Why do some theologians refer to the entire time from the first coming of Christ to his return as "the last days?"
Answer
Paul says in 2 Corinthians and Ephesians 1, he uses a term that often appears in business documents for a down payment. He says that we have received the first installment of our future inheritance by receiving the Spirit. We have received a foretaste of the future world, because we're not just expecting a future resurrection and a future Messiah, a future king, but we're expecting a king who has already come, who has already been raised from the dead and, therefore, for us, we have a foretaste, and we need to live like a people of a future age. We need to live for the future in this present age to let the world have a foretaste of what heaven is going to be like.
Dr. Craig Keener teaches New Testament studies at Asbury Theological Seminary.
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