Are We Living in the Last Days? What the Bible Really Says

Are we living in the last days?

With everything going on in the world, it’s a fair question to ask. Wars, division, disasters, moral confusion; it can feel like the end has to be near. And if you’ve spent any time online or in certain church circles, you’ve probably heard someone say, “We’re definitely living in the last days.”

But are we?

It’s easy to get caught up in dramatic headlines or theories that sound biblical but are more opinion than Scripture. That’s why, instead of asking what do people say about the last days, we need to ask a better question: What does the Bible say about the last days?

In this post, we’re going to look directly at what Scripture says. We will explore every time the phrase “last days” is used and let that shape our understanding. You might be surprised by what we find.

Last Days In The Bible

There’s no shortage of opinions when it comes to the end times. Some of them are intriguing. Others… are kind of wild. And a lot of it? Honestly, it’s just not in the Bible.

The problem is, most conversations about the last days start with someone’s personal definition, what they think it means, and then they try to squeeze that definition into Scripture. That’s a dangerous way to handle God’s Word.

So let’s do the opposite.

Let’s set aside what we think we know, ignore the headlines for a minute, and look directly at how the Bible defines the last days. Because once we understand how Scripture uses that phrase, the picture becomes a lot clearer.

The phrase “in the last days” only appears in the Bible 6 times. Which might be surprising considering how much it’s talked about. But maybe more surprising is that this phrase is not found in Revelation.  Let’s look at each of the 6 occurrences of this phrase.

Acts 2:16

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Acts 2:14-17

Acts 2 is the moment of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes upon the early followers of Jesus. Some in the crowd are confused, so Peter steps up and explains what’s happening.

To do that, he quotes the prophet Joel, someone the Jewish audience would’ve known well. Joel had prophesied about a day when God would pour out His Spirit in a whole new way. Peter points to that moment and says: This is it. This is the day Joel was talking about. These are the last days.

In other words, Peter isn’t talking about a distant future he’s saying the last days were already happening.

In other words, the claim here is that the last days are not some date in the future, they are the present reality almost 2,000 years ago.

Let’s look at another time Peter uses the term “in the last days.” 

1 Peter 1:20

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 1 Peter 1:20

Notice here how Peter chose to phrase his words. He says, “in these last times.” Peter is putting himself in the last times. He again refers to the last days, not as something coming, but something they were living in.

Jesus, Peter says, was revealed in these last times. Once again, the “last days” are treated as a present reality, not a future prediction.

We are starting to see a pattern and we are going to see it continue.  

Hebrews 1:1-3

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  Hebrews 1:1-3

Here, the author of Hebrews draws a contrast between how God used to speak (through the prophets) and how He’s speaking now (through Jesus). And how does he describe this new season? “These last days.”

That means, according to Hebrews, the last days started when Jesus came.

We’re three for three now. Each passage so far has defined the last days not as a far-off event, but as something that began with Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:1-9

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

This is one of the most commonly quoted passages when people talk about the end times. And it sounds like it could’ve been written yesterday.

But here’s the thing: Paul wrote this nearly 2,000 years ago… to Timothy… about the world they were living in.

He’s not describing a future era to watch out for, he’s describing the cultural reality they were already facing. The moral breakdown, the selfishness, the religious hypocrisy, it was all happening in their time.

So when Paul says “in the last days,” he’s not pointing to something far ahead. He’s talking about the world they were living in right then.

2 Peter 3:1-9

Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 2 Peter 3:3-5

This one sounds like Peter could be referring to the future; until you stop and think about who he’s writing to.

Peter is addressing real people in a real church who were already dealing with this exact problem. There were people around them mocking the idea of Jesus returning. They were asking, “Where is He? I thought He was supposed to come back.”

If that wasn’t happening yet, there’d be no reason for Peter to bring it up. So again, the most natural way to read this is that they were already in the last days, experiencing the exact things Peter describes.

James 5:1-6

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. James 5:1-6

James pulls no punches here. He’s calling out wealthy landowners who exploited their workers. But notice the language, “you have hoarded wealth in the last days.”

He’s not warning them about something they might do in the future. He’s accusing them of what they were already doing… in the last days.

Which means, again, James believed they were living in the last days at the time of writing.

Meaning Of The Last Days In The Bible

So, after looking at every passage where the Bible uses the phrase “in the last days,” here’s what we can say with confidence:

The Bible defines the last days as the time between the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ. 

That’s it.

According to the Bible, we’ve been living in the last days for about 2,000 years. That might not line up with how most people talk about it today, but it’s the consistent definition we see in Scripture.

A lot of Christians think “the last days” means Jesus is coming back any minute now—maybe within the next few years or at least in our lifetime. And sure, that could happen. But the Bible doesn’t actually say that.

In fact, Jesus Himself said He didn’t even know the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24:36). So if Jesus didn’t speculate, maybe we shouldn’t either.

Could He return tomorrow? Absolutely.
Could it be another 2,000 years? Also yes.

That’s why building an end-times timeline or reading every headline as a sign usually leads to confusion or fear. The Bible doesn’t give us clues or countdowns, it gives us a way to live in the here and now.

The biblical authors weren’t obsessed with when Jesus would return. They were far more concerned with how we should live while we wait.

Are We Living In The Last Days? 

So, are we living in the last days? Yes, we have been for 2,000 years.

But that doesn’t mean Jesus is coming back next week… or next year… or even in your lifetime. Maybe He is. Maybe He’s not. The Bible doesn’t say.

And, that’s the point.

The Bible doesn’t call us to figure out when Jesus is coming back. It calls us to be faithful until He does.

Too many people get caught up trying to predict the future instead of living faithfully in the present. They twist Scripture to fit their timelines, chase sensational headlines, and miss the actual challenge the Bible gives us: Live like Jesus has already come and could return at any moment.

Instead of speculating, we should be following Him. Instead of trying to crack a code, we should be making disciples, loving our neighbor, living generously, and staying faithful to Jesus; no matter how crazy the world gets.

I’d love to hear from you.
What have you been taught about the last days?

Drop a comment below and join the conversation.
Or email me at: jeff@rethinknow.org

Now check out: Why The Rapture In the Bible Isn’t What You Think