Many people today believe we are living in the "last days" or "end times." But the Bible never said the end would be the destruction of planet earth. The "last days" were about the end of the Old Covenant age – not the physical world. Let's look at the Scriptures:

"But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them... 'This is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days...'" (Acts 2:14-17 NASB)

"Now these things happened as examples for us... upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (1 Corinthians 10:11 NASB)

"In these last days has spoken to us in His Son..." (Hebrews 1:2 NASB) "He has been revealed at the end of the times for your sake." (1 Peter 1:20 NASB) "The end of all things is near..." (1 Peter 4:7 NASB) "Children, it is the last hour..." (1 John 2:18 NASB)

Jesus and His apostles believed they were living in the last days. So why do some say they were wrong?

If the apostles were wrong, that would make Jesus a false prophet. But He wasn’t wrong. They weren’t wrong. The last days they spoke of were the last days of the Old Covenant that ended in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem.

"For these are days of vengeance, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled... Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place." (Luke 21:22, 32 NASB)

Jesus said ALL prophecy would be fulfilled in that generation. Not ours.

"When they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes." (Matthew 10:23 NASB)

"There are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matthew 16:28 NASB)

He wasn’t talking about a second coming 2,000 years later. He was speaking to His audience, in their generation.

And the book of Revelation confirms it:

"The Revelation... to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place... for the time is near." (Revelation 1:1-3 NASB)

"And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show... the things which must soon take place... Behold, I am coming quickly." (Revelation 22:6-7,12,20 NASB)

Still think the Gospel had to be preached to the whole world first?

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14 NASB)

But Paul wrote:

"Your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world." (Romans 1:8 NASB) "The gospel... has been made known to all the nations." (Romans 16:26 NASB) "The gospel... is bearing fruit and increasing in all the world." (Colossians 1:6 NASB) "...the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven..." (Colossians 1:23 NASB)

The Gospel was preached to the known world. Just like Jesus said would happen before the end.

So what was the "end"?

"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near... these are days of vengeance, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled." (Luke 21:20-22 NASB)

Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem. He said "all things written" would be fulfilled in that event. And history confirms it happened in AD 70. The Temple was destroyed. The Old Covenant ended. The New Covenant fully took its place.

"When He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear." (Hebrews 8:13 NASB)

Friends, we are not living in the last days. They were. The end of the age was the end of the Old Covenant age, not the planet. The word often translated "world" is the Greek word aion, which means age, not earth (kosmos). Only the KJV still confuses that translation.

Jesus said:

"So it will be at the end of the age..." (Matthew 13:39-40, 49 NASB) "What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3 NASB) "I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 NASB)

Let me leave you with something the Lord showed me personally. When I cried out for truth, He opened my eyes to this. He pulled me out of traditional church teaching and taught me by His Word.

"An hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." (John 5:25 NASB) "We who are alive and remain..." (1 Thessalonians 4:15 NASB) "Some of those standing here will not taste death..." (Matthew 16:28 NASB)

Same message. Same timeframe. Same audience.

Even historians like Josephus, Tacitus, and Eusebius recorded angelic activity, heavenly signs, and trumpet sounds during the siege of Jerusalem. It was not a global, visible, fireworks-in-the-sky return. Jesus returned in judgment on that generation exactly as He promised.

The Kingdom is here now. It’s spiritual, not physical. (Luke 17:20-21)

Please be open. Let’s read the Bible as the first-century believers did. They understood the "last days" were their days. The end already came. The age changed. Jesus is reigning now.

Let’s walk in that truth.