Click here to view or download class notes for this session (PDF).
We launched our Life In The Spirit courses because the Lord gave me a burden to train people to bring in a last-days harvest. But becoming confident to pray and move in the Gifts of the Spirit is only one part of the equation. Another key component to living in the last days is dealing with pressures we’ll face in the inner man.
The Word has much to say about spiritual conditions at the end of the age. I’m going to cover a lot of ground in this session but, as always, go back into these things for yourself and meditate on them.
1. Signs of the Times.
“Signs of the times” is an expression even worldly people use, and even if they don’t understand it. What are the signs of the times? I believe the Bible indicates that momentous days are coming. Here are a few things to consider.
1. The restoration of Israel in 1948.
The prophets prophesied that the Jews would begin to be regathered back into their land in the last days, although in unbelief. That’s not something that somebody on YouTube made up. It’s been preached for centuries, even when it seemed impossible. But in 1948, for the first time since 63 BC, there we saw a sovereign Jewish government in Israel.
2. Alliances and the rebuilding of the Temple.
One area of Jerusalem in which the Jews have not exercised full control is the Temple Mount. Scripture says that a Temple or a Tabernacle will be rebuilt, and many in Israel are now working to make this happen. Not many people know that Hamas committed the October 7 attack to stop increased Jewish use of the Temple Mount.
Remarkably, in recent years, Israel has begun making peace and signing commercial agreements with its Arab neighbors. We could soon see a wider agreement that would eventually permit Israel to rebuild the Temple with and perform its animal sacrifices.
3. The forming of an alliance of Jew-hating nations.
The Bible predicts that a group of hostile nations will arise in the north of Israel and seek to destroy it. This is also coming to pass as the prophets foretold. Ezekiel and others of the prophets speak of these future wars.
4. A great falling away from the faith.
In our generation, many who once held to the historic Christian faith are denying Christ and the Scriptures. Paul says, “Now the Spirit speaks plainly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits…” (see: 1 Tim. 4:1-2).
Thankfully, there are also some “good news signs.”
5. The spread of the Gospel.
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).
Today we’re seeing the greatest harvest of souls ever. In 1900, there were 10 million Christians in Africa, but now there are over 600 million. This is one of the greatest religious events in history. The growth of Evangelical Christianity in places such as China and Brazil is mind-boggling.
6. The Outpouring of the Spirit.
God said that in the last days He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. In 1900, there were very few Spirit-filled people... but by 2000 there were 500 million. Soon, the majority of Christians on the planet and probably in most countries will be Pentecostal and Charismatic.
7. The salvation of the Jewish people.
This is a key sign. The New Testament teaches us that one day the Jewish people will accept their Messiah. Paul said, “For I do not desire you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, lest you should be wise in yourselves, that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25).
That blindness is lifting in our day. More Jews have come to faith in Jesus in the past few decades than at any time since the first century.
These are just a few of the many signs that indicate that God is bringing history to a close, and Jesus is coming soon to set up His Kingdom.
2. The nations are raging.
In Psalm 2, King David prophesies how the nations will rebel against God at the end of the age. The first section of this psalm reveals the rebellion, and God’s reaction to it:
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
Note that this is a personal rebellion against Israel’s God and His Messiah. These kings want to be free from any constraints that God might put upon them. God’s reaction is to laugh! The enemies of God will desire to destroy His people but, whether they like it or not, God will install His Anointed One in Jerusalem to rule the world.
In the middle section of the psalm, we see things from the Messiah’s viewpoint. So, this is Jesus speaking:
7 “I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
Jesus is now praying for the fulfillment of what the Father promised Him. No matter what men or devils might do, Christ will shatter them with a rod of iron.
And then, in the final section of the Psalm, God warns the rulers, and gives a special promise to those who place their confidence in Jesus:
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
This raging of the nations against God and His laws is already beginning. It will increase in its ferocity until Jesus returns.
Please be aware of these dynamics. When you see the nations of the world openly defying the way of Christ—nations which used to at least give Him lip service—then you can know for sure that we are heading into the days of Psalm 2.
3. Dangers to my heart in the last days.
As we come into the last days our hearts will face dangerous challenges. But God is faithful to warn us and give us grace, so that having done all to stand, we can stand! Be alert for these dangers:
1. The danger of love gone cold.
“And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (see Matthew 24:10-14).
Jesus warns of betrayal and hatred among believers. Already we see people falling away from the faith and speaking evil of those who continue to hold to the Word.
He also says that the love of many will grow cold because of lawlessness. When we see wickedness going unpunished, it’s easy to grow cynical, and seek to fight spiritual battles in the flesh. We need to guard our hearts and make sure that His love continues to flow through us.
2. The danger of spiritual deception.
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).
Without going into that chapter in depth, we can spot three spiritual counterfeits of the last days.
First, counterfeit spiritual manifestations. Paul says: Don’t be shaken by a spirit, by a supposed manifestation of the Spirit that doesn’t match up with Scripture.
We also see false teaching. Paul says: Don’t be troubled by a word. Don’t be rattled by novel teachings that don’t align with the Word.
And then we see counterfeit authority. Paul is concerned about the possibility of a forged letter, as if from him. And in our time, we need to examine those who may be false apostles, prophets, or teachers.
3. The danger of actual apostasy.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
“…scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (see 2 Peter 3:1-7).
There will be a last-days attack on the truth. It will come from outside the church and from within it. Apostasy means a falling away from the faith. Note the connection between apostasy and personal sin. These are people who will (a) lie; (b) be hypocritical; and (c) have seared consciences. Perhaps this is what makes them susceptible to deceiving spirits.
Peter says that worldly people will deny that Jesus is returning. They attack the idea of Creation; they deny that God has judged the world in the past. They will also deny that Christ will judge the world at His coming.
4. Dangers of lawlessness and abusing grace.
“…there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words…” (see 2 Peter 2:1-3a).
“…certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
Lawlessness and “cheap grace” will enter the Church:
Some false teachers will even deny the Lord who bought them. It’s become more popular to speak against the work of Christ on the Cross. Some even say that Jesus dying for our sins is “child abuse” on God’s part, that it’s “human sacrifice,” and makes God a “monster.”
Notice also the connection to unrighteous commerce. False teachers always seem to have a money angle.
Jude talks about men who turn the grace of God into lewdness or perversity. These teachers claim that the grace of God allows for carnality. Today, supposed Christian leaders now teach that God not only overlooks wickedness but approves of it. That is not the grace of God. The true grace of God produces godly living. Paul says: “...the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…” (see: Titus 2:11-14, emphasis added).
If you think grace means you can follow Jesus and continue walking in the lusts of the flesh, then you’ve either been deceived by your own heart or else by one of the false teachers the apostles warned us of.
How can we respond to these sobering challenges?
4. Guarding your heart with all diligence.
In these last days, we need to give careful attention to our own spirits. We need a willingness to cooperate with the Spirit as He warns us, corrects us, and guides us in our personal growth in Christ.
In Proverbs 4, we read:
20 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. 24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:20-27)
The father speaking in his son in this passage doesn’t give his son detailed commandments but, rather, he gives him principles of wisdom. First:
1. God says to give attention.
This includes several different things.
A. Give attention to my words. We can’t treat what God says as unimportant or a mere suggestion. We have to give it earnest heed. We need to pray into it and examine ourselves.
B. Incline your ear. This Hebrew word means to bend your ear towards someone who is speaking to hear him well. When we read His Word, we must give it our undivided attention, and shut out distractions.
C. Don’t let them depart from before your eyes. This means that we are never too far away from communing with Him. We don’t go too long without looking into the Word and speaking with Him.
D. Keep them in the midst of your heart. This word keep means to guard and watch over. The Word must have a lodging place in our hearts, where it can both sprout and bear fruit. We keep the Word there by continuing to meditate upon it, as God tells us.
We see the result in v. 22: we will have life and health if we do these things. I believe that one of the greatest needs of the American church today is to re-orient ourselves away from entertainment and move in the direction of edification; away from recreation, and towards refreshing; away from man’s wisdom and towards meditating on the Word.
The second thing God says is this:
2. God says to keep your heart.
Verse 23 says: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. This is one to memorize. Let’s break it down.
A. God says to keep or guard our hearts with all diligence. In Hebrew this is much more forceful. It means to guard your heart more than anything else that you guard. The Spirit is saying that you must guard your heart more than anything, as it’s the most important thing you have.
B. God says the reason we need to do this is because out of our hearts come the springs of life; from our hearts life issues forth. This means the heart is the source of life; the currents of life come from there.
Jesus said that out of the heart comes forth every kind of sin, and that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. After all, what creates the fullness of the heart in the first place? It’s the things that we have deposited within ourselves, spiritually. Being filled continually with the Word and with the Spirit will make my heart a pure and powerful spring of life that can bless others.
Notice, too, that God says it is not His responsibility to guard your heart, it’s yours. He says: You guard it, more than you guard anything else I have given you!
We often experience weakness and failure because we have not guarded our hearts. We let our hearts run into things that are not wholesome. We set our hearts on things that don’t edify and may even lead us into sin. We set our hearts on a person, a hobby, a fashion, or whatever it is. We don’t guard against sins of the heart such as greed, and other things that seem acceptable because our culture accepts them.
A heart that is being built up by the Word will be able to sense when the hedge, the wall around our spirits is being broken down. “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (Proverbs 25:28).
Only by staying in the Word and staying in fellowship with the Spirit will we be sensitive to the condition of our hearts, and sensitive to the approach of enemies who have come to start chipping away at the castle of our hearts.
Guard your heart, more than anything else that you guard, because your heart is the wellspring of your life. One more takeaway from Proverbs 4, and it has to do with our outward conduct.
3. God says let all your ways be established.
This means that your ways and your life have become firm and secure. Why? Because you’ve built upon the unshakeable foundation of Christ. The father here wants us to choose to do things God’s way, and turn aside from behaviors that harm us, and give the enemy a foothold to work in our lives.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.
There are sound principles for us here.
Avoid deceit and a perverse mouth. Avoid gossip and any other improper speech.
Verse 25 addresses the eyes, and in particular this language is about sexual lust.
In verse 26 he says to examine your life regularly. We should regularly be asking ourselves: Why am I doing this? Take time to assess your day. Ponder your month and your year. Look to see how you have changed and whether those changes have been fruitful.
He says to let all your ways be established. Let every aspect of your life come under God’s control, and be built up by Him and His wisdom.
In verse 27 he closes out the thought with a more direct word to turn away from any evils we may be participating in. Remove your foot from evil; repent and turn away from any known sin.
Why do we guard our hearts? Because sin, just like the Word, operates as a seed. We deceive ourselves if we underestimate the power of a seed of sin. But Scripture is always warning us about the power of gradual things, and gradually lowering our resistance to sin.
5. Grounding myself in God’s sovereignty.
“Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me’” (John 21:20-22).
There’s something here that can help us navigate living in the last days. We need to trust in God's plan for us. Jesus said He would build his church and that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. It’s encouraging to know He has a plan for His Church, but I'm encouraged to know that Jesus has a plan for my life. I can trust His sovereignty. I can trust that His plan for me will result in my greatest joy and His greatest glory.
Our hearts were stirred a few years ago when men in orange jumpsuits were martyred on the beach by their Muslim captors. A peaceful death may be what God has in store for us, or it may not. We can trust that God's plan is the best plan for us. But the American dream may not be God’s dream for me.
At the end of the age, it will cost us something to keep the commandments of God and hold the faith of Christ. To those facing persecution, Peter said, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).
As we continue to seek God, He can bring us to this place of peace. Peter wasn’t just talking; he had experienced this himself. On the night before he was supposed to be beheaded, Peter was fast asleep in his prison cell. He was at peace. He knew God would either rescue him or receive him home to glory. May we grow in that assurance for ourselves! Be grounded in God’s sovereignty and trust Him.
6. Grounding myself in God's ability to keep me.
Besides persecutions, there are also internal pressures. We need strength in the inner man. In Psalm 3, David says:
LORD, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” SelahBut You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head. (3:1-3)
So first, let’s remember that even in the midst of trouble and the mocking of the world, God can give us grace to overcome our fear.
Jude, in his wonderful doxology, closing his letter, says: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).
Friends, we need to seek God for faith to believe that He can keep us from stumbling. Don’t despair over how far you’ve come. Trust Him to bring you the rest of the way. He can make every needed change in your heart.
Paul told Timothy, “…I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12b). If Jesus was strong enough to save you, believe that He’s strong enough to keep you, too.
7. Create a virtuous cycle in your affections!
We need to create a virtuous cycle by abiding in Christ and His Word, cultivating love for Him, and strengthening our allegiance to Him. As I abide in Him and His Word, I come to love Him more, and my allegiance to Him will grow. Then, the more I love Him, and cling to Him, the more I will want to seek after Him and abide in Him. The whole virtuous cycle will begin again!
In John 15, we have Jesus’ famous words:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” (See John 15:4-9.)
To abide means to stay or remain, to live continually. Our fruitfulness comes from living in Him and quickly restoring fellowship with Him when we stumble. When we do so, we’ll bear fruit simply because we’re connected to Him. The life of Christ flows to us just as the branch receives life simply by being connected to the vine.
In the last days the enemy will be seeking your allegiance. He will seek to pull your affections away from Christ. You will have very clear choices to make between darkness and light. Right now, all the middle ground is disappearing before your eyes. Staying in love with Jesus is your best antidote for the charms of the world.
8. Embracing the Cross.
Jesus, of course, spoke much about being willing to take up our cross and follow Him: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
That would have sounded ridiculous when He said it. In the ancient world, a cross was not a pretty piece of jewelry but an instrument of torture. It would be like us telling somebody, “If you want to be my friend, come die with me in the electric chair!”
However, Jesus sees marching to the site of your own execution as being a true picture of discipleship. It means we’re ready to die. We’ve died to our own desires so we can do the will of God. The cross puts all pride and self-seeking to death.
It’s a lifestyle of radical surrender we’ll need to embrace in order to thrive in the last days. One of the defining features of the last days is that men would be lovers of themselves. But the cross puts self-love to death. It teaches me to lay down my life for others, like Jesus.
Paul preached Christ crucified, and we need a cross-centered Gospel again in America. Part of overcoming is not loving our lives to the death. The Bible says: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11, emphasis added).
9. Living for the Day of Christ.
To conclude, let’s look at one more important truth, and it’s that we need to re-orient our lives towards living in the light of the Day of Christ. Let’s remember that we’re working for an eternal reward and personal commendation from Jesus Himself at His coming. And let’s focus on that. Let’s start thinking about it more than we have done.
Christ is coming to reward His servants. Not only will there be grants of authority within His Kingdom, but special crowns also. Paul says: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Do you love righteousness and long for His appearing? If so, there’s a crown of righteousness that Christ may award you. There are other crowns you may receive that will advertise your victorious warfare in this life to others. (It’ll be a great conversation starter in the Kingdom of God!)
There’s a crown of rejoicing for those who win souls.
There’s a crown of life for those who endure temptation and persecution.
There’s a crown of glory for those who faithfully feed the flock of God.
Let’s commit that whatever time and energy we have left on this planet belongs to Him, and that you’ll give your heart, and your soul, and your body, too, if need be, to serve Him. This is the promise of His Word, that as we place our trust in Him, He is “…able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).
All our trials will have been worth it all when you hear Him saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” So, as we see the Day approaching, let’s guard our hearts. Let’s commit ourselves to be ready for His appearing. Let’s continue to grow so we can bring in a harvest for Him.
And let’s commit every day to live life in the Spirit, with Jesus!
Share this post