of people

In the last days, people shall be deceived on all different levels

There shall be an increase in wars, rumors of wars, and numerous natural disasters in different places within the world

Those who are often closest to us will become opposed to us – to the point of turning us over to harm and death (physical, emotional, spiritual, mental)› There’s so much in the church about families and

the sterling family image and having families and how important family is – but the Bible does not affirm the modern viewpoint If anything, the Bible does not affirm that faith will

make for happiness in families; it affirms the opposite –believing in Jesus and making the choice to follow God will cause conflicts in families

We should never say “My family is first” – God is first and yes we do have to make the choice between our families and God when they aren’t walking as they should

A person’s enemies shall be found in their own household –Before becoming a believer, we don’t just idolize ourselves; we also idolize our families. We are confronted with the reality that we must make decisions and choices that may not always be popular, liked, or that “fit in” with the family vogue (Matthew 10:34-36)

If we love our family more than God, we are not worthy of Kingdom service – In the Kingdom, we are confronted with choices. If we choose our families in any sense over God, we are not fit for Kingdom service and will not have effective or productive ministry within the Kingdom of God (Matthew 10:37-38)

Never think God won’t ask you to make the choice between Him and your family – The typical answer many have about this issue is that “God won’t make me make that choice.” Yes, He will –because if we have any other god before Him – even if it is a family member, parent, child, etc. – we are idolaters (Matthew 10:37)

Those who are closest to us will not understand the call on our lives as we have it from the Lord – It’s a wonderful concept to have a loving and supportive family for ministry; however, the majority of the time, this does not happen –as ministers go through the process to lose their lives and find Christ in a deeper way (Matthew 10:37-41)

Do we comprehend the significance of this statement?› Christ came to save all peoples; it is through Him that all

the families of the earth are blessed

› To be hated of all nations means they are rejecting their blessing in Christ and those who have received that blessing

Being hated means being less favored, less considered, oppressed, and despised by the world; the governments of the world; and the worldliness of the world › It is not a statement of being hated for belief or because

Christians are so obnoxious about things nobody can stand to be around them

› Christians should never expect their governments to be Christian or conform to Christian viewpoint or understanding because this would be contrary to prophecy

A strong staple of the age is offense› People will be offended because there will be much to

be offended by and many miscommunications that lead to offense, whether justified or unjustified

Offense comes as a result of sin› Before the fall, we don’t see offense, because there was

no sin, and no reason for there to be offense

› Racism, sexism, religious bigotry, hatred among ethnic groups, miscommunications, mistreatments, etc. all lead to offense between people

Because of the increase in sin and the overt nature of the sins of the day, people will be very sensitive› We are very preoccupied with how we should be

treated – and when we don’t get the desired results, we get touchy

› It is important to live by the Holy Spirit as it is not wrong to be offended, but it is wrong to be offended for a wrong reason or no reason

Is the situation worth my offense? – Sometimes circumstances and people just aren’t worth our time; sometimes it’s more important to keep going and just remove someone from our lives or let something go than it is to hold on to it

Is the person intending to offend me? – It is not acceptable for people to be rude under any circumstances; however – sometimes it is not the

intention of others to be offensive; they just may present something according to a different custom or not be well-spoken; this doesn’t make behavior right but it does mean we need to consider our response

Is offense a call to make a change? – Sometimes offense is a call to make a change because of people who may be in our lives and need not to be – or maybe we need

to make some other change that we are unable to make without the circumstance which caused offense to arise; sometimes offense is a call to step back and look at ourselves in a deeper way rather than just to look at a person or situation that offended us – remember, God calls us to greater action in many of our circumstances

A key facet of the Last Days is betrayal

› A betrayal is when someone who is close to

another turns on them, becoming an enemy,

and seeking to harm or offend that individual

› Betrayals don’t make sense; they often come

without warning in the natural; and they are

extremely unjust and unfair

Betrayal is a facet of these days because

people are selfish, self-seeking, and all

about themselves

› Life today is marked by competitiveness, envy,

and jealousy which leads people into sinfulness

It often takes us by surprise, but probably should not – we should expect betrayal› Being betrayed is a part of end times

prophecy

› It teaches us who to trust and who not to trust, and in a large way helps us to be discerning and wise to spiritual issues which may be present but do not manifest in an obvious way

› Help us to trust God for our connections and to listen to our instincts about people and who to fellowship with, connect to, accept as leaders, and acknowledge as ministers rather than just taking everyone’s “word” for everything

People will hate one another in the Last Days› Love is a staple of faith and our faith walk; it

makes us different from the world and from others

› It’s easy to hate; people want to hate because it doesn’t require as much of them

Love is based on relationship, whereas hate is based in breaking relationship› Hatred is a reaction, whereby love is an action

and a conscious way of interacting and relating to others

› Love is not conditioned on what others do, but what we choose to do

Hatred requires no commitment

› In hatred, people don’t have to consider others,

don’t worry about their own behavior, do not

worry about God, and do not agree to any sort

of conduct or personal integrity

› They set and live by no standards

› Hatred is a reflection of selfishness and self-

centeredness

› Even such hatred will be found among people

who claim to be Christian and may seem to do

all the right church things – but in reality are not

true believers because they do not have love

This is why love is so important among true believers› It separates us from the world and from the

falsehoods rampant and spreading

› Love creates relationship

› Love tells the truth; it does not condone wrong things but lets people know God cares about them

› It is different from what others do and creates an automatic witness through intrigue

› We can’t be a part of the problem in the Last Days, but must point to the day in which we will receive a solution!

False Prophets, Iniquity, Loveless Nights,

And Endurance To The End

› More in-depth study about false teachers in

these times and how to identify them

› Understanding the sinful iniquity of today

and why sin is so rampant (especially how it

relates to false teachers and deception)

› Where is the love?

› Why endurance to the end merits salvation