The Last Days​—Of What?

A SIGN in a store window proclaims: “Last Days.” Its message is fairly obvious. It can mean that a sale will be ending soon or that the store will be closing. But what if someone says, “We are living in the last days”? What does that mean?

The terms “the last days” and “the time of the end” have been in use for a long time. (2 Timothy 3:1; Daniel 12:4) Over 2,500 years ago, the prophet Daniel was given visions of world powers and of the conflicts that would take place between them up until “the time of the end.” He was told that the meaning of these visions would be made clear at that time. (Daniel 8:17, 19; 11:35, 40; 12:9) Daniel also recorded: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Daniel 2:44.

Jesus Christ referred to “the end” when answering a question about “the sign of [his] presence and of the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matthew 24:3-42) Evidently, both Daniel and Jesus were referring to a finality​—a dramatic change that would affect the people who live and have lived on our globe. Daniel wrote of the end of all earthly governments. Jesus spoke of “the conclusion of the system of things.”

Should you be concerned? Of course. All mankind should be, as all are involved. Still, many take this matter lightly. The Bible foretold: “In the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’” (2 Peter 3:3, 4) Yes, some today feel that history just keeps repeating itself and that life as we know it will go on this way endlessly.

Is there any evidence that we are really living in what the Bible calls the last days? Let us see.