Good morning, Bereans. Hopefully we'll get back to 1 Peter soon. But this past week I became aware of a rising trend in our culture that I want us to talk about. The reason that I want to address this is because of what Christians are saying about the cause of this trend. Many Christians are saying this is happening because we are in the last days.
The rising trend in our culture that I'm talking about is adult children cutting off their parents. I'm not talking about abuse situations or dangerous relationships. I'm talking about loving parents who raised their children, gave sacrificially to them, and are now being completely shut out with no warning, no conversation, and no willingness to reconcile. According to research, the vast majority of estrangements between parents and adult children are initiated by the child and not by the parent. Often the parent doesn't even fully know why. One day the phone calls stop the texts go unanswered, and the holidays are silent. And when communication is finally made, it often involves a list of offenses committed by the parents—offenses they didn't even know existed.
Why is this happening? It's because our culture now teaches that anyone who doesn't support how you feel is toxic. TikTok influencers and pop psychology encouraged cutting people off as an act of self-love. Many adult children are now rewriting their childhoods by relabeling boundaries as trauma and tossing aside their parents like disposable relationships. The hashtag #ToxicFamily has 1.9 billion views on TikTok.
Joshua Coleman, a psychologist and senior fellow at the Council on Contemporary Families, gives us some insight into this trend in his book, Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict.
Coleman writes: I think it is relatively new. We've always had estrangements and conflicted relationships between parents and adult children. But I think it is relatively new to view cutting off contact with family members, your parents in particular, as an expression of personal growth and identity, and a form of protecting your mental health.
He goes on to say: Today's therapists are really the high priests that make these decisions about whom to have or not have in your life. The definition of what's considered healthy has also radically changed. For an earlier generation, say, pre-1960, the role of a therapist was probably to help the adult child to have stronger family values and to be more in line with ideals around duty and responsibility. Today, by contrast, notions like duty, obligation, or even caretaking, guilt, or shame—those are all considered to be potentially problematic obstacles on the path to self-discovery. So, from my perspective, there has been a shift in the moral framework away from "Honor thy mother and father" and "respect your elders," to a much more personal psychological perspective of health.
Coleman calls these therapists high priests. Statistics tells us:
- Since 2020, about 30% of American adults have seen a therapist.
- In 2021, about 42 million people received treatment or counseling for their mental health.
- About 17% of American teens see a therapist each year.
Coleman theorizes that social media has fed the estrangement trend, chipping away at ancient societal norms about the primacy of family. Instagram influencers, joined by an army of therapists, have encouraged young adults toward the view that "you don't owe your parents anything," and that "your first obligation is to you, and your happiness."
Many Christians on Tick Tok who are discussing this trend are saying that Scripture warned us that this would happen and then they quote 2 Timothy 2.
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, 2 Timothy 3:1-2 ESV
So, is this new trend of adult children cutting off their parents a sign that we are in the "last days?" Do we have to just accept this because the Bible said it would happen?
This trend is evil; the moral fabric of our culture is being dismantled. Four years of the woke Biden administration have done great harm to our society. When society doesn't even know what a woman is or how many genders there are, it is in trouble. The only thing that can help our society heal is the Bible. We must return to a biblical world view. Children are called to honor their father and mother. The Church must wake up and begin to proclaim the truth of Scripture to a lost and dying world. We must confront the culture with the truth of Scripture. We must call it back to godly values. But first we must teach the truth of eschatology. We can't just accept cultural decline because the Bible said it would happen in the last days. We must lose the dispensational slogan of, "Why polish the brass on a sinking ship?" Believers, we are not a sinking ship! We are living in the ever-expanding eternal kingdom of God. This eternal kingdom has no last days.
The New Covenant age is "the eternal covenant."
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Yeshua, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, Hebrews 13:20 ESV
An eternal covenant has no "last days." We are not living in the biblical last days but in the first days of the eternal age.
Let's talk about the Last Days and what the Bible teaches about them. Hopefully, when you hear a statement like, "we are living in the last days," your first question is, "Last days of what?" What is really sad is that when MOST Christians hear that we are in the "last days," they never ask, "Last days of what?" They see the phrase "last days" used in the Bible, and they assume that it is referring to the last days of the world.
Most Christians today would probably say that we (twenty-first century American Christians) are living in the last days of the world. This is a commonly held view.
Joseph Tkach writes, "Do we see 'the signs of the times?' 'Mark this,' Paul wrote: 'There will be terrible times in the last days' (2 Timothy 3:1). And what do we see now? America at war. Shootings in our schools. Disasters in the weather. Is it all coming to a climax? Will World War III soon be upon us? We are living in the last days!" By "last days" he means the last days of the world, the "last days" of the earth.
There are many today who believe we are in the last days of the world because they see all of the middle-east turmoil, technological advancements, "new world order," etc. They claim that these are fulfillments of biblical prophecy that prove that we are in the last days.
Let's examine what the Bible says about the "last days" and see if we can come to an understanding of their meaning. I think that most everyone would agree that the last days had begun by the time Christ came into the world.
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. Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV
The writer of Hebrews says that they (first-century Christians) were in the last days. Most Christians would agree that the last days began around the time of Christ. The big debate, however, comes over when do the last days end? Hopefully, our study today will help us answer that question.
In order to understand the term "last days," let's look at how the phrase was originally used in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Bible's first use of the phrase "last days" is found in Genesis.
Then Ya`akov called for his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the acharit-hayamim. Genesis 49:1 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible)
The "acharit-hayamim" is the Hebrew for the "last days." Consider carefully to whom the phrase "last days" is primarily addressed. Jacob is talking to his sons (the twelve tribes of Israel), and he pronounces the general evil that would come upon them. So, clearly, Israel is the subject of the last days, and the last days concern Israel.
'If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak'? And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days." Numbers 24:13-14 ESV
The CJB has here "acharit-hayamim." The KJV says, "in the latter days." And YLT (Young's Literal Translation) says, "in the latter end of the days." Here again the vision is concerning the Jews. It was concerning what would happen to Israel in the last days.
Isaiah predicts these "last days" as well.
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, Isaiah 2:1-2 ESV
The vision was concerning Judah and Jerusalem. This is speaking of the New Covenant that is inaugurated in the "last days." Nowhere is the phrase "last days" used to refer to the physical world, but, rather, it is referring to the "last days" of the nation Israel.
Moses confirms that the "last days" of national Israel would be characterized by devastation and their ultimate scattering.
And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. Deuteronomy 4:27 ESV
When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. Deuteronomy 4:30 ESV
He continues this idea toward the end of the book.
because I know that after my death you will become very corrupt and turn aside from the way that I have ordered you, and that disaster will come upon you in the acharit-hayamim, because you will do what Adonai sees as evil and provoke him by your deeds." Deuteronomy 31:29 CJB
Moses says, "disaster will come upon you in the acharit-hayamim." Moses was leading the company of Israel. There is no reference to Gentiles being the subject of these latter days.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 'No disaster shall come upon you.'" For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. Jeremiah 23:16-20 ESV
Throughout the book of Jeremiah, God condemns the Jewish false prophets. Here Jeremiah predicts that when these last days come, the people of Yahweh will understand what He will do to the nation in destroying it and punishing it for its wickedness.
Yahweh, through Ezekiel, warns Israel (My people) of their destruction by the hand of foreign nations.
You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. Ezekiel 38:16 ESV
Michael, the archangel, spoke to Daniel associating the latter days with Daniel's people.
and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come." Daniel 10:14 ESV
The phrase "your people" is referring to Israel. Israel is Daniel's people. The time of this writing is about 536 B.C. He says that the vision of what will happen to Israel in the latter days is a long way off, "...the vision is for days to come." So, in Daniel's time, the "last days" were a long way off.
Hosea talks about how the elect remnant will turn to Yahweh in the "last days":
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days. Hosea 3:5 ESV
This is talking about Israel's trusting their Messiah Yeshua. Finally, in Micah, the Prophet states that the last days involve the destruction of physical Israel and the establishment of the true Israel.
Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. Micah 3:12 ESV
Here we see the destruction of national Israel. But look at Micah 4:1.
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, Micah 4:1 ESV
In order to understand these verses, we must understand that there are two Israels:
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, Romans 9:6 ESV
What does that mean? Israel is not a term like Ammon, Moab, Greece, or Rome. Israel cannot be defined in terms of physical descent or understood simply on the human side; it is created not by blood or soil but by the promise of Yahweh. Within national Israel is "true Israel" or "spiritual Israel." Most of Israel was faithless. Only a remnant was redeemed. Those of faith made up the remnant.
The Dispensationalists says, "God is going to defend National Israel in His time." The exact opposite was true! Yahweh said that there was going to be an end to some aspect of Israel and a resurrection of something else. Yahweh was going to destroy her national, political existence and spiritually resurrect her.
"Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up." For thus says the Lord GOD: "The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel." Amos 5:2-3 ESV
National Israel will be destroyed. But spiritual Israel will be Restored.
"In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, Amos 9:11 ESV
"Booth" refers to his family line. Yahweh said He was going to destroy and rebuild Israel, meaning that National Israel would be destroyed, never to rise again. But Spiritual Israel would rise from her ruins.
Where in the New Testament are we told that this was happening?
Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, "'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, Acts 15:14-16 ESV
When Amos gave the prophecy, he was referring to a future time, but when James quotes it, he does so to say that it is being fulfilled.
Look at what Paul taught the Galatians 3.
just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. Galatians 3:6-7 ESV
Who are Abraham's true children? Those of faith, not physical descendants.
So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Galatians 3:9 ESV
The blessing comes from faith, not physical descent with the "last days." Their last days came, and Yahweh destroyed them. The nation of Israel has not existed for nearly 2,000 years. National Israel was destroyed in A.D. 70. Those in the Middle East who affirm themselves as Israel have no right to do so. There is no Jewish race or nation today. Yahweh put an end to Judaism in A.D. 70. The "last days" were the "last days" of Israel. The last days ended when the nation Israel ended.
Let's move into the New Testament and see if we can't verify these truths. In the book of Acts we find a profound statement made by Peter (a Jew) to a multitude of Jews out of every nation.
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:14-18 ESV
Let me ask you a couple of questions here: "Whom is Peter talking to?" The answer is to the men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem. "When did Peter say this?" He said this in the first century.
Peter explicitly says, "This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel." He then explains that what this multitude of Jews was experiencing was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel. Peter is telling this multitude that they (first-century Jews) were in the last days. Beyond this, he goes on to describe what would take place during these last days:
And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. Acts 2:19-20 ESV
Please notice that this is one prophecy of one event that encompassed the pouring out of the Spirit and the pouring out of wrath. This is a prophecy of "The Christ event." This "Christ Event" encompasses the Cross, Pentecost, the Resurrection, the Judgment, and the Parousia. Please notice that Joel's prophecy covers from Pentecost to the Day of the Lord. It covers a 40-year period that was equal to a generation.
Notice how this corresponds to what Yeshua said about judgment in:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 ESV
Yeshua spoke these words in answer to the disciples' question as to when the end of the age would come.
Yeshua left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Matthew 24:1-3 ESV
Their question was two-fold. First, they asked, "When will these things be?" The "these things" refers to the temple's destruction in verse 2. In verse 1, the disciples are pointing out the temple buildings to Yeshua. In verse 2, Yeshua says, "All these things" shall be destroyed. It should be clear that they are asking, "WHEN will the temple be destroyed? When will our house be left desolate?" After all Yeshua had just spoken about judgment on Jerusalem (Matthew 23), and about not one stone's being left upon another. The disciples' response is, "When?" That makes sense, doesn't it? I would hope so.
The second part of their question is, "What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age." If you compare all three synoptic Gospel accounts, you will see that the disciples considered His "coming" and "the end of the age" to be identical events with the destruction of the temple.
"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" Mark 13:4 ESV
Notice in the first part of the verse, he says, "When will these things be?"—referring to the temples' destruction. Then in the second half, he asks, "What will be the sign when all 'these things' will be fulfilled?" The sign of His coming and the end of the age were the same as the "these things," which referred to the destruction of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70. The disciples had one thing, and only one thing, on their mind, and that was the destruction of the temple. With the destruction of the temple, they connected the coming of Messiah and the end of the age. Their question was, "When will the end be?" Yeshua tells them quite clearly that the end would come in "This generation":
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Matthew 24:34 ESV
The word "generation" means "those who are contemporaries or live at the same time."
So, the age that was to end was the Jewish age. It would end with the destruction of the Jewish temple and the city of Jerusalem. It was not the "last days" of the world; he is talking about the "last days" or "end" of the age of Judaism, the Old Covenant Age. The disciples knew that the fall of the temple and the destruction of the city meant the end of the Old Covenant Age and the inauguration of a New Age.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 ESV
Modern commentators generally understand this and what follows as the end of the world, but is that consistent with biblical language? Is this talking about the destruction of the earth?
If you are not familiar with the apocalyptic language of the Tanakh, you will not understand what Christ is saying here. This language is common among the Old Covenant prophets. This idea is seen clearly as we look at passages where mention is made of the destruction of a state and government using language which seems to set forth the end of the world.
The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. Isaiah 13:1 ESV
In this chapter, Yahweh is talking about the judgment that is to fall upon Babylon. The word "oracle" is the Hebrew word massa': "an utterance, chiefly a doom." This introduction sets the stage for the subject matter in this chapter, and if we forget this, our interpretations of Isaiah 13 can go just about anywhere our imagination wants to go. This is not an oracle against the world, but against the nation of Babylon.
Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Isaiah 13:6 ESV
Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. Isaiah 13:9-13 ESV
Now, remember he is speaking about the destruction of Babylon, even though it sounds like worldwide destruction. The terminology of a context cannot be expanded beyond the scope of the subject under discussion. The spectrum of language surely cannot go outside the land of Babylon. If you were a Babylonian and Babylon was destroyed, would it seem like the world was destroyed? Yes! Your world would be destroyed.
Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. Isaiah 13:17 ESV
This is a historical event that took place in 539 BC. When the Medes destroyed Babylon, the Babylonian world came to an end. This destruction is said (verse 6) to be from the Almighty, and the Medes constitute the means that Yahweh used to accomplish this task. This is apocalyptic language. This is the way the Bible discusses the fall of a nation. This is obviously figurative language. Yahweh did not intend for us to take this literally. If we take this literally, the world ended in 539 BC, and we're not really here.
As we have seen, the "last days" concerned the nation of Israel. In fact, the very first mention of the "last days," as we have seen, was by Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. More importantly, Jacob was addressing the twelve sons, or tribes, in speaking about the evil that would befall those tribes in the last days. The question is, how does this relate to the language of Yeshua and Peter in speaking of the sun, moon, and the stars? Do you remember Joseph's dream about his family?
Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." Genesis 37:9 ESV
Is Joseph's dream about the literal sun and moon and stars bowing to him? How would the sun bow? This may confuse us, but Joseph's father knew exactly what Joseph was saying.
But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?" Genesis 37:10 ESV
Jacob, Joseph's father, interpreted this dream as referring to himself, his wife, and their sons, who were the heads of the twelve tribes identified as the sun, moon, and stars, respectively. They represented the foundation of the whole Jewish nation. When Yeshua, therefore, spoke of the sun being darkened, the moon not giving its light, and the stars falling from heaven, He was not referring to the end of the world, but of the complete dissolution of the Jewish state. Peter was addressing the same event.
In the prophetic language, great commotions and revolutions upon earth are often represented by commotions and changes in the heavens. None of these things literally took place!
So, we saw in Acts 2 that Peter was claiming that Joel's prophecy was being fulfilled, and that they were in the "last days." As we saw earlier, the writer of Hebrews expressed this identical sentiment as he began his discourse comparing the fading Old Covenant with the Everlasting New Covenant.
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. Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV
Yeshua was speaking in the last days. What last days? The last days of the Old Covenant Age.
for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26 ESV
When was it that Yeshua appeared? He was born, not at the beginning, but at the end of the ages. To suppose that he meant that Yeshua's incarnation came near the end of the world would be to make his statement false. The world has already lasted longer since the incarnation than the whole duration of the Mosaic economy (from the exodus to the destruction of Herod's temple). Yeshua was manifest at the end of the Jewish age. Peter says the same thing.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:20 ESV
Yeshua came during the last days of the age that was the Old Covenant Age, the Jewish age. That age came to an end with the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.
Certainly, the writers of the New Testament were very aware of those passages we have studied involving the "last days" of Judah and Jerusalem. Therefore, it is safe and logical to say that the New Testament writers believed that they were in the "last days" of the Jewish age. Paul believed they were living in the end of the Jewish Age.
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV
Paul said that the end of the ages was coming upon them (first-century saints). James taught the same thing.
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. James 5:1-3 ESV
Clearly James taught that these men were in the "last days." John taught this also.
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18 ESV
John believed they were in the last hour of the Jewish age (1 John 2:18).
There are many other passages that could be used to support the fact that the first-century believers, and particularly the apostles, believed that they were in the end of the Jewish age or the "last days" of the Jewish age.
Contrary to popular opinion, we are not living in what the Bible calls the "last days." We are now living in the New Covenant age. The New Covenant age is "the eternal covenant."
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Yeshua, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, Hebrews 13:20 ESV
An eternal covenant has no "last days." We are living in the first days of the eternal age. Missing these important time statements causes people to misapply, by nearly 2000 years, many verses in the Bible.
The old heavens and earth of Judaism have passed away, and we now live in the New Heavens and New Earth of the New Covenant. May Yahweh help us to fully understand and appreciate our position in the New Heaven and Earth where righteousness dwells and where Yahweh dwells with His people.
The sin we see today in our culture has nothing to do with eschatology. People are evil and will always be committing evil. It is our responsibility to take the light of the Gospel to them. We are the light of the world, and we are to overcome evil with good.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 ESV