THE

UNIVERSALIST MISCELLANY.

VOL. III.

FEBRUARY, 1846.

No. 8.

"LAST DAYS," "LATTER DAYS," LAST TIMES," &c.

BY REV. T. B. THAYER.

THE phrases now before us have caused not a little confusion in the reading of the Scriptures. An ignorance of their use among the Jews has not only been a stumblingblock in the way of Christians, but has led unbelievers, in many cases, to regard them as proofs that the writers of the New Testament were sometimes mistaken in their opinions, and made statements which were incorrect. It is, therefore, of some consequence, that we have an understanding of the Jewish usage, and of the meaning attached to these expressions by the Scripture writers. A careful examination of examples from the Old and New Testament, will serve, perhaps, to aid us in coming to right conclusions in this respect, and show us that the use made of them, both by the ignorant and misguided, is entirely without authority.

In Isaiah we find the following:-"It shall come to pass, in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.' ii, 2. See also Micah iv, 1, 2. That the phrase "last days" refers here to the time of the Messiah, or the reign of Christ, is evident from the context, which the reader will consult, especially the next two verses. Daniel, after telling the king that "there is a God in heaven that revealeth

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secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days," proceeds thus :-" In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall - not be left to other people, but it shall break to pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." ii, 28, 29. That the latter days," in this case, points out the times of the Messiah or Christ, will not be disputed.

And so the prophetic vision, which extends through the last three chapters. The particulars of this prophecy, as a time of trouble such as had never been before, the scattering of the holy people, the setting up the abomination that maketh desolate, &c., compared with Matthew xxiv, will clearly show that it belongs to the breaking up of the old dispensation, and to the establishment of the gospel kingdom in the time of Christ. Now all this is introduced with the following declaration, "I am come to make thee understand what shall befall the people in the latter days," (x, 14,) demonstrating the identity of the "latter days" with the times of the Messiah.

These passages are sufficient to show the manner in which the phrases in question are used by the prophets. It appears that it was one common acceptation of these expressions, and one with which the Jews were familiar,-that of the times of the Messiah, or the kingdom or reign of God. And this will be farther seen in the fact, that Jewish writers so interpret them. On Numbers xxiv, 14-17, Onkelos explains the expression "latter days," or, as he has it, "in the end of days," by the reign of the Messiah. Jonathan Ben Uzziel gives the same interpretation to the same expression in Hosea iii, 4, 5, as also in Jer. xxiii, 20. These examples from Jewish commentators show very plainly the common and popular usage of the phrases in review, and are as good authority as can be had in such a case. The Talmuds, which are Jewish works of a later date, are to the same effect, that "the last days are when the Messiah shall come. ""*

Thus have we the Old Testament and common Jewish usage, in proof that one popular meaning of these phrases was, the times of the Messiah, or, in Christian phraseology, the gospel dispensation, or age. Kimchi, according to Dr. Clarke, goes so far as to say, that "wherever the latter

*These authorities are taken from an article in the Universalist Expositor for September, 1830, Vol. II, pp. 106-110, first series.

times are mentioned in Scripture, (Old Testament,) the days of the Messiah are always meant. This is, perhaps, rather too broad,—it is enough for us that this was one of its common significations, and probably the most general with the prophets. Kimchi was a learned Spanish Jew, and flourished about the close of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries.

In turning to the New Testament, we find the usage somewhat modified by the revelations and teachings of Jesus respecting the close of the old or Mosaic dispensation, the abolition of the ceremonial worship, and the final destruction of the temple and city. He had repeatedly spoken to his disciples and followers of the end of the law dispensation or age (Ovviεke Tov auros) as approaching, and had pointed out the signs which would precede the great day of overthrow. Hence, in the minds of the early disciples, the idea of the close of the old dispensation and the destruction of the Jewish worship and people, became associated with the phraseology in review, as well as the old idea of "the times of the Messiah," since it was in his reign that these events were to take place. The "last days, last times," &c., will be found in the New Testament, therefore, to designate the closing period of the law dispensation, and to shadow forth the awful and desolating judgments which were to be revealed in the times of the Messiah. An examination of the few passages where the phrases are found, will serve to confirm this view.

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Peter, in his address on the day of Pentecost, in explanation of the miracle of the gift of tongues, says: This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit," &c. Acts ii, 16, 17. He defines the time of “the last days," by showing that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was to take place at the period pointed out by that phrase, was then, at that very time, fulfilled before them. The "last days "had come, therefore, in the time of Peter. So in his first epistle he says: Christ, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in THESE last times for you." i. 20. To the same point writes the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: "" God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in THESE last days spoken unto us by his Son." i, 1, 2. The use of the pronoun "these "fixes the times of the "last days" with sufficient clearness. They had already come ;

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and the manner in which the expression is associated with Christ, reveals the Old Testament and Jewish idea and usage, namely, "the time or reign of the Messiah."

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In the following, the allusion to the end of the age, or the overthrow of the Jews, their city and temple, is more apparent. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." 2 Tim. iii, 1. In his note on this passage, Dr. Clarke says, "The last days' often means the days of the Messiah; and it sometimes extended in its signification to the destruction of Jerusalem, as this was properly the last days of the Jewish state.' James, in rebuking the rich men for their covetousness, says, "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered : and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasures together for the last days." i, 1-3. "By the last days," says Dr. Clarke, we are not to understand the day of judgment, but the last days of the Jewish commonwealth, which was not long distant from the date of this epistle, (A. D. 61.) To the same purport is the note of Hammond on the place. Peter, in his first epistle, speaks of those who were "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." i, 5. The paraphrase of Dr. Hammond will set forth the true meaning of the apostle. "Who, in the mean time," says he, "are and shall be preserved from present dangers by the power of Christ, which he hath promised to show forth in defending of believers, that we may be partakers of that famous deliverance so often spoken of in the Gospel, which is now within few years ready to appear." The references to other notes show the "famous deliverance" to be from the destruction which fell on the Jews and the enemies of Christ.

The following passages seem to be restricted, so to speak, to the last of "the last days ;" or, in other words, seem to have regard to a period approaching nearer to the point of absolute termination. 'Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days (literally, the last of the days') scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?" 2 Pet. iii.. "Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits," &c. 1 Tim. iv, 1. "Beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told

you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves," &c. Jude 17-19.

In this last passage, Jude clearly points out the period of the last time as actually come; for those of whom the apostle spoke as mockers "in the last time," as then living among those to whom he writes, and fulfilling what was foretold of them. Jude's epistle was written, according to some critics, about the very time the destruction of Jerusalem was accomplished, and the law dispensation finally closed. According to others, it was written about four years before these events were completed.. Either of the dates will answer to the passage. Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 of our Lord. The apostle John has a passage equally precise. "Little children, it is the last time and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it IS the last time. 1 John ii, 18. This is enough to show that the "last time " had already come when this epistle was written.*

We have thus examined with some care the examples of the phraseology in review, as found in the New Testament; and the signification attached to them in this usage is very manifest. The Old Testament and Jewish idea of "the times of the Messiah," has incorporated with it the enlarged, or additional, idea of events which were to occur in the time of the Messiah ; and of which the Messiah himself, or Christ, made frequent mention, namely, the close of the law dispensation or Mosaic age, and the overthrow of the Jewish people and worship. This appears to be the New Testament idea; and it is believed a proper measure of investigation will satisfy any one of the correctness of this conclusion.†

* We adopt the earlier date assigned to this epistle by Grotius, Hammond, Whitby, Barron, &c., A. D. 68. We may here, as well as elsewhere, note what Lightfoot says of the phraseology under examination : "The times immediately preceding this ruin (of Jerusalem,) are called the 'last days,' and the last times,' that is, the last times of the Jewish city, nation, economy. This manner of speaking frequently occurs. -Whittemore's Notes, p. 317.

The subject will be further illustrated by a comparison with those passages where the phrase "end of the world" occurs, particularly Heb. ix, 26, and 1 Cor. x, 11. Here the Saviour is said to have appeared in the "end of the world ;" and "the ends of the world" are represented as already come on the disciples, that is, the end of the Jewish world or age.