There are many ways in which to describe the times we live in: 21st-century, postmodern, globalized, technological. But foundationally and fundamentally, we live in the “last days.” This phrase can sound very strange or exciting, depending on its familiarity. Indeed, there can be a great deal of confusion surrounding the idea of the “last days.”

The New Testament uses this phrase simply to describe the time between the first and second coming of Jesus. Jesus has come, and Jesus will come, and we live between those two great staging posts in salvation history. His first appearance brought His kingdom to earth and ushered in the “last days” as a present reality. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension all point to God’s Spirit at work—and if God’s Spirit is at work, Jesus teaches, “then the kingdom of God has come” (Matthew 12:28).

Jesus therefore speaks in the present tense when He invites a crowd to “receive the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17). He is talking about an entry not into some future realm but into a present reality—the current rule and reign of Jesus Himself.

So the kingdom is now. But the kingdom is also then: something that we look forward to in the future, fully inaugurated by the return of the Lord Jesus. At His second coming, Jesus will fully establish His kingdom. At that time, He will welcome believers to “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34) and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). The kingdom that first arrived with its King in the past will fully come in all its perfection and glory in the future.

The Christian, therefore, lives in this in-between dimension referred to as the “last days.” Those who are in Christ belong to the new creation but have not yet received all of that new creation’s benefits and blessings. For the time being, believers live in the present age, in a fallen world marked by sin, longing for the age to come.

Why, then, does the time between Christ’s first and second comings seem so long? Why the delay? It is because God has deliberately delayed Jesus’ return so that more people have the opportunity to hear the words He has spoken, to repent, and to believe (2 Peter 3:9). The last days are the days of opportunity to enter the kingdom before the door is closed.

Since we know in which age we live and whose arrival will bring it to a conclusion, “what sort of people ought [we] to be?” (2 Peter 3:11). Scripture tells us: “Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” (v 14-15, NIV). In other words, if “the last days” draw to a close today and the Lord Jesus returns in His glory, make sure that you will be found living in a way that pleases Him and seeking ways to speak words that proclaim Him.