Latter Days

Micah 4:1-13

The beginning verses state: “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, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”  If you recall, Micah in the last verse of chapter 3 has proclaimed that Jerusalem would become ruins and the temple mount will be a thicket.

So let’s address the latter days or as many versions state “the last days” and let me be very clear it is my opinion this term has it’s beginning at the Cross.  Do you recall the apostle John stating in John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”  At that moment, all that was needed for mankind to be restored to a Holy God and Father had taken place, no need for new revelation, for prophesy, Jesus had met all the requirements of His Father and the finished work brought us into the last days, the days we have been living in by God’s grace since that day.  In 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  “A prophet was an individual who received a call from God to be God's spokesperson, often connected with some crisis that was about to occur, and then announced God's message of judgment and/or deliverance to Israel and the nations.” (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology)  When we look at prophecy we must put them in one of these categories; past, present or future, and verse one is addressing a time yet to come.

We do know from history that in 70 A.D. the temple was demolished by the Romans and the city was destroyed and we also know that it has been promised that Jesus will returned and rule from Jerusalem for a thousand years.  The apostle John speaks of this in the Revelation 20:1-6, and once more it is my opinion this is the time Micah is making reference to.  I believe I must include verses 1-3, for anyone who has misguided hope in the one God refers to as the dragon, that ancient serpent, which is the devil and Satan.  “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” 

That dude is a loser and all who follow him are in the same camp.

For that period of time people and nations will flock to Jerusalem and Jesus so that Jesus may teach them His ways.  It is clear Jesus will be in charge of the nations for this time period, but they will still have free wills and though they will live in peace, they will keep their gods, but many will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.  It will be different in that day, with the Prince of Peace back on the planet, but like today people will have a freewill to receive or reject the One who died to give us life.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice