Are We Living in the Last Days?

James 4:1-4 (NET) Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? 2 You desire and you do not have; you murder, and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; 3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions. 4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God?

Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, to warn him that in the last days perilous times would come. I expect Paul believed that his young protégé would live to see the end of the world. Indeed, Timothy experienced the last days even as we today are living in the same.

The question is, will Christ return soon? Are we in the tribulation period or on the brink of it as written in Revelation?

The English phrase, “perilous times” comes from the Greek, meaning evil morality, harsh nations, and dangerous people. No one can deny we see the like on network news every day. We all have a reason for concern. But what is in the heart of God for us? Is He not looking for His true Bride in the world today? His beloved, who says, “I do.” “I will love and cherish you all the days of my life. I will live for you and forsake all to follow you.”

Conflicts arise when people battle within themselves. They don’t like the way their lives are turning out. They can’t get what they want, so they hate and murder. They want to take from others what they want for themselves. And yet Jesus our Lord says, “Ask, and you shall receive.” What we hear and see each day is the “show and tell” of what is in the heart of every man apart from the grace of Jesus Christ. The battle is within my friend. There’s no way out of it except to surrender all to the One who calls you His own!

The Lord is not looking to take His Bride out of this world. He prays that we stay in it protected from the evil one. We are to remain faithful to Him and repent of adulterous desires that only serve to lead us astray to fear and unrest. As deep darkness covers the nations, may the light of His glory rest on you! In this dark time of American history, may the true church arise and shine!