How close are we? Part I

This post will be one of a series that I am going to do that will mix modern day events with my beliefs of Christianity and the topic of the "End Days". In order for us to properly examine this topic we will need to rely heavily on what I believe to be God's Word: The Bible. I must first put out the disclaimer that I am a fundamentalist and a literalist. This means that I believe what the scriptures say and I believe it literally. This is somewhat of a radical view even among Christians but I tend to believe that if there is a God and He did leave His Word for us to follow, then chances are very good that He meant for us to understand it. Many people believe that God has hidden many things in "codes" within the Bible. I am not a big believer in this since they seem to change every time someone puts out a new "Bible Code" book and if there is one thing that I know about God it's that He is "the same yesterday, today and tomorrow" (Hebrews 13:8). So keeping this in mind let's look at what the Bible says and how it relates to our world.

First, let's discuss a topic that many people are discussing these days: The End Times. How can we say that we are truly living in the last days or end times? Surely if we were nearing "the end" God would let us know that we were right? In fact He has. Case in point: 1 Timothy 3:1-3:4 says the following in the New Testament-

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (NKJV)

Now you don't have to be a theologian to understand that all of what is being discussed here is present within this world today and has been for sometime. Now here is the rub: Did you catch when these things will supposedly be present? In the first line it says the last days. So now you have to ask yourself a question here: If these things have been present in the world for sometime now and The Bible says that these things will happen in "the last days" then that means that we have been living in the last days for quite sometime. Right? What if I told you that The Bible actually states that we have been living in the "last days" of "end times" for over 2,000 years? Don't believe me? Here's the proof: 1 Peter 1:20 in the New Testament says the following:

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you (NKJV)

WHOA! What does that say? Maybe a more simplified version will make it plainer:

God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you. (NASB)

Yep, that's right. Basically, according to God, the last days or end times BEGAN when Jesus revealed Himself upon this Earth some 2,000+ years ago!! This little revelation gives new meaning to the whole argument that mankind is running out of time. Technically, we have been living on borrowed time for quite a while. I think this is enough for you to digest for now. More to come in the next posting: The Second Coming. Stay tuned!