Paul and the Last Days
Paul pinned the start of the “Last Days” to the death and resurrection of Jesus. In him, the messianic age, the time of fulfillment has arrived. Ever since the promises of God have been finding their “yea and amen” in the Risen Christ. While the term “Last Days” is not frequent in Paul’s letters, he does demonstrate his understanding that History’s final stage has commenced with the death and resurrection of the Nazarene, and therefore, nothing can or will ever be the same again.
For
example, to the congregation in the city of Corinth, he categorized key events from
the Hebrew Bible as “types,” examples for the followers of Jesus, the
very ones “upon whom the ENDS OF THE AGES have arrived.”
![]() |
[Photo by Othman Alghanmi on Unsplash] |
In the wilderness, God provided Israel with “spiritual drink” from the “spiritual rock,” and this “rock” prefigured Jesus (for “the rock was Christ”). Such pivotal events are examples so that his disciples no longer will live after the manner of this age - (1 Corinthians 10:11).
And
in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul uses the plural forms of “ages” and
“ends.” The Greek term telos or “end” may
signify the termination of something, but also its “goal.” And in
his letter, both senses may be in view - termination and goal.
THE CONSUMMATION OF ALL THINGS
Jesus
expressed the same thought in his parable of the Wheat and Tares, the
“produce” of the field that will be “gathered at the consummation of the age.” The
English term “consummation” translates a Greek compound word built on
the noun telos, namely, sunteleia. It refers not just to the
“end” of the present age, but to the consummation of all that God has
set into motion in it.
Similarly,
the Book of Hebrews declares that Jesus “once in the consummation
(sunteleia) of the ages appeared to put away sin by his sacrifice” - (Matthew
13:36-44, Hebrews 9:26).
Thus,
In Christ, one era reached its endpoint while another one began. That
transition was due to Jesus, especially his death, resurrection, and his subsequent
exaltation. And therefore, the “ends of the ages,” plural, have come upon
his present followers.
To
the churches in Rome, the Apostle declared that the arrival of Jesus signified
the “end (telos) of the Law for righteousness to everyone who
believes.” The literary context is clear - By “law,” Paul refers to
is the Law given through Moses at Mount Sinai. Whether Paul means the termination
or the goal of the Law, his statement indicates a fundamental change in status and era
- (Romans 10:1-4).
To
the churches of Galatia, Paul answered the question – “Why, then, the law?”
He placed its jurisdiction within a limited period. The Law was “added
because of transgressions UNTIL the seed should come to whom the
promise was made.” The Law was given over four hundred years after the
promise was confirmed to Abraham; and so, the promise takes precedence over the
Law - (Galatians 3:19-25).
The
Law served as the “custodian” of God’s people “UNTIL the faith that
should afterward be revealed.” Since that faith has arrived, God’s
people are no longer under the custodianship of the Law with its division between
Jews and Gentiles; therefore, “all are sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus, there cannot be Jew nor Greek… You are Abraham’s heirs according to
promise” – (Galatians 3:19-29).
THE FULLNESS OF TIME
And
Paul continues. At the “fullness of
time,” God sent his Son “to redeem them under the law, that we
might receive the adoption of sons, and because we are sons God sent the Spirit
of his Son into our hearts” – (Galatians 4:1-6).
And so, the Apostle to the Gentiles links the “promise of Abraham,” the inheritance, redemption, and the “fullness of time” to the arrival of Jesus, along with the “adoption” of God’s children and the Gift of the Spirit. Hence, his arrival and ministry signified a fundamental change in the Law and the status of God’s people – (Galatians 3:1-4).
The first arrival of Jesus, especially his
death and resurrection, marked the “fullness of time,” the point when the
saints ceased being “minors” under the custodianship of the Law, and
instead, became full heirs of the promises made to Abraham. To now return to
the “elemental things” of the old order would mean nothing less than
regression to a past age:
- “How turn you back to the weak and beggarly elements unto which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days, months, times and years” - (Galatians 4:9-11).
In
Galatia, one area of conflict concerned a return to the Jewish calendrical
observations required by the Levitical regulations. But since believers are now
full heirs and “sons,” it follows that the jurisdiction of the Law is no
longer in effect, and that also means that a radical change in the identity of
God’s people has taken place. The same clause occurs in Paul’s Letter to the
Ephesians:
- (Ephesians 1:9-11) - “Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him, for an administration of the fullness of the seasons, to reunite for himself, under one head, the all things in the Christ, the things upon the heavens and the things upon the earth, in him. In whom also we were taken as an inheritance, according to the purpose of him who energizes all things according to the counsel of his will.”
In
the Ephesian passage, Paul uses the more pregnant term “seasons,” and in
the plural number to stress how Jesus was the goal of God’s plans from all eras
- past, present, and future.
THE PRESENT AGE IS FADING
Paul
addresses marital relationships in 1 Corinthians. Should Christians
continue in such relationships considering the “present distress?” The
short answer is “yes.” Husbands and wives must fulfill their mutual
obligations, and the unmarried are free to marry, though only “in the Lord.”
Nevertheless,
Paul does place marriage in its proper place. Disciples must keep their
priorities straight since, with the advent of Christ--:
- “The time is shortened, therefore, let those that have wives may be as though they had none, and let those that buy as though they possessed not,” for the fashion of this world is passing away.” - (1 Corinthians 7:29-31).
The
present tense Greek verb rendered “passing away” stresses ongoing action; action-in-progress.
Even now, the world is in the process of “passing away” and has been ever
since the arrival of Jesus. Similarly, in his second letter to the Corinthians,
Paul teaches--:
- (2 Corinthians 5:15-17) - “Having judged this, that one on behalf of all died, hence, they all died; and in behalf of all died he, in order that, they who live, no longer for themselves should live, but for him who, in their behalf, died and rose again. So that we, henceforth, know no one after the flesh: if we have even been gaining after the flesh a knowledge of Christ. On the contrary, now, no longer are we gaining it. So that, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation! the old things have passed away. Behold, they have become new!”
Thus,
the death and resurrection of Jesus inaugurated the promised new creation.
Its implementation began with that event. Moreover, this fact means that a
major pivotal point in history has been reached in him.
The
“old” order is passing away and the “new” one is dawning in the
middle of the present “evil age,” especially so in the church.
There is both continuity and discontinuity between the old and the new eras.
Things that were required under the old system have lost their relevance. For
example, in this new era, circumcision is neither here nor there. What counts is the “new
creation” in him - (Galatians 6:15).
In Galatians, Paul points to Jesus and his sacrificial death that “delivered us from this present evil age.” He does not refer to our removal from the physical universe but to our deliverance from the present era in preparation for the coming age - (Galatians 1:4).
Likewise,
to the Colossians, he thanks God “who delivered us out of the power of
darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Disciples
now belong to a different age and a different political order - (Colossians
1:12-13).
THE LAST DAYS
Paul
wrote of the “mysteries” that were hidden previously but are now made manifest
in Jesus of Nazareth for all men to see. The promises given by the prophets
of Israel have found their fulfillment in him.
He
is the “mystery which has been kept in silence through past ages, but now is
manifested,” according to the Scriptures. This mystery is “made known to
all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith.” He is the “mystery hidden
from ages and from generations but now manifested to his saints” - (Colossians
1:26, 2 Timothy 1:10).
The
term “Last Days” is not a chronological marker, nor does it refer simply
to the final few years of history before the return of Jesus. Instead, a
fundamental change in the nature and status of everything has occurred because
of Jesus. His death achieved final victory over Sin, Death, and Satan. And since
his resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit, the “Last Days” have
been underway as the present order winds down to its inevitable conclusion – (Acts
2:17-22).
Calvary means
far more than the forgiveness of sins. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God,
the New Covenant, and the New Creation. The latter is not waiting for its
commencement; it has begun already and is progressing toward its inevitable
consummation.
His
death put into motion the final phase of the redemptive plan of God for the
entire creation. Consequently, all human relations are radically altered, whether
marital, societal, or political.
This
is why the New Testament consistently portrays the “Last Days” as having
commenced with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The age of
fulfillment has been upon us ever since he rose from the dead, the “fullness of time.”