Matt.24:[3] And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
[4] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
[6] And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
[7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

This question has oftentimes come up among many throughout time, and as “perilous” as our “days” may seem, we must always trust His Word as our final authority, and what we are to stand upon as the truth. When mankind sees the conflicts of Nation against Nation, or damaging weather conditions, the common thought is that we are in the “Last days” that our Lord spoke of in Matthew chapter 24. But the last days spoken of by the Lord refers to what will come to pass as per the book of Revelation. In those days, there will be direct tribulation that all of mankind will be affected by, not just on one side of the world, but all of mankind will fully know that this is the “tribulation,” and that the world is for sure in the last days spoken of in Matthew chapter 24. That “sign of” His coming will be a witness that those last days are indeed “at hand,” but the most significant thing for the saint today to understand and appreciate is the dispensational difference between God’s plan and purpose for the Nation of Israel, and His plan and purpose for the Gentiles in this dispensation of His grace.

Ex.34:10] And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

1stCor. 1:22] For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

Ps.74:9] We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

Furthermore, the signs and wonders “covenant” was given unto the Nation of Israel only to behold the Work of the LORD, and show His Power among Israel, and for the world to bear witness to the LORD as being “the Most High God Possessor of Heaven and Earth.” The Nation of Israel will be given the ‘signs of the times’ in the ages to come, and the things that we see going on around us today are not part of what the Lord foretold of the sign of the times, but they are part of the sufferings of this present time. We today are taught that we “walk by faith, and not by sight [signs],” and that we are “saved from the wrath to come,” but many do not see the dispensational change that God has made in temporarily suspending His plan, and purpose with His Nation, and that in this dispensation of His Grace, the “last days” concerning the Gentile Church, are not the same last days as spoken of by the Lord in Matthew 24.

Matt.24:8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.
[9] Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
[10] And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
[11] And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
[12] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
[13] But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
[14] And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The “gospel of the Kingdom” was being preached unto Israel, and in the Lord’s Day on this earth, He gave unto the Nation what to look for concerning the coming tribulation, and wrath and judgment for those who would not hear. But He also gave the details of the Kingdom, and signs showing the ‘glad tidings of the Kingdom.’ And what the Lord gave unto Israel in Matthew chapter 24 concerned what was to come on the prophesied time schedule in Israel’s “last days.”

But Paul was given the gospel of Jesus Christ “according to the mystery,” and as the “Apostle of the Gentiles,” Paul details the “last days” concerning this dispensation of grace, and as we will see the last days in this dispensation is not what the Lord spoken of in Matthew chapter 24.

1Tim.4:1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
[2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
[3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
[4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

In this present dispensation of Gentile Grace, God is dispensing His Grace, peace, and mercy through His Holy Word. And God is not pouring out His wrath in these days of His Grace, but God is justifying those who believe in His Son, and sanctify them by His word to bring forth fruit unto holiness unto Him. But the “time will come” when the Gentile Church will be “caught up,” and the “fullness of the Gentiles be come in,” and the Church will be with Him in heaven, and then God will resume His plan and purpose with Israel. And as we can see in the verses below, after the Gentile Church is ‘raptured up,’ then will God resume His plan for Israel to save them as a Nation.

Rom.11:25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
[26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
[27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

However, in this dispensation (today), the last days spoken of by Paul refers to the ‘behavior’ of mankind, not the judgments of God being poured out upon the earth. This is significant to understand, because if the Church does not see the dispensational change that God has made with mankind today, they will fall victim to “every wind of doctrine,” and (mistakenly) assume that what they see in the world today, is God’s wrath, or God’s blessing upon the earth, but this is not the case at all.

But notice in the verses below, these ‘events’ of the last days all mention the disobedient behavior of the man, and his attempts to corrupt the preaching of our Lord, not the physical events of the ‘end of things to come.’ And The things mentioned in 1stTim.4, and 2Tim.3, and Chapter 4, all speak of the “last days” of the Gentile Church, before it is “caught up” unto the Lord, and notice, all these things concern ‘inward man issues’ only, nowhere do we find physical punishment for man’s disobedience in these verses about the “latter times,” or the “last days.” But this is why it is vital to ‘rightly divide the word of Truth,’ so that we too will not be ‘tossed to and fro carried about with every wind of doctrine.’

2Tim.3:1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
[6] For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
[7] Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Finally, notice in verse 2, Paul says “for men shall be,” this refers to an identity, and what man will ‘become’ based upon his not only denying the Lord Jesus Christ, but also “denying the power thereof.”

But we must understand and appreciate that the doctrine concerning God’s plan and purpose with Israel, and His judgments as per Matthew chapter 24, are not being poured out upon the world today, and the military conflicts, the destructive weather conditions, and the current pain and suffering that are experienced by some today, are all part of the “sufferings of this present time,” and that all mankind will eventually deal with these sufferings at one time or another (some greater than others).

But when God pours out His judgment upon the world, ALL of mankind will know for sure that ‘this is the power of the Almighty God,’ and ALL of mankind will eventually know that their punishment is “just.”

Rod Jones on July 4, 2022

https://supplyofgrace.com/2022/07/04/are-we-in-the-last-days-dispensational-differences/