1st century imminence in the Bible of the "last days" and "last hour"?
1st century imminence in the Bible of the "last days" and "last hour"?
The same Greek words that are used in the various passages will be CAPITALIZED.
All the mentions of the specific terms for "LAST DAYS" and "LAST HOUR" in the New Testament could have been apprehended as imminent in the 1st century. The content of what the diverse mentions of the "LAST DAYS" or "LAST HOUR" would refer to in the following passages will not be addressed here.
"Last days": all the passages
The specific terms for "LAST DAYS" are used only 5 times in the entire New Testament, only in Acts 2:17, 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 1:2, James 5:3, 2 Peter 3:3. In all these accounts, the mentions of the "LAST DAYS" could have been apprehended as imminent in the 1st century.
"Last days" in Hebrews 1:2
It is written in Hebrews that when Jesus walked on the earth in the 1st century it would already have been the "LAST DAYS", as "God" (Hebrews 1:1) "spoke (to) us AT (the) LAST (of) these DAYS by (a) Son" (Hebrews 1:2).
"Last days" in James 5:3
It is written in James that the epistle was written "(to) the twelve tribes in the dispersion" (James 1:1) in the 1st century that it would already have been the "LAST DAYS" to them, as it was written: "Come NOW, rich (ones)" (James 5:1), "YOU-STORED-up (treasure) IN (the) LAST DAYS" (James 5:3).
"Last days" in Acts 2:17
In Acts 2, after that the Spirit of God was poured out from heaven at Pentecost, the prophet Joel was mentioned that he prophesied about this event, indicating that this event was to happen "in the LAST DAYS", as it is written: "they-were all filled (with the) Holy SPIRIT" (Acts 2:4) and people "were all astonished and greatly-perplexed, saying one to another, “What does THIS mean?”" (Acts 2:12), "And Peter, having-stood with the eleven, raised his voice and declared (to) them" (Acts 2:14) "THIS is the (thing) having-been-spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘And it-shall-be IN THE LAST DAYS, God says, (that) I-WILL-POUR-OUT from My SPIRIT upon all flesh" (Acts 2:16-17) as Jesus "having-been-exalted (to) the right (hand of) God, and having-received the promise (of) the Holy SPIRIT from the Father, HE-POURED-OUT THIS which you are both seeing and hearing" (Acts 2:33).
So here it was prophesied by Joel, who was a prophet before the time of Christ, that in the future (for him) "IN THE LAST DAYS, God says, (that) I-WILL-POUR-OUT from My SPIRIT" (Acts 2:16-17) and Peter indicated in the past tense (using the aorist tense indicative in Greek) now that Jesus "having-received the promise (of) the Holy SPIRIT from the Father, HE-POURED-OUT [aorist tense indicative] THIS which you are both seeing and hearing" (Acts 2:33), indicating that "THIS is the (thing) having-been-spoken through the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16).
"Last days" in 2 Peter 3:3
It is written in 2 Peter that the epistle was written "(to) the (ones) having-obtained an equally-precious faith (with) us in (the) righteousness (of) our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1) in the 1st century, and to them it was written: "Beloved, I-AM-WRITING [present tense] NOW this second letter (TO) YOU, in which (letters) I-AM-AROUSING [present tense] your pure mind with (a) reminder TO-REMEMBER the words having-been-spoken-beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment (of) the Lord and Savior (from) your apostles, knowing this first — that mockers WILL-COME with mocking in (the) LAST DAYS" (2 Peter 3:1-3).
Here Peter in the 1st century is arousing his audience's pure mind with a reminder TO REMEMBER the words having been spoken beforehand, knowing that "mockers WILL-COME with mocking in (the) LAST DAYS" (2 Peter 3:3). Peter then added that these mockers are (using present tense verbs) "in (the) LAST DAYS PROCEEDING [present tense] in-accordance-with their own desires, and SAYING [present tense] “Where IS [present tense] THE PROMISE (of) His coming?" (2 Peter 3:3-4). As a response to these things, Peter wrote to his audience in the 1st century that "(The) Lord IS not BEING-SLOW [present tense] (about) THE PROMISE as some REGARD [present tense] slowness, but He IS-BEING-PATIENT [present tense] toward YOU" (2 Peter 3:9). Here Peter indicated that some "REGARD" (2 Peter 3:9) in the present tense the Lord as "BEING-SLOW" (2 Peter 3:9) in the present tense, but in contrast to that the Lord "IS-BEING-PATIENT" (2 Peter 3:9) in the present tense "toward YOU" (2 Peter 3:9), the 1st century audience that Peter was writing to.
It is written in 2 Timothy that "Paul" (2 Timothy 1:1) wrote "(to) Timothy" (2 Timothy 1:2) in the 1st century, and to him Paul wrote: "KNOW this — that during (the) LAST DAYS difficult times will(-now)-stand-in. For the people will-be self-lovers, lovers-of-silver, boasters, proud, blasphemous, unpersuaded (by) parents, ungrateful, unholy, unaffectionate, unreconcilable, slanderous, without-self-control, untamed, not-lovers-of-good, traitors, reckless, having-become-conceited, pleasure-lovers rather than God-lovers, holding (a) form (of) well-worship but having-denied the power (of) it. Indeed, BE-TURNING-AWAY-FROM THESE (ONES)" (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Timothy had to "KNOW" in the present tense these things that were said to happen "during (the) LAST DAYS" (2 Timothy 3:1), and was commanded to "BE-TURNING-AWAY-FROM THESE (ONES)" (2 Timothy 3:1-5) in the present tense (not in the future tense).
It is written in 1 John to a 1st century audience that it would already have been the "LAST HOUR", as it was written: "Children, IT-IS (the) LAST HOUR. And just-as you-heard that (the) Antichrist is-coming, even NOW many antichrists have-arisen — from which we-know that IT-IS (the) LAST HOUR" (1 John 2:18).
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